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The County's Duty to Bury: $1,500 for the Burial, $500 to Move the Body

Where a veteran dies leaving too little to pay for a funeral, the county commissioners must prepare the body, transport it to the veterans cemetery and bury it. The statute caps the burial at $1,500 and the transport at $500 — and calls this a payment of last resort, which is a phrase worth reading before you spend a family's savings.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: Up to $1,500 for the burial and up to $500 for transporting the body, paid by the county from its general funds

The duty is on the board of county commissioners of the county where the veteran died.
It reaches any veteran other than a dishonorably discharged one who dies leaving insufficient funds to defray the necessary funeral expenses.
The board must first determine, by procedures it sets, that the person served, was other than dishonorably discharged, died in the county, and left insufficient means.

Who is entitled to it

Your discharge was not dishonorable.
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

1Approach the county commissioners before committing to a funeral home. The statute makes this a payment of last resort that follows all other sources — so money already spent by a family is money the county is not obliged to replace.
2Establish the four facts the board has to find: that the person served, that the discharge was not dishonorable, that they died in that county, and that they left insufficient means.
3Read the two caps separately. Up to $1,500 goes to the burial; up to $500 more covers transporting the body, which matters where the death was far from the state veterans cemetery.
4Claim the federal VA and social security burial money first. Because this is a last-resort payment, the county will expect those to have been applied for.
5Note where the burial happens: the statute directs the county to bury the veteran in the veterans cemetery, and lets the county apply for the plot on the veteran's behalf.
6If a county officer is unfamiliar with the provision, point to it by section. It is a duty on the board, phrased as "shall", not a discretionary grant.

Form: Application to the board of county commissioners
File with: The board of county commissioners for the county where the veteran died
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

Correction"Payment of last resort that follows all other sources" is the operative sentence and it cuts both ways. It means the county cannot be asked to pay ahead of the federal allowances — and it means a family that quietly covers the funeral itself has usually extinguished the claim.

Worth knowingThe county pays from its general funds and then, by 1 August each year, may ask the state department of family services to reimburse it for the previous fiscal year. That reimbursement cycle is why a county clerk may be more willing than expected — the money is not permanently the county's.

Worth knowingJurisdiction runs on where the veteran DIED, not on where they lived. For a veteran who died in hospital away from home, the duty sits with the county containing the hospital.

Known gapThe statute leaves the procedures for determining indigency to each board of commissioners, so the evidence one county asks for will not match another's. Ask the specific county what it requires before assembling paperwork.

Sources

authority · statuteWyo. Stat. 19-14-101 — burial of indigents
operating · statuteWyo. Stat. 19-14-108(d) — a county may apply for a plot in the state veterans cemetery on the veteran's behalf

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