The Department of Veterans Affairs is reminding families that eligible Veterans buried in private cemeteries can receive a government-furnished headstone or grave marker at no cost, including at burial sites overseas.
The benefit covers the marker and delivery, but not necessarily installation, according to the VA’s guidance.
The Veterans Day reminder comes ahead of November 11. The National Cemetery Administration says an eligible Veteran with an unmarked grave can qualify regardless of the date of death. Eligibility also extends to certain graves already bearing privately purchased markers.
Who Is Eligible?
Veterans generally must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, and additional service requirements apply in some cases. Certain members of the National Guard and Reserve may qualify. The VA explains that active-duty service members who die while serving can also be eligible.
For an already marked grave, the Veteran generally must have died on or after November 1, 1990. Eligible graves without markers qualify regardless of the date of death.
The VA offers upright and flat styles, subject to cemetery restrictions.
What Is Free — And What Is Not?
The federal government pays for the headstone or marker and its shipping.
Families or other applicants must arrange placement in private cemeteries, and the government does not cover installation or foundation expenses, according to the VA’s application instructions.
Families with an existing privately purchased grave marker may instead request a VA medallion recognizing military service. The medallion benefit applies to qualifying Veterans who served on or after April 6, 1917.
Eligible recipients generally must choose between the government-furnished headstone or marker and the medallion.
How Often Is The Benefit Used?
In fiscal year 2025, the National Cemetery Administration furnished 286,863 headstones and markers overall. That total included 181,977 for Veterans interred in private cemeteries worldwide, while the agency issued another 10,055 private-cemetery medallions, according to the VA’s statistics.
The same VA report records approximately 495,951 Presidential Memorial Certificates issued in fiscal 2025.
The agency says it has furnished more than 16 million headstones and markers since 1973.
How Families Can Apply
Applicants should complete VA Form 40-1330 for a headstone or marker or VA Form 40-1330M for a medallion and provide a copy of the Veteran’s discharge or other qualifying service records. The VA accepts applications online through AccessVA QuickSubmit, by mail, or by fax.
Families should confirm that the cemetery will accept the marker style and arrange delivery and installation in advance. The VA’s instructions specify who may submit an application.
Spouses and dependent children buried in private cemeteries are not eligible for separate VA-furnished markers, although qualifying names may be inscribed on a Veteran’s marker.
Texas Connection And Other Memorial Benefits
Texas maintains state Veterans cemeteries in addition to federal national cemeteries.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Texas state Veterans cemeteries received a 99.28% satisfaction rating in a 2025 VA survey.
Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery ranked among the 20 busiest VA national cemeteries during fiscal 2025. Unlike private burials, qualifying burial in a VA national cemetery includes the gravesite, opening and closing, perpetual care, and a government marker at no cost, according to the VA’s cemetery statistics and burial-benefits guidance.
Separately, some survivors qualify for burial and plot allowances.
The VA’s current schedule lists $1,032 for burial and $1,032 for a plot for qualifying non-service-connected deaths on or after October 1, 2026. Eligible service-connected deaths on or after September 11, 2001, may qualify for up to $2,000 in burial allowance. Different rules apply to each benefit.
Families may seek a pre-need burial eligibility decision through the VA. For questions about privately placed headstones, markers, and medallions, call 800-697-6947, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, according to the agency.
Provided by Dallas Express
