MNG-066 · DEATH, FAMILY & SURVIVORS
Burial, National Cemetery & Military Honors
Coordinate military funeral honors, VA national cemetery burial, burial allowance, headstones/markers, burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate, and supporting discharge records.
Decide burial location and honors separately
VA national cemetery benefits can include a gravesite or niche, opening/closing, perpetual care, government headstone/marker, burial flag and Presidential Memorial Certificate for eligible decedents. Military funeral honors are requested through the military service, commonly with the funeral director’s assistance.
Federal law provides, upon request for an eligible Veteran, a funeral honors detail whose minimum ceremony includes folding/presenting the U.S. flag and playing Taps.
Burial allowance is a separate monetary claim
VA burial allowance can reimburse qualifying burial, funeral, plot/interment or transportation costs depending on the case. Some eligible surviving spouses can receive an automatic payment when VA has sufficient relationship/death information; otherwise VA Form 21P-530EZ is the current burial-benefit application.
- Death certificate
- DD-214 or other qualifying discharge/service record
- Funeral/burial contracts and itemized receipts
- Cemetery decision and scheduling record
- Funeral-honors request/confirmation
- Burial-allowance submission/payment
- Headstone/marker/flag/certificate requests where separately required
Official sources
- VA — Burial and Memorial Benefits
- VA — Veterans Burial Allowance
- Military OneSource — Funeral Honors Directory
- VA — Form 21P-530EZ
- 10 U.S.C. § 1491 — Funeral Honors
Source status: SRC-158; SRC-159; SRC-160; SRC-161; SRC-162; AUTH-025 verified October 4, 2026. Use the current eligibility, rate, form, and decision notice for the individual survivor.
