The money
What VA pays depends on how the Veteran died
Two different categories. Two different amounts. Get this wrong and you leave about a thousand dollars behind.
- Service-connected death — VA had linked the cause of death to military service. For a
death on or after September 11, 2001, VA pays up to $2,000 toward burial expenses.
- Non-service-connected death — VA pays a burial allowance and, separately, a
plot or interment allowance. These two rates are set by the date of death and they
reset every 1 October.
- A transportation allowance may also be payable. Ask about it.
I am not printing the non-service-connected figures. They change on 1 October and this page
would be wrong within weeks of you reading it. Read the live table instead —
va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance
— and look up the row for the
date of death, not today's date.
The mistake to avoid. Do not quote the non-service-connected amount for a death VA connected
to service. It is roughly half. Funeral homes and posts make this error constantly.
★ Check the rate by date of death.
The forms
Two forms. You need both names.
Dollar amounts are worthless without a form number. Here are both.
- VA Form 21P-530EZ — Application for Burial Benefits. This is the one for the burial
allowance, the plot or interment allowance, and transportation. It may be filed by "a family member
or friend," or by "a representative from a funeral home, cemetery, or other organization." You do
not have to be next of kin to file it.
va.gov/burials-memorials/veterans-burial-allowance
- VA Form 40-10088 — Request for Casket/Urn Allowance. This one is only for an
unclaimed Veteran being interred in a VA national cemetery or a VA grant-funded state or
tribal Veterans cemetery.
va.gov/find-forms/about-form-40-10088
How 40-10088 works, and why timing matters. The applicant completes and signs Part I.
A cemetery official must complete and sign Part II. VA's instruction is to complete and
sign Part I and bring it to the cemetery on the day of interment. Then submit it by fax or mail.
21P-530EZ does not get you the casket or urn allowance. That is a different form. And the
day-of-interment step cannot be fixed after the fact — once the Veteran is in the ground, that
paperwork path is closed. Handle 40-10088 before the service, not after.
★ Right form, right day.
Honors
Military funeral honors have to be asked for
They are not automatic. If nobody requests them, there is no flag and no Taps.
- By law, an eligible Veteran receives a funeral honors detail upon request. Somebody has to ask.
- Who can ask: the funeral director, a Family member, or an authorized personal
representative. For a Veteran with no Family, the funeral home, the public administrator, or the
cemetery can make the request.
- When: contact the Veteran's military service branch normally 48 to 72 hours before
the service. Do not assume it is already scheduled — ask.
What the detail must do, at minimum. At least two members of the armed forces, not in a
retired status. The folding of a United States flag, the presentation of the flag, and the playing of
Taps — by a bugler if one is available, otherwise a ceremonial bugle.
No Family does not mean no honors. Honors are still provided for a Veteran with no next of kin.
If there is nobody standing there to receive the folded flag, call the National Cemetery Scheduling
Office at 800-535-1117 and ask how it is handled at that cemetery.
Members of veterans service organizations can augment an honors detail through the Defense
Department's Authorized Provider Partnership Program. If you want to serve on a detail instead of
watching one, ask a local post or the service branch how to join.
★ If nobody asks, there is no Taps.
Free either way
What costs the Family nothing
These are separate from the burial allowance. They do not come out of it.
- A Government headstone or marker
- A United States burial flag
- A Presidential Memorial Certificate
Read this twice. These can be received
even if the Veteran is not buried in a national
cemetery. A private cemetery, a county plot, a church yard — the Veteran still rates a headstone
or marker, a flag, and a certificate. Families skip these because they assume a national cemetery is
the price of admission. It is not.
va.gov/burials-memorials
Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) —
vlm.cem.va.gov —
is a free online memorial honoring Veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is searchable by
name, service branch, war period and cemetery, and anyone can share stories and memories there. It
is a separate program from the items above.
★ Ask for all three.
Nobody claimed him
If a Veteran dies with no Family to claim him
This is not a closed door, and you do not have to be a relative to open it.
- VA's process for unclaimed Veteran remains is open to "service organizations, funeral industry
partners, public administrators, and concerned citizens." A Legion post, a VFW post, a funeral home,
a county official, or a neighbor can start it.
- Step one — call 800-535-1117 and have VA confirm the person was an eligible Veteran.
Eligibility is decided by VA, not by the funeral home, not by the county, not by the post.
Burial in a VA national cemetery requires a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable.
- Step two — arrange burial in a VA national, state, or tribal Veterans cemetery.
The casket or urn allowance has a two-part test. VA pays it where the Veteran died with
no identifiable next of kin and insufficient resources to pay for a casket or urn.
Both halves have to be true. Use VA Form 40-10088, on the day of interment.
If you paid for the burial, you can claim. The burial allowance goes to the person or
organization responsible for the burial — a funeral home, a cemetery, a public administrator, a
service organization, or a friend who fronted the cost. Use VA Form 21P-530EZ, and mind the
2-year clock in the red box above.
★ One phone call starts it.
Finding a service
How to find a service, and what a committal actually is
No Veteran should be laid to rest alone. Here is how to find out where to stand.
VA Daily Burial Schedule —
cem.va.gov/dailyburialschedule.
It lets the public search scheduled committal services
by cemetery. Updated approximately
every hour. It covers VA national cemeteries and VA grant-funded state, tribal and territorial
cemeteries. It is intended for public awareness.
An empty search does not mean no service is scheduled. A service is listed only where the
Family authorized the information to be published. If you find nothing, that is not your answer —
call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117, or call the cemetery directly.
- Find a cemetery: cem.va.gov/find-cemetery
- Ask local funeral homes whether they are coordinating a service for a Veteran nobody claimed.
What to expect. A committal service is held at a
committal shelter, not at the graveside,
and lasts about
20 minutes. A cemetery representative meets you, hands over the deceased's
burial documents, and leads you and "others who are gathered to honor the deceased" to the shelter.
Viewing facilities are not available at national cemeteries, and funeral services are arranged at a
different location.
va.gov/burials-memorials/what-to-expect-at-military-funeral
Can the public attend? Many national and state Veterans cemeteries welcome the public at
services for a Veteran with no Family. That is common practice rather than a published national rule,
and no VA rule restricts who may attend. Call the cemetery first and ask.
My advice, not a VA rule: get there in time to meet the cemetery representative, dress as you
would for any funeral, and do what the cemetery staff tell you. That is courtesy, not regulation.
★ Call the cemetery and ask.
Who to call
The numbers, and who is who
Keep these where the Family can reach them.
Private organizations — not VA, not government agencies
Patriot Guard Riders —
patriotguard.org
The American Legion —
legion.org
Veterans of Foreign Wars —
vfw.org
These are worth a call and posts do turn out for Veterans nobody claimed. But VA does not run them
and does not vouch for them. Ask each one directly what it does, how a request is made, and what if
anything it charges. Do not assume any of them shows up on its own.
★ Start with 800-535-1117.