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Burial in a Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery — Four Sites, No Fee for the Veteran
A gravesite or niche, a pre-placed liner, a headstone and perpetual care. The statute forbids a plot or interment fee for an eligible veteran; a spouse or eligible dependant is charged $1,002.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A gravesite or niche, a pre-placed liner, a headstone and perpetual care. The statute forbids a plot or interment fee for an eligible veteran; a spouse or eligible dependant is charged $1,002.
What it's worth: $0 for the veteran, $1,002 for a spouse or eligible dependant, all burial options
- The department publishes the cost as $0 for the veteran across all burial options and $1,002 for a spouse or eligible dependant across all burial options.
- What is provided in either case is a gravesite or columbarium niche, a pre-placed standard grave liner, a headstone or niche cover, and perpetual care.
- A weight of roughly $4,000 stands for the plot, liner, marker and perpetual care a family would otherwise buy commercially. It is not the cost of a funeral, which the family still pays.
Who is entitled to it
- You are the veteran or service member, or a spouse or dependent child.
- The character of service is other than dishonorable.
- Your home is in Minnesota.
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
- 1Choose from the four: Little Falls, Preston, Duluth and Redwood Falls.
- 2Check the service test. Burial is open to veterans discharged from active military service under conditions other than dishonorable, and to reserve component, National Guard and ROTC members who die on active duty for training or performing service, or who have 20 years of reserve service creditable for retired pay.
- 3Pre-register. The department’s stated reason is the practical one: it settles eligibility in advance and removes the scramble for military documents at the worst possible moment.
- 4Get the pre-registration form from a cemetery office, from your County Veterans Service Officer, or by calling 1-888-LinkVet (546-5838).
- 5At need, the funeral director or next of kin contacts the cemetery. Bring the DD214 — without it the cemetery has to reach into federal records before it can confirm anything.
- 6A spouse or dependant is buried on the strength of the veteran’s eligibility, and an eligible spouse may be buried even if they die first.
- 7Budget the $1,002 for a spouse or dependant as a payment at need. The department states it cannot be prepaid and is subject to change.
- Form
- Pre-registration application, for an advance eligibility determination
- File with
- The Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery you have chosen, or your County Veterans Service Officer
- Documents you will need
- dd214 · marriage certificate · death certificate
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThe $1,002 is not what a veteran pays. Subdivision 9(c) forbids any plot or interment fee for a service member who dies on active duty or an eligible veteran — the charge attaches to a spouse or eligible dependant.
Worth knowingSubdivision 9(b) lets the commissioner waive or reduce the burial fee for an indigent eligible person. A family that cannot find $1,002 at need should ask rather than assume.
Worth knowingCommittal services are held in the committal service building rather than at the graveside, seven a day on the hour and limited to 20 minutes. Families planning a long service need to know that before the day.
Known gapThe statute imports the federal eligibility definitions at 38 U.S.C. §2402(a) rather than restating them. An unusual record — a short enlistment, a reserve question, service in a component that is not obviously covered — has to be checked against those federal criteria before a family relies on a plan.
Sources
- authority · statuteMinn. Stat. §197.236 — Minnesota State Veterans Cemeteries; eligibility and fees
- operating · published policyMinnesota Department of Veterans Affairs — State Veterans Cemeteries
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.