What it is: A set of benefits honoring veterans at the end of life, including burial cost assistance, a free gravesite in a national cemetery, a government-furnished headstone or marker, a burial flag, and military funeral honors. Governed by 38 CFR Part 38.
What the VA Provides (2026 Rates)
- Burial allowance: Up to $2,000 for a service-connected death. Up to $1,002 for a non-service-connected death (if the veteran was receiving VA pension or compensation). Up to $1,002 plot/interment allowance for burial outside a national cemetery. These amounts are not automatic — they must be applied for.
- National Cemetery burial: Veterans, their spouses, and dependent children are eligible for burial in one of 155 national cemeteries at no cost. This includes the gravesite, opening and closing, liner, headstone or marker, and perpetual care.
- Presidential Memorial Certificate: An engraved certificate signed by the President, provided to next of kin of honorably discharged deceased veterans.
- Military Funeral Honors: The Department of Defense provides a funeral honors detail upon request — at minimum a two-person detail to fold and present the flag and play Taps.
- Pre-need eligibility determination: Veterans and their families can apply before death to confirm eligibility for national cemetery burial and avoid uncertainty for surviving family members.