The VA does not pay for a funeral. What it provides is a gravesite in a national cemetery, the opening and closing of the grave, a vault or liner, perpetual care, a headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate, all at no cost to an eligible veteran's family. The funeral home's services, the cremation itself, the casket or urn, and transport to the cemetery are the family's to pay, offset by a burial allowance that ranges from a modest annually adjusted amount for most deaths up to $2,000 for a service-connected one. Families who expect the VA to cover everything are often surprised at the arrangement table. This guide sorts what is free from what is not.
What the VA provides at no cost
| Provided by the VA | Paid by the family |
|---|---|
| Gravesite or columbarium niche in a national cemetery | Funeral home basic services fee |
| Opening and closing of the grave | Transfer of the body into the funeral home's care |
| Vault or grave liner | Embalming, viewing, and ceremony, if chosen |
| Perpetual care of the grave | Casket or urn |
| Headstone, marker, or niche cover, in any cemetery | The cremation itself |
| Burial flag | Hearse and transport to the cemetery |
| Presidential Memorial Certificate | Death certificates and permit fees |
| Military funeral honors, arranged through the Department of Defense | Any private cemetery plot, if a national cemetery is not used |
The pattern is simple. The VA covers the cemetery and the marker. The family covers the funeral home. For a burial, that removes the plot, the opening and closing, and the vault, which together commonly run $2,000 to $6,000 in a private cemetery. For a cremation, the VA's contribution is a niche or an urn gravesite plus the marker, which is smaller in dollar terms, and the cremation fee itself is still the family's. Our veterans funeral benefits guide lays out eligibility in full.
Who is eligible
More people than you would think. Any veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable qualifies, as does a service member who dies on active duty, and in most cases the spouse and dependent children do too. There are minimum length-of-service rules for anyone who enlisted after 1980, but that is the main exception. What eligibility does not depend on is combat, or a wound, or dying of anything to do with military service, and we have watched families rule themselves out at the arrangement table for exactly those reasons, none of which are in the rules. The one document that settles it is the DD-214 discharge paper. If it has gone missing, and after a few decades it often has, the funeral home or the National Cemetery Scheduling Office can request it for you.
The burial allowance
Separate from cemetery benefits, the VA pays a burial allowance to help with funeral costs. It comes in two forms.
The larger one is for a service-connected death, which means the death resulted from a disability the VA had already tied to military service. In that case the allowance is up to $2,000, and the VA may also pay some or all of the cost of getting the remains to a national cemetery, which for a family in Montana or Alaska can be a meaningful sum on its own.
For a non-service-connected death, a smaller burial allowance and a separate plot allowance are available to eligible veterans, generally those who were receiving VA pension or compensation, or who died in a VA facility or under VA contract care. These amounts are adjusted each year, so check va.gov for the current figures rather than relying on a number printed anywhere else, including here. The plot allowance applies only when the veteran is buried in a private cemetery rather than a national one.
The allowance is a reimbursement. The family pays the funeral home and then claims it, using VA Form 21P-530EZ, with the receipted bill and the death certificate. There is a filing deadline of two years for non-service-connected claims, and no deadline for service-connected ones. Our earlier article on what the VA covers goes through the claim form.
What a veteran's family actually pays
Take a burial in a national cemetery with a simple funeral home service. The family pays the funeral home's basic services fee, transfer, a casket, a hearse, and any viewing or ceremony they choose. Nationally those items run from around $4,000 with a modest casket and no viewing to well over $8,000 with everything. The family pays nothing to the cemetery. The burial allowance, if the veteran qualifies, comes back afterward.
Take a direct cremation with the ashes placed in a national cemetery columbarium. The family pays the direct cremation price, about $2,200 at the national median, plus death certificates. The niche, its cover, and the inscription are free. Our direct cremation guide covers what that package includes.
Take a burial in a private family cemetery. The family pays the funeral home and the private cemetery's charges, receives a free VA marker delivered to the cemetery, pays the cemetery to set it, and claims the burial and plot allowances if eligible.
Military funeral honors
Every eligible veteran is entitled to military funeral honors, and they cost nothing. At minimum that means two uniformed service members, the folding and presentation of the flag to the next of kin, and Taps, played live or from a recording. The funeral home requests it through the Department of Defense, not the VA, and it happens wherever the service is, a national cemetery, a church, or a family plot behind a farmhouse. Families sometimes assume honors come only with a national cemetery burial; they don't.
How to sequence the paperwork
- Find the DD-214. Check the safe, the filing cabinet and the folder with the will. If it is nowhere, don't panic; the funeral home can request emergency verification from the National Personnel Records Center, and they do it often enough that it is routine.
- Call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117, or have the funeral home make the call, to confirm eligibility and book the interment. You can do this before anything else is decided, and it is often the call that makes the rest of the planning fall into place.
- Ask the funeral home to request military honors and the burial flag. The flag is issued through the funeral home, or a family member can pick one up at a post office with the DD-214 in hand.
- Order death certificates, at least five, because the VA, insurers, banks, and Social Security each need one. Our article on Social Security after a death covers the $255 lump sum and survivor benefits, which are separate from anything the VA pays.
- Pay the funeral home, keep the receipted itemized bill, and file VA Form 21P-530EZ for the burial allowance.
- Apply for the headstone or marker with VA Form 40-1330 if the burial is in a private cemetery. In a national cemetery it is automatic.
- Request the Presidential Memorial Certificate, which can be done at the same time.
Planning ahead
A veteran can apply for a pre-need eligibility determination with VA Form 40-10007 while alive. It confirms eligibility for a national cemetery in advance and spares the family the DD-214 search at the worst moment. It commits the veteran to nothing. Pairing that with written wishes and a note of which national or state veterans cemetery is preferred is the most useful pre-planning a veteran can do, and it costs nothing.
Questions families ask
Does the VA pay for a veteran's funeral?
No. It provides the gravesite, opening and closing, liner, marker, flag, and certificate at no cost, and pays a burial allowance toward funeral home costs. The funeral home's services are the family's to pay.
What does cremation cost for a veteran?
The cremation itself is the family's cost, about $2,200 nationally for a direct cremation. The VA provides a niche or urn gravesite and a marker in a national cemetery at no charge.
How much is the burial allowance?
Up to $2,000 for a service-connected death. Non-service-connected amounts are adjusted annually, so check va.gov for the current figures.
Can a spouse be buried in a national cemetery?
Yes, and this surprises a lot of families. An eligible spouse or dependent child can be buried in the same gravesite as the veteran, at no cost for the site, the opening and closing, or the inscription on the marker, and that holds even if the spouse dies first. The veteran's eligibility is what counts, not the order of deaths.