Death Benefits – Military & Veterans Affairs

Veterans Death Benefits

Burial benefits may include the following: gravesites for casket or cremation remains, headstones or markers, opening and closing of the graves, and continued perpetual care. Burial of eligible veterans and dependents is at no cost when interred at a national cemetery.

Associated funeral expenses are the responsibility of the veteran and/or family.

Military Funeral Honors Program

Military funeral honors are available within the State of California for honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

What types of military funeral honors are available?

At a minimum, two service representatives will render honors, sound Taps, fold the flag and present it to the next of kin. Additionally, a detail to fire volleys, a chaplain, and/or a detail to serve as pall-bearers may be provided depending on the desires of the surviving family and resources available. Frequently, funeral honors are rendered in concert with a local VSO.

Who is Eligible?

Veterans are eligible for military funeral honors if they meet one of the following requirements:

Discharged from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable.
Completed at least one term of obligated service in the Selected Reserve under conditions other than dishonorable.
Enlisted on active duty at the time of death or in the Selected Reserve (drilling with a unit).
Discharged from the Selected Reserve due to disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.
The funeral director should contact the Casualty Area Command for deceased veteran’s branch of service.

Select form

27-2008

40-0247

21p 530EZ

VA form 27-2008

Use this form to apply for a burial flag.

VA form 40-0247

Presidential Memorial Certificate- To apply for a presidential Memorial Certificate use this form.

VA Form 21P 530EZ

Burial and plot-interment allowances

USDVA burial allowances are partial reimbursements of an eligible veteran’s burial and funeral costs.

When the cause of death is non-service related, the reimbursements are generally described as two payments:

1) a burial and funeral expense allowance, and
2) a plot or interment allowance.

To apply for a burial allowance, complete this form.
Use this form and the attached application to submit a claim for the following:

Non-Service-Connected Death Burial Allowance
Service-Connected Burial Allowance
VA Hospitalization Death Burial Allowance
Plot or Interment Allowance
Transportation Reimbursement or
Unclaimed Remains of Veterans.