Honoring your service, the way you'd want.
Veterans may be eligible for burial benefits and military honors. Your plan makes sure they're included, and that your family knows how to ask for them.
Burial benefits
For veterans who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge.
In a VA national cemetery, at no cost
- A gravesite, where space is available
- Opening and closing of the grave, and a grave liner
- A headstone or marker
- Perpetual care of the gravesite
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate
In a private cemetery
- A government headstone or marker, or a medallion. The cemetery may charge to set it.
- A burial flag
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate
Some families may also receive a burial allowance, depending on the circumstances.
Military honors
At a minimum, two uniformed members of the armed forces fold and present the flag, and Taps is played.
Asking early helps, so the military has time to arrange the detail.
How honors are usually arranged
- Your plan records the honors you'd like, so no one has to guess.
- When the time comes, the funeral director requests them for your family.
- At the service, the flag is folded and presented, and Taps is played.
- The flag goes to your next of kin, or to a close friend if there is none.
Spouses and dependents
A spouse or surviving spouse, even one who remarried, and minor children may also be buried in a national cemetery, even if the veteran died first. Some unmarried adult dependent children qualify too.
Spouses and dependents aren't eligible for a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, or a headstone in a private cemetery.
Planning ahead with the VA
You can ask the VA now whether you qualify for burial in a national cemetery, using VA Form 40-10007. It's optional, and it spares your family a search for papers later.
Keep these with your plan
- Your DD-214, or other discharge papers
- Your branch, and your dates of service
- Your VA file number, if you have one
- The VA's decision letter, if you applied ahead
Start a plan that honors your service.
Eligibility is decided by the VA. Learn more at va.gov/burials-memorials.