VA Burial and Memorial Benefits: What Families Get and How to Claim It

VA does not pay funeral homes directly or run the funeral; it reimburses some costs afterward and provides the cemetery, the marker and the honors. This order avoids missed benefits.

1. Find the discharge papers. Every VA burial benefit keys off the DD Form 214 or other separation document. If you cannot find it, the funeral director can make an emergency records request to the National Archives.
2. Decide on a national, state or private cemetery. For a VA national cemetery, the funeral director or the family calls the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 (every day, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET; fax 866-900-6417). Have the veteran's name, Social Security number, dates of birth and death, and whether it is a casket or cremation and the size. A pre-need decision letter, if the veteran got one, speeds this up.
3. Ask the funeral director to request military funeral honors and to get the burial flag on VA Form 27-2008. Both are free.
4. Tell VA about the death if the veteran was receiving compensation or pension, so payments stop cleanly and the survivor claims can start. The survivor benefits guide lists what to file in the first 30 days.
5. Keep every itemized receipt in the name of the person who paid. VA reimburses transportation only with an itemized receipt in the applicant's name.
6. File the burial allowance claim on VA Form 21P-530EZ once you have the death certificate and receipts. A surviving spouse listed on the veteran's VA record may be paid without filing.

The Veterans burial allowance is a partial reimbursement of costs you paid, not a funeral payment. The cap depends on whether the death was service-connected.

Source: https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance/, effective October 1, 2025.

For a service-connected death, the $2,000 is the whole allowance; VA does not add a separate plot payment on top. If a veteran who died of a service-connected cause is buried in a VA national cemetery, VA may also pay back some or all of the cost of transporting the remains there.

For a non-service-connected death, the plot or interment allowance is only for a veteran who was eligible for a national cemetery but was buried somewhere else, under 38 CFR 3.1707. If the burial was in a state or tribal veterans cemetery, the cemetery claims the plot allowance itself on VA Form 21P-530a, so the family does not.

VA also lists a headstone or marker allowance of $441 for deaths on or after October 1, 2025, for cases where the family bought a private headstone instead of using a government one. Check the current conditions on the allowance page before counting on it.

Watch out: The 2 allowances rise each October 1. A death in late September and a death in early October can be paid at different rates, and older guides still show figures such as $890 or $300. Use the date of death against VA's table.

Two tests apply: the veteran's status, and who is claiming.

The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and at least 1 of these must be true. The veteran:

• died from a service-connected disability,
• died while getting care at a VA facility or at VA expense in a contracted facility,
• died while traveling at VA expense to or from VA-authorized care,
• had a compensation or pension claim pending at death that would have been approved,
• was receiving VA compensation or pension at death, or
• was eligible for compensation or pension but chose military retirement or disability pay instead.

The Senator Elizabeth Dole Act added a temporary group: veterans discharged from VA medical or nursing care to VA-provided hospice care at home, who die between July 1, 2025 and October 1, 2026, qualify for the full burial allowance. Before the change, a veteran sent home on VA hospice often fell outside the "died in VA care" rule.

The claimant can be the surviving spouse or partner in a legal union, a surviving child or parent, the executor or administrator of the estate, a family member or friend who paid, or the funeral home or cemetery that has not been paid. VA pays in a set priority order under 38 CFR 3.1702.

The deadline depends on the type of claim:

Source: https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance/ and 38 CFR 3.1703, effective September 2026.

Watch out: If VA upgrades a veteran's discharge from dishonorable after death, the family has 2 years from the date of the upgrade to file for the burial allowance. Older guides that say "2 years for everything" or "no deadline for anything" are both wrong; only the non-service-connected burial allowance has the clock.

The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) runs VA's national cemeteries. Burial there includes, at no cost to the family:

• a gravesite in any national cemetery with available space,
• opening and closing of the grave,
• a government burial liner,
• a government headstone or marker, and
• perpetual care of the gravesite.

Eligible veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and military funeral honors. Cremation is a burial option on the same terms; you tell the scheduling office whether it is a casket or an urn and the size.

What it does not include: the funeral home's services, the casket or urn, cremation itself, and getting the remains to the cemetery. Those are the family's costs, and they are what the burial allowance partly reimburses.

You may be eligible for burial in a national cemetery if at least 1 of these is true:

• you are a veteran who did not receive a dishonorable discharge and met the minimum service rules for your entry date,
• you are a service member who died on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty training,
• you are a National Guard or Reserve member who met the service rules for your component, or
• you are the spouse, surviving spouse or dependent child of an eligible veteran (see the next section).

A veteran with a less favorable discharge is not automatically out. VA's eligibility page points to a Character of Discharge review or a discharge upgrade. There is no cost for any part of the cemetery benefit.

Family members are eligible for burial in a national cemetery on the veteran's eligibility, and the same free benefits apply to them. Under 38 CFR 38.620, that covers:

• the spouse or surviving spouse of an eligible veteran, including a surviving spouse who later remarried,
• a minor child, meaning an unmarried child under 21, or under 23 if a full-time student, and
• an unmarried adult child who became permanently disabled and unable to support themselves before 21 (or 23 if a student).

