Plan ahead: VA burial, memorials and what your family should know

Burial in a VA national cemetery

Veterans who didn't get a dishonorable discharge may be buried in a VA national cemetery. So may service members who died on duty, spouses (including surviving spouses who remarried), minor children, and some adult children who depended on the Veteran.

At no cost to the family, VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing the grave, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. The funeral home's charges are the family's to pay, but the burial allowance below can help.

• At the time of need, the funeral home calls the National Cemetery Scheduling Office: 800-535-1117.
• Find a national cemetery near you with VA's cemetery finder.
• Looking for where a Veteran is buried? Use VA's Nationwide Gravesite Locator.

Check now: pre-need eligibility (VA Form 40-10007)

You can ask VA now whether you can be buried in a VA national cemetery. Your spouse can apply too. VA's answer goes in your papers, so your family won't have to prove it later.

Apply online, or mail VA Form 40-10007 with a copy of your DD-214 to the NCA Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547. A yes doesn't reserve a gravesite or promise a certain cemetery.

Headstones, markers and medallions

VA provides a government headstone or marker at no charge for an eligible Veteran's grave in any cemetery, including a private one, if the grave is unmarked. Apply with VA Form 40-1330.

If the family already bought a private headstone, VA can provide a bronze medallion to attach to it instead (VA Form 40-1330M). It's one or the other, not both. If the family bought a headstone or marker for a Veteran who died on or after October 1, 2025, VA may pay an allowance of up to $441 instead.

Presidential Memorial Certificate, burial flag and military funeral honors

A Presidential Memorial Certificate is signed by the President to honor the Veteran. Family members and close friends can ask for one with VA Form 40-0247. It's given to the next of kin automatically at a national cemetery burial.

A U.S. flag to drape the casket or go with the urn is free for most Veterans. Get one from the funeral director, a VA regional office or most post offices with VA Form 27-2008.

Military funeral honors include at least two uniformed service members, one from the Veteran's branch, the playing of Taps, and folding and presenting the flag. The funeral director usually asks the military for this. Ask 48 to 72 hours ahead. Questions: Military OneSource, 800-342-9647.

Money toward burial costs (VA burial allowance)

VA may help pay burial and funeral costs. The person who paid can apply with VA Form 21P-530EZ. If the Veteran's spouse is already on the Veteran's VA record, VA often pays a set amount automatically, without a claim.

• Death not related to service, on or after October 1, 2026: up to $1,032 for burial and $1,032 for a plot. (For deaths from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026: $1,002 and $1,002.)
• Death related to service: up to $2,000 if the Veteran died on or after September 11, 2001 ($1,500 before that).
• VA can also pay back the cost of moving the Veteran's remains to a national cemetery.
• Deadline: for a death not related to service, apply within 2 years after the burial. There's no deadline for a service-connected death.

State and tribal Veterans cemeteries

Many states and tribes run Veterans cemeteries with VA grant money. VA provides headstones and markers there too. Each state or tribe sets its own rules for who can be buried there. Ask the cemetery or your state veterans affairs office.

For the family: next steps after a Veteran dies

Tell VA about the death (call 800-827-1000). Get several certified copies of the death certificate.

A surviving spouse or child may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) if the death was connected to service, or if the Veteran was rated totally disabled for long enough. If the death wasn't connected to service, Survivors Pension may fit if income is limited. Both use VA Form 21P-534EZ.

If VA owed the Veteran money when they died (accrued benefits), apply within 1 year of the death. A DIC or Survivors Pension application counts as asking for it.

• Our Claim Navigator has a step-by-step survivor path.
• Make a "When I'm gone" letter now, so your family knows what you have, where your papers are, and who to call.