Burial at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery — Free, Five Ways In
Burial at the 280-acre Exeter cemetery costs a veteran nothing — casket, in-ground cremation or columbarium, with military honors at committal. Five eligibility routes reach far beyond wartime service, including six-year Guard and Reserve members who passed after 15 March 2022.
Verified August 22, 2026
What this benefit is
Burial at the 280-acre Exeter cemetery costs a veteran nothing — casket, in-ground cremation or columbarium, with military honors at committal. Five eligibility routes reach far beyond wartime service, including six-year Guard and Reserve members who passed after 15 March 2022.
What it's worth: Veteran burial at no cost — plot, in-ground or columbarium, with military honors; a spouse or eligible dependent pays a liner fee set at the department's own cost, not a fixed price
- The cemetery regulation states that the cemetery shall charge and collect a cremation urn liner fee per interment of the eligible spouse or eligible dependants of the qualified veteran, equal to the department's cost for the urn liner.
- For the Guard and Reserve eligibility routes, the regulation states a grave liner fee per interment of the eligible spouse or eligible dependants equal to the department's cost for either the full casket or the urn liner.
- The regulation sets both charges by reference to the department's cost rather than at a stated dollar figure, so no fixed price is published.
- The regulation states the cemetery collects a grave liner fee unless a vault or grave liner is otherwise provided by the funeral home or the next of kin — which means the charge can be avoided where the funeral home supplies one.
- The regulation states eligible dependants as the lawful spouse, a common-law spouse, unmarried children under 21 or under 23 if in school, and disabled adult children.
- The residency proof for the out-of-state Guard or Reserve route is two consecutive years in the state before death, verified by driving licence, voter registration or tax forms.
Who is entitled to it
- Your service was honorable.
- You are connected to this state — residency itself is not required for most routes.
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
- 1Check the five routes: a campaign or expeditionary medal from active duty; 2+ consecutive years of peacetime active duty; 20+ years of Guard or Reserve service; 6+ years in the state's own Guard or a Reserve component, for deaths after 15 March 2022; or 6+ years in ANOTHER state's Guard/Reserve with two consecutive years of state residency before death.
- 2File the interment application in advance — online with uploaded documents, by fillable PDF, or on paper. Proof is the DD-214, NGB-22 or reserve equivalent; the out-of-state Guard route also needs residency proof.
- 3The veteran's burial is free; spouse and dependent-child interments may carry fees. Committal services run 15 minutes with military honors, and gravesites are assigned by the office at the time of death — not chosen in advance.
- 4Ask the funeral home whether it is supplying the vault or grave liner. The regulation makes the cemetery collect a liner fee UNLESS one is otherwise provided by the funeral home or the next of kin — so the same item can end up billed twice, or not at all, depending on who arranges it.
- 5Do not ask for "the spouse fee" as though it were a price list. The regulation sets the urn liner and grave liner charges at the department's own cost for the item, so the figure moves. Ask what it is on the day and get it in writing.
- Form
- Interment application — online, fillable PDF, or by mail
- File with
- The cemetery administration office, Exeter — ideally in advance
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.