eCARe Portal Registration for Mortal Remains — Step-by-Step Guide

India's eCARe portal (e-Clearance for Afterlife Remains) is the health-clearance step between a casket leaving a Gulf airport and being accepted at an Indian one. The issuing airline cannot generate an Air Waybill for human remains cargo bound for India until the Airport Health Organization at the destination Indian airport issues electronic clearance through this system. If you are coordinating repatriation from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Qatar, the eCARe registration is the step that determines your timeline.

Step 1: Create Your User Account (Not the Deceased's)

Go to ecare.mohfw.gov.in and register for a user account. The person registering can be the assisting family member, an NGO representative, or the airline cargo agent.

The single most common error on this portal: registering using the deceased person's passport number. If you enter the deceased's passport as your login ID, the system locks that passport number and blocks it from being filed in the actual transport application later. Register with your own valid passport or your organisation's registration number.

Step 2: Upload Four Mandatory Documents

Once logged in, create a new transport application and upload these four originals in PDF, JPEG, or PNG format:

1. Official GCC-issued Death Certificate — the attested, consular-legalized version
2. Embalming Certificate — from the certified government mortuary
3. Consular NOC — the repatriation No Objection Certificate from the Indian Embassy or Consulate
4. Cancelled passport — the copy of the deceased's Indian passport after the consulate cancelled it

Each file must be under 512 MB. More importantly, filenames must contain absolutely no special characters — no parentheses, no apostrophes, no accented letters, no hash marks. Rename each file to something plain like DeathCertificate.pdf or EmbalmingCert.jpg. The system's security protocols silently reject files with special characters without displaying a specific error code, so the upload appears to succeed but the document never reaches the reviewer.

Step 3: Wait for APHO Clearance

The Airport Health Organization at your destination Indian airport reviews the application. The official service-level agreement is 48 hours, but most standard natural-death cases are approved within 12 hours.

If clearance is delayed beyond 48 hours, contact the APHO support desk at aphodelhiecare@gmail.com with your application reference number. Common delay reasons: a document uploaded in a format the reviewer cannot open, a missing consular stamp, or an unreadable scan.

Step 4: Share the Clearance with the Airline

Once the APHO grants electronic clearance, the airline cargo desk can generate the Air Waybill and allocate cargo space for the casket. Share the clearance confirmation (application number and approved status) with the cargo desk. If you have a pending booking hold with the airline, this is what releases it.

Cases Where eCARe Is Not Required

eCARe clearance applies only to embalmed remains in caskets. If the remains were cremated (available in the UAE only) and you are carrying ashes in a sealed urn as cabin baggage, the casket eCARe workflow is not involved. Ash transport still requires the cremation certificate, consular certification of the sealed container, and 48-hour prior notice to the destination airport's Health Officer.

For the full repatriation workflow including the eCARe step in sequence, the Indian Dies in Gulf States Family Emergency Guide provides the complete corridor checklist from Gulf mortuary to Indian airport customs.