Veteran Support

Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Veterans, service members, spouses, and dependents may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery, as well as other benefits, if they meet one of these requirements.

One of these must be true:

• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a Veteran who didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is a service member who died while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is the spouse or minor child of a Veteran, even if the Veteran died first, or
• The person qualifying for burial benefits is in some cases, the unmarried adult dependent child of a Veteran

Am I eligible for allowances to help pay for a Veteran’s burial and funeral costs?

You may be eligible for Veterans burial allowances if you’re paying for the burial and funeral costs and you won’t be reimbursed by any other organization, like another government agency or the Veteran’s employer. You must also meet all of these requirements.

One of these relationships or professional roles describes your connection to the Veteran:

• You’re the Veteran’s surviving spouse (Note: We recognize same-sex marriages.), or
• You’re the surviving partner from a legal union (a relationship made formal in a document issued by the state recognizing the union), or
• You’re a surviving child of the Veteran, or
• You’re a parent of the Veteran, or
• You’re the executor or administrator of the Veteran’s estate (someone who officially represents the Veteran)

The Veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and one of these circumstances must be true:

• The Veteran died as a result of a service-connected disability (a disability related to service), or
• The Veteran died while getting VA care, either at a VA facility or at a facility contracted by VA, or
• The Veteran died while traveling with proper authorization, and at VA’s expense, either to or from a facility for an examination, or to receive treatment or care, or
• The Veteran died with an original or reopened claim for VA compensation or pension pending at the time of death, if they would’ve been entitled to benefits before the time of death, or
• The Veteran died while receiving a VA pension or compensation, or
• The Veteran died while eligible for a VA pension or compensation at time of death, but instead received full military retirement or disability pay

Or:

• The Veteran had been getting a VA pension or compensation when they died, or
• The Veteran had chosen to get military retired pay instead of compensation

Note: We’ll also provide an allowance for the cost of transporting a Veteran’s remains for burial in a national cemetery.

You can’t get burial allowances for certain individuals

We don’t provide burial allowances if the individual died in any of these ways:

• On active duty, or
• While serving as a member of Congress, or
• While serving a federal prison sentence

What documents do I need to send with my application?

You’ll need to send copies of these documents:

• The Veteran’s military discharge papers (DD214 or other separation documents)
• The Veteran’s death certificate
• Any documents or receipts you have for the cost of transporting the Veteran’s remains
• A statement of account (preferably with the letterhead of the funeral director or cemetery owner)

The statement of account should include this information:

• The Veteran’s name
• The type of service or item purchased
• Any credits
• The unpaid balance

Honor a Veteran or Reservist with memorial items

While planning a burial for a Veteran or Reservist, you can apply for certain memorial items to honor their military service. An eligible spouse or other family member buried in a national cemetery, or certain other Veterans or military cemeteries, may also qualify for a headstone or marker to identify the place of burial.

Applying for a memorial item. Can I apply for one of these memorial items?

In most cases, you can apply for one of these memorial items if you’re representing the deceased Veteran, service member, or family member in any of these relationships or professional roles.

One of these must describe your relationship to the deceased:

• A family member, or
• A personal representative (someone who officially represents the deceased), or
• A representative of an accredited Veterans Service Organization, or
• An employee of a state or local government whose official responsibilities include serving Veterans, or
• Any person who’s legally responsible for making arrangements for unclaimed remains or for details having to do with the deceased’s interment or memorialization, or
• Any individual representing the deceased, if the Veteran’s service ended before April 6, 1917

You must be a member of the deceased’s family to apply for a memorial item if any of these descriptions is true:

• The deceased’s remains haven’t been recovered or identified, or
• The deceased’s remains were buried at sea, or
• The deceased’s remains were donated to science, or
• The deceased’s remains were cremated and scattered

Am I eligible for a burial flag?

You may be eligible for a burial flag if you’re the next of kin or a close friend of the Veteran or Reservist and one of these descriptions are true for that person.

One of these must describe the service of the Veteran or Reservist:

• They served in wartime, or
• They died while serving on active duty after May 27, 1941, or
• They served after January 31, 1955, or
• They served in peacetime and left military service before June 27, 1950, after serving at least 1 enlistment, or because of a disability that was caused—or made worse—by their active military service, or
• They served in the Selected Reserves (in certain cases), or served in the military forces of the Philippines while in service of the United States and died on or after April 25, 1951. For more information on either of these situations, call 800-827-1000, Monday th

What kind of burial benefits can I get?

If you’re eligible, you may receive these benefits:

• VA burial allowance for burial and funeral costs
• VA plot or interment allowance for the cost of the plot (gravesite) or interment
• VA transportation reimbursement for the cost of transporting the Veteran’s remains to the final resting place

Note: You’ll need to pay for these services or other costs first before you apply for an allowance.

Is there a time limit for filing?

You must file a claim for a non-service-connected burial allowance within 2 years after the Veteran’s burial or cremation. If a Veteran’s discharge was changed after death from dishonorable to another status, you must file for an allowance claim within 2 years after the discharge update.

There’s no time limit to file for a service-connected burial, plot, or interment allowance.rough Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.

For more detailed information please visit:

https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/