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The State Veterans Cemetery — Free for the Veteran, $300 for Family

There is one operating state veterans cemetery: the M.J. "Dolly" Cooper Veterans Cemetery, 140 Inway Drive, Anderson. A qualifying veteran's burial is free — plot, grave liner, marker, and opening and closing. A spouse and each dependent child pay a $300 fee. The agency states there is no residency requirement.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Burial free for the veteran; $300 for a spouse or each dependent child

The operating cemetery is the M.J. "Dolly" Cooper Veterans Cemetery, 140 Inway Drive, Anderson, South Carolina.
For the veteran the agency states burial is free, covering the plot, grave liner, marker, and opening and closing.
A spouse and each dependent child pay a $300 fee.
The agency states there is no residency requirement.
The statute speaks of allotting a plot at the cemetery closest to the veteran's residence. With a single state cemetery that language has no practical effect today.
The statute separately caps what may be charged a family member at the cost of the burial, or allows acceptance of a social security burial allowance not exceeding that cost.

Who is entitled to it

The section reaches the veteran and the immediate family.
The veteran holds an honorable discharge.
Your home is in South Carolina.

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

1Apply in advance rather than at need. The statute allots plots in the order the department receives the applications, so the queue is set by when you file.
2Expect the plot nearest home, not the one you choose. The department allots the state veterans’ cemetery closest to the veteran’s residence that has an available plot.
3Ask what the family fee will be before assuming it is free for everyone. The veteran’s burial is at no charge; for immediate family the department may set a fee up to the cost of burial, or take the social security burial allowance up to that cost.
4Check the immediate-family definition — the section ties it to those eligible for burial in federal national cemeteries and enrolled in DEERS.
5Family members may be buried in the same plot where space permits, which is worth asking about at the application stage rather than later.

Form: The application form the department provides for a plot
File with: South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionFree burial is the veteran’s benefit, not the family’s. The section lets the department charge an immediate family member a fee up to the cost of the burial.

Worth knowingThe section is permissive — the department may establish one or more cemeteries, and a site needs the county governing body, the county legislative delegation and the Governor to agree. Which cemeteries actually exist is an operating fact, not a statutory one.

Known gapThe current list of open cemeteries and the fee actually charged for a spouse or dependant could not be read this session because the agency’s own site refuses connections. Confirm both with the department before planning.

Sources

authority · statuteS.C. Code §25-11-80 (state veterans’ cemeteries — establishment, allotment, qualification, fees, registry)

Why only one source type: Read from the General Assembly's own publication of the Code. The department's own cemetery pages refused every connection from this session, so the number of cemeteries now open, their locations and the current family fee are not stated here.

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