VA's eligibility page says the surviving spouse keeps this benefit "even if they remarried after the Veteran's death." A family member's burial is scheduled the same way, through the scheduling office, with documents showing the relationship to the veteran.

Arlington National Cemetery is run by the Army, not VA, and its rules are stricter. In-ground burial is limited to service members who die on active duty, retirees entitled to retired pay, recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star or Purple Heart, and certain former prisoners of war. Most veterans with at least 1 day of active duty other than training and an honorable discharge qualify only for above-ground inurnment in the columbarium. Arlington verifies eligibility at the time of need and does not issue pre-need letters; the number is 877-907-8585, daily 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Details are on arlingtoncemetery.mil.

VA provides these items for a private-cemetery burial too, not just in national cemeteries.

Headstone or marker. VA furnishes a government headstone or marker at no cost for an eligible veteran buried in any cemetery, and for veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990 even if the family already bought a private headstone. Apply on VA Form 40-1330, Claim for Standard Government Headstone or Marker, by mail to the NCA FP Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547, or through QuickSubmit. In a private cemetery the family pays the cemetery's setting fee. Spouses and dependents get a government headstone only in a national, state, tribal or military cemetery; in a private cemetery they may be added as an inscription on the veteran's marker. Questions go to 800-697-6947, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.

Medallion. If the family bought a private headstone, VA can furnish a bronze medallion to attach to it instead of a second marker. The form is VA Form 40-1330M, Claim for Government Medallion for Placement in a Private Cemetery.

Burial flag. VA provides 1 United States flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn. The next of kin or a close friend applies on VA Form 27-2008 at a funeral home, a VA regional office or many post offices. The funeral director usually handles this. VA cannot replace a flag that is later lost, destroyed or stolen, though some veterans organizations help.

Presidential Memorial Certificate. A Presidential Memorial Certificate is an engraved paper certificate signed by the current president, for any veteran eligible for national cemetery burial. Next of kin, family, close friends or an authorized representative request it on VA Form 40-0247 by mail to the address above, through QuickSubmit, or at a regional office. VA accepts multiple requests, so each child can have one. Send copies, not originals, and ask about status if nothing arrives in 4 months.

Federal law, 10 U.S.C. 1491, says that on request the Department of Defense provides a funeral honors detail for any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The detail has at least 2 people, at least 2 of them members of the armed forces, and performs at minimum the folding and presentation of the flag to the family and the playing of Taps. Veterans organizations may add members to the detail.

Honors are free. You request them through the funeral director or the funeral honors coordinator, who contacts the veteran's branch of service. The one document you need is the discharge paper; without it, the funeral director can make an emergency records request. At a national cemetery, ask about honors when you schedule the burial.

A living veteran, spouse or dependent can ask VA in advance whether they qualify for burial in a national cemetery. This pre-need determination of eligibility is the most useful thing a veteran can do for the people who will handle the funeral.

1. Gather your Social Security number, date of birth, military history and DD Form 214 or other separation papers. The discharge document is optional but speeds the decision.
2. Complete VA Form 40-10007 online, or mail it to the NCA Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547, or fax it to the number on the form.
3. Keep the decision letter with the discharge papers and tell the family where it is. With a pre-need letter in hand, the funeral director can call the scheduling office and request the burial in 1 call.

A pre-need decision settles eligibility; the family chooses a national cemetery with available space when the time comes.

The burial allowance and the plot and transportation reimbursements are all claimed on 1 form, VA Form 21P-530EZ, Application for Burial Benefits (Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 23).

1. Gather the documents: the death certificate showing cause of death, the DD Form 214 or other discharge document, itemized receipts in your name for funeral, plot and transportation costs, and, if you are claiming a service-connected death, any medical records that connect the cause of death to the service-connected condition. If VA needs private medical records, VA Form 21-4142 authorizes the release.
2. File online through VA.gov, or mail the completed form to Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365.
3. Watch the clock only for the non-service-connected burial allowance: VA must receive that part within 2 years after burial. Everything else has no time limit.
4. Check the payment. A surviving spouse listed on the veteran's record may receive an automatic payment when VA learns of the death; if the amount looks lower than the table, file the form anyway with the receipts so VA can pay the rest.

This form does not apply for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) or Survivors Pension; those use VA Form 21P-534EZ, covered in the DIC guide and the Survivors Pension guide. SGLI and VGLI death claims go to the insurer, as the VA life insurance guide explains.

Many states run state or tribal veterans cemeteries, often built with VA grants, and VA's cemetery locator lists them alongside national cemeteries. Each state sets its own eligibility, usually the national cemetery rules plus a residency requirement, and its own fees for the veteran and for a spouse or dependent. When a veteran is buried there, the state cemetery claims the VA plot allowance on VA Form 21P-530a, not the family. Some states add a burial grant of their own or a fee waiver. Your state's page lists its cemeteries, residency rules, fees and any state grant.