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The $125 Nobody Claims — Setting a Federal Headstone

The federal government supplies a headstone or marker free. It does not pay to have it set, and in a private cemetery that is a bill the family pays. The state reimburses up to $125 towards the setting — a small payment against a cost families never see coming.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The federal government supplies a headstone or marker free. It does not pay to have it set, and in a private cemetery that is a bill the family pays. The state reimburses up to $125 towards the setting — a small payment against a cost families never see coming.

What it's worth: Up to $125 reimbursed towards the cost of setting a federally furnished headstone or grave marker

  • The department states the reimbursement as up to $125 for the setting of a federally furnished headstone or marker.
  • The reimbursement is for the setting, not for the stone — the stone itself comes from the federal department at no charge.
  • The department also maintains a roll of honour recording veterans buried in the state, and county veterans assistance commissions provide burial assistance for indigent veterans and their immediate families.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge characterisation is within the usual range for state veteran programmes.
  • You are in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Order the federal headstone or marker first. It is supplied free, and this state payment only exists to cover the setting of one that has been supplied.
  2. 2Get the setting invoice from the cemetery in the family's name. This is a reimbursement, so the paperwork is the claim.
  3. 3Ask the cemetery for the setting charge in advance rather than after the fact. Private cemeteries vary widely and $125 covers rather more of a modest charge than of an elaborate one.
  4. 4File through a veteran service officer. It is a small claim and they will have filed dozens; a family filing alone usually files late.
  5. 5If the estate cannot meet the funeral costs at all, ask the county veterans assistance commission about burial assistance for indigent veterans — a separate and larger route that the department names alongside this one.
  6. 6Ask the department to add the burial to the state roll of honour while you are in contact. It costs nothing and it is the record that outlives the paperwork.
Form
Reimbursement claim to the state Department of Veterans' Affairs, with the setting invoice
File with
The state Department of Veterans' Affairs, usually through a veteran service officer
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingThe gap this fills is real and badly signposted. Families are told the headstone is free, arrange a burial in a private cemetery, and then meet a setting charge nobody mentioned. The payment is small; knowing about it before choosing a cemetery is worth more.
CorrectionThis does not apply where the burial is in a national or state veterans cemetery — those set the marker as part of the interment. It is a private-cemetery benefit in practice.
Known gapThe department does not publish a claim form, a filing deadline or who may claim where the person who paid is not next of kin. A veteran service officer will know all three.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.