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The State Veterans Cemetery — No Charge for the Plot, No Charge to Inter the Veteran, a Fee for the Spouse

Any discharge other than dishonorable qualifies you for burial at the state veterans cemetery at Evansville. The statute says plainly there is no charge for a plot and no charge for the interment of an eligible veteran. A spouse or handicapped or minor child may join you in the same plot, above or below — but that interment is charged at a fee set to cover its actual cost.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: No charge for the burial plot and no charge for the veteran's interment; a grave vault is provided free for casket burials; family interment is charged at actual cost

Plots are allotted first come, first served — the statute says so in terms.
A spouse, or a handicapped or minor child, qualifies only if interred in the SAME plot as the veteran, either above or below.
Markers are the flat granite markers furnished by the federal government.
The cemetery director applies to the federal VA for any allowable plot or interment allowance, so a family does not chase that reimbursement itself.
The cemetery's own burial information document, dated November 2022, states in terms that there are no fees at the cemetery — so although the statute authorises a family interment charge set at actual cost, the operating document read this session records none being charged.
That document also states the cemetery follows the same eligibility guidelines as the national cemeteries, that eligibility is determined only at the time of need rather than in advance, and that spouses and eligible dependent children are entitled to burial under the veteran's eligibility.
Flat granite markers only are used, and the federal government furnishes one headstone at no cost.
A state burial permit must accompany casketed remains and a certificate of cremation must accompany cremated remains.

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

1Ask the cemetery director for the request form. The statute puts the application on forms the military department supplies and the director holds — not on a general state portal.
2Read the eligibility bar correctly before ruling yourself out. It excludes only a dishonorable discharge; every other characterisation is eligible, and there is no residency requirement in the burial provision.
3Separate the two money questions. The plot and the veteran's interment are free. A funeral director's services, supplies and transport to the cemetery are paid by the survivors or from private funds.
4If you intend a spouse or dependent child to be buried with you, ask the director what is actually being charged today. The statute authorises a family interment fee set at actual cost, but the cemetery's own burial information document states there are no fees at the cemetery — so the honest answer is that the statute allows a charge and the operating document records none. Get the current position in writing before budgeting either way.
5Do not try to settle eligibility years ahead. The cemetery's own document states eligibility is determined only at the time of need and that discharge papers are not needed until burial is requested — which also means the papers must be findable then, so tell your family where they are.
6Plan the service around the cemetery's own arrangements: services are held in the chapel and patio area rather than at the graveside, and are scheduled on weekdays.
7Where the veteran died without means, the county may apply on the veteran's behalf — see the indigent burial record; the two provisions are written to work together.

Form: Request for a burial plot on the form supplied by the military department
File with: The cemetery director
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionThe statute and the cemetery's own operating document do not say the same thing, and a family should know that before budgeting. The statute makes the VETERAN'S interment free and authorises a family interment fee set to cover actual cost. The cemetery's burial information document, dated November 2022, states flatly that there are no fees at the cemetery. Neither is a mistake — a fee that may lawfully be charged is not necessarily being charged. Ask the cemetery director for today's position rather than trusting either document alone.

Worth knowingThe same-plot rule is a physical constraint, not a paperwork one. A qualified family member is interred above or below the veteran in the one plot — so a couple who want adjacent graves are asking for something the statute does not describe.

Worth knowingWhere an indigent veteran is buried here, any federal VA and social security burial money is paid to the cemetery director rather than to the state's general fund, and is spent on the cemetery itself.

Known gapNeither the statute nor the agency page publishes the current family interment fee, and the fee schedule is expressly adjustable. Ask the cemetery director for the figure in force before you plan around it.

Sources

authority · statuteWyo. Stat. 19-14-108 — veterans' cemetery; acquisition and maintenance; eligibility for burial
operating · published policyMilitary Department — Cemeteries
operating · published policyMilitary Department — Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery, burial information and cemetery procedures (November 2022)

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