VA burial benefits: a guide for veterans.

The VA offers six distinct burial benefits, and a veteran or their family can claim every one they qualify for. None of them cancels the others.

• Free burial in a VA national cemetery — the gravesite, opening and closing, perpetual care, and a government headstone are all provided at no cost. The veteran’s spouse and dependent children may also be buried in the same plot.
• VA burial allowance — a cash payment toward funeral expenses, typically $300–$2,000 for non-service-connected deaths and higher for service-connected deaths.
• Plot or interment allowance — up to $948 toward the cost of a private cemetery plot if the veteran is not buried in a VA national cemetery.
• Free government-furnished headstone or marker — available for the gravesite even if the veteran is buried in a private cemetery.
• Memorial certificate — a Presidential Memorial Certificate signed by the current president, sent to the family.
• Burial flag — a U.S. flag is provided to drape the casket or accompany the urn.
• Military funeral honors — flag folding, presentation, and Taps performed by a uniformed military detail at the funeral, on request.

The biggest single benefit. Burial in any of the 155 VA national cemeteries (and many state veterans cemeteries) is provided at no cost to the family. That includes:

• The grave site itself
• Opening and closing of the grave
• Perpetual care of the cemetery
• A government-furnished headstone or marker
• A burial flag

Eligible: veterans who served in active military, naval, or air service and were not dishonorably discharged; reservists and National Guard members who completed the required minimum service; and the veteran’s spouse, surviving spouse (even if remarried), and dependent children.

The family covers the cost of the casket or urn, transportation to the cemetery, the funeral service itself, and any items the funeral home provides. The cemetery handles everything from the gate onward.

Cash assistance toward funeral and burial costs. The amount depends on whether the veteran’s death was service-connected and whether the veteran was hospitalized by VA at the time of death.

Service-connected death

The VA pays up to $2,000+ toward burial costs (the figure adjusts annually). The veteran’s service-connected disability must be the cause of death, or the veteran must have been receiving compensation for a service-connected disability at the time. If the veteran is buried in a private cemetery, the VA may also reimburse the cost of transporting the remains.

Non-service-connected death

• If the veteran died in a VA hospital, contracted facility, or while traveling under VA authorization — $948 burial allowance plus $948 plot allowance.
• If the veteran died at home but was receiving VA pension or disability compensation — $300 burial allowance plus $948 plot allowance.
• If the veteran was hospitalized at the time of death (VA or non-VA) but the death was not service-connected — the family may still qualify for the lower benefit.

These amounts adjust periodically. The current numbers are listed at va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance.

The VA provides a free government-furnished headstone or grave marker for the gravesite of any eligible veteran — whether buried in a VA national cemetery or a private cemetery. Available types:

• Upright headstone — granite or marble.
• Flat marker — granite, marble, or bronze.
• Niche marker — bronze, for cremated remains in a columbarium.
• Medallion — bronze, attaches to an existing privately-purchased headstone to denote veteran status. Three sizes (5″, 3″, 1.5″).

Inscription includes name, service branch, war service, dates of birth and death, and (optionally) an emblem of belief, awards, terms of endearment, and other personal details.

Apply with VA Form 40-1330. The VA ships the marker directly to the cemetery; the family or cemetery handles installation. In national cemeteries, installation is included.

Burial flag

A U.S. flag is provided to drape the casket or accompany the urn. After the service, the flag is presented to the next of kin. Apply with VA Form 27-2008 at any VA regional office, U.S. Post Office, or through the funeral director (most will handle this for the family).

Military funeral honors

Federal law (Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1491) entitles every eligible veteran to military funeral honors at no cost. The standard ceremony includes:

• A two-person uniformed military detail (at least one from the veteran’s branch).
• Flag folding and presentation to the next of kin.
• Playing of Taps (live bugler when available; recorded otherwise).

The funeral director coordinates with the local military funeral honors office. The family does not pay for any portion of this. Additional honors (rifle volley, color guard) may be offered by veterans service organizations and local American Legion or VFW posts.

1. Locate the DD-214 (the discharge papers). Without this, almost nothing can move forward. If the family doesn’t have it, the funeral director can request expedited copies from the National Archives via eVetRecs.
2. Decide on cemetery — VA national cemetery (the cleanest financial path) or private cemetery (more local flexibility).
3. The funeral director files the burial benefits — most funeral homes have done this hundreds of times. They can request a national cemetery gravesite, file for the burial flag, request military funeral honors, and assist with the burial allowance.
4. The family files the burial allowance directly if not service-connected — VA Form 21P-530EZ. Submit online via va.gov, by mail, or via a Veterans Service Officer at the American Legion, VFW, or DAV.
5. Apply for the headstone with VA Form 40-1330 if buried in a private cemetery; the national cemetery automatically provides one.
6. Apply for a Presidential Memorial Certificate — available for free, mailed to the family, signed by the current president.

A surviving spouse of an eligible veteran is themselves entitled to:

• Burial in the same VA national cemetery as the veteran — even if the spouse remarries.
• A government-furnished headstone or marker.
• Inclusion on the veteran’s headstone (paid for by the VA).
• Possible eligibility for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) if the veteran’s death was service-connected — this is monthly cash, not a one-time benefit, and is filed via VA Form 21P-534EZ.
• Possible eligibility for survivor pension benefits if of qualifying age and the veteran served during a wartime period.

Also worth filing for the surviving spouse: the Social Security $255 lump-sum death benefit — separate from VA, paid by SSA, claimed within two years of death.