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The State Cemetery — Free for the Spouse Too, Since 2020

Opening and closing the grave, the burial itself and the headstone are all free of charge at the state veterans cemetery at Mandan — for the veteran, for an eligible spouse and for an eligible dependent. That was not always true. There used to be a burial fee for spouses and dependents; a 2019 appropriation abolished it with effect from 1 March 2020. One fee survives: $380 for a headstone where a Guard or Reserve member and their family do not meet veteran status under federal rules.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Opening and closing the grave, the burial itself and the headstone are all free of charge at the state veterans cemetery at Mandan — for the veteran, for an eligible spouse and for an eligible dependent. That was not always true. There used to be a burial fee for spouses and dependents; a 2019 appropriation abolished it with effect from 1 March 2020. One fee survives: $380 for a headstone where a Guard or Reserve member and their family do not meet veteran status under federal rules.

What it's worth: Opening and closing, burial and headstone free of charge for the veteran, an eligible spouse and an eligible dependent — with a $380 headstone fee only where a Guard or Reserve member does not meet federal veteran status

  • The department states the cemetery is at 4606 Highway 1806, Mandan.
  • Eligibility covers veterans, National Guard members and reservists, and their spouses and in some cases dependents, determined from the discharge document.
  • The character of service must be honorable, under honorable, or general conditions.
  • A minor child is eligible where aged 21 or younger at the time of passing, or aged 23 and pursuing a full-time course of instruction at an approved educational institution.
  • An unmarried adult child of any age is eligible where they became permanently physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support before reaching 21, or before 23 on the full-time study route, with supporting documentation.
  • The department states that the opening and closing of the gravesite, the burial and the headstone are all free of charge for the veteran, the eligible spouse and the eligible dependent.
  • The department states that in past years there was a burial fee for eligible spouses and dependents, and that SB 2195 of the 66th legislative assembly provided an appropriation for those fees effective 1 March 2020.
  • A headstone fee at a current rate of $380 applies to National Guard members and reservists and their eligible spouses and dependents where they do not meet veteran status under federal rules.
  • The department states one plot is used for the veteran and the spouse or eligible dependent, as at a national cemetery.
  • All interments require verification of eligibility before the burial date.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your discharge characterisation is within the range the cemetery accepts.
  • 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. 1If you were quoted a spouse burial fee before 2020, that quote is dead. The appropriation took effect on 1 March 2020 and the department now states the opening and closing, the burial and the headstone are free for the eligible spouse. Families who planned around the old fee have money back in the budget.
  2. 2Get eligibility verified in advance. Every interment requires verification of the veteran, Guard member or reservist AND of the spouse or dependent before the burial date, which is not the moment to discover a document is missing.
  3. 3Check the dependent age rules carefully — 21, or 23 in full-time study, or any age for an unmarried adult child disabled before those ages. The last route is the one families never raise.
  4. 4Guard and Reserve families should ask specifically whether they meet federal veteran status. That single question decides whether the $380 headstone fee applies to them, and it is the only fee left in the schedule.
  5. 5Plan for one plot. The department states that, as at a national cemetery, one plot serves the veteran and the spouse or eligible dependent.
  6. 6Bring the discharge document or the equivalent. Eligibility is determined from it and the character of service is the gate.
Form
Eligibility verification through the cemetery, arranged by the funeral director or the next of kin
File with
The state Department of Veterans Affairs, at the cemetery at Mandan
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionGuidance written before 2020 — and a good deal of it is still circulating — says a spouse or dependent interment here costs money. It does not. That change is recent enough that funeral directors and families both still repeat the old position.
Worth knowingThe $380 headstone fee is not about being in the Guard or the Reserve. It is about not meeting federal veteran status. A Guard member who does meet it pays nothing, which is why the question is worth asking rather than assuming.
Known gapThe document read is a briefing to service officers dated 2023 and states the headstone rate as current at that time. Confirm the $380 figure and the dependent rules with the cemetery before relying on them.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department runs the cemetery and its own briefing document states the eligibility classes, the fee position and the legislative change that produced it. The department's cemetery web page returned 404 to a fetch this session, so no second agency page is carried rather than a summary from elsewhere.

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