When a loved one served, families often carry two realities at the same time: pride and grief, gratitude and paperwork, the desire to honor a life well-lived and the need to make decisions quickly. Burial in a U.S. national cemetery can offer something many families crave in those first hard days—clarity, dignity, and a place that feels steady. But it can also feel intimidating if you’ve never navigated VA benefits before.
This guide walks you through what matters most: who may qualify, what the government covers, how scheduling works, and how to plan around common “hidden” costs like transportation or a funeral home’s services. And because many families now choose cremation—sometimes for logistical reasons, sometimes personal—we’ll also talk about how cremation urns, cremation urns for ashes, small cremation urns, keepsake urns, and cremation jewelry can fit into a national cemetery plan in a way that still feels deeply respectful.
What “national cemetery burial” usually means
Most families who say “national cemetery” are referring to cemeteries operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). In that system, the VA verifies eligibility and provides the gravesite and key memorial items when space is available.
A quick but important note: Arlington National Cemetery is separate (it’s operated by the U.S. Army), and its rules are different and often more restrictive. If Arlington is what your family is considering, it’s wise to start with Arlington National Cemetery eligibility information so you don’t lose time.
Eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery
Eligibility can feel complicated because it includes several groups—Veterans, certain service members, and some family members. The most reliable starting point is the VA’s overview of eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery, because it’s written for families (not just professionals) and it’s kept current.
In broad terms, the VA may provide burial in a VA national cemetery for eligible Veterans (based on service and discharge status), service members who die on active duty, and some spouses and dependents (and in some situations, other eligible family members).
The key practical takeaway is this: eligibility is confirmed in response to a burial request, and the National Cemetery Scheduling Office (NCSO) is used to verify eligibility as part of scheduling.
If you’re reading this as part of funeral planning for yourself (pre-need), the gentlest gift you can give your family is organizing the documents that prove eligibility—especially discharge paperwork (like a DD214). Even when you’re confident someone qualifies, having that paperwork ready can prevent delays at the exact moment your family least needs them.
For a broader overview of how these benefits fit into real-world arrangements, Funeral.com also has a practical guide to veteran benefits and military honors that families often find clarifying before they start making calls. You can read it here: Veterans Funeral Benefits and Military Honors: What Families Need to Know.
What the government covers (and what families still pay)
One of the most meaningful aspects of burial in a VA national cemetery is that several core items are provided at no cost to the family—assuming the cemetery has space available and the person is eligible. According to the VA’s burial and memorial benefits guidance for scheduling and national cemetery information, benefits commonly include the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, perpetual care, and a government-furnished headstone or marker (or medallion in some cases), plus items such as a burial flag and Presidential Memorial Certificate.
To review the VA’s scheduling instructions and the memorial items that may be requested, see Veterans Affairs.
Families often feel an immediate sense of relief when they learn this, because cemetery costs in private cemeteries can add up quickly—especially opening/closing fees and long-term care. Still, it’s important to name what’s not automatically covered:
- Funeral home services (transportation from the place of death, preparation, staffing, coordination)
- A casket or urn purchased through a retailer (the VA typically provides the gravesite and marker, not the merchandise a family chooses)
- Obituary, flowers, reception, and travel costs for family members
If you want a grounded way to think about costs, it helps to separate the national cemetery benefits from the rest of the service. A funeral home can still be essential even when the burial site is provided, because they coordinate permits, transportation, and timing. Funeral.com’s guide on comparing funeral costs can help you read a General Price List (GPL) and understand what you’re paying for: Funeral Costs Broken Down: What You’re Paying For and How to Compare Price Lists.
Transportation and burial allowance help
Families are sometimes surprised to learn that there may be reimbursement available in certain situations—especially related to transportation of remains for burial in a national cemetery. The VA explains burial allowances and transportation benefits (sometimes called “Veterans death benefits”) and how reimbursement may work here: Veterans Affairs.
This is one of those areas where a funeral director can be a quiet hero: they may know how to gather receipts, document transportation details, and help you avoid missing steps.
How to schedule a burial (step-by-step, without the overwhelm)
Scheduling is where many families feel the pressure. You’re grieving, relatives are traveling, and you may be trying to coordinate military honors. The good news is that the VA lays out a clear process.
To request burial in a VA national cemetery, the VA instructs families (or their funeral director) to send discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office—either by fax or by scanning and emailing—then to call to confirm the burial application. You can follow the official instructions here: Veterans Affairs.
In practice, the flow often looks like this:
- Gather discharge paperwork (and any other required documents the VA requests).
- Send paperwork to the scheduling office (fax/email per VA instructions).
- Call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office to confirm and coordinate dates/times.
- Coordinate with your funeral home for transportation, timing, and honors.
National cemeteries generally have standard burial days/hours, and availability can vary by location and season. Many families also find the National Cemetery Administration’s FAQs helpful for common scheduling and documentation questions.
If your family is trying to move quickly, it helps to know that eligibility verification is part of this process. So the most practical “speed strategy” is not rushing calls—it’s having the right documents ready before you call.
Burial or cremation: how national cemeteries fit modern choices
Many families assume national cemetery burial means a traditional casket burial. It can, but it doesn’t have to.
Cremated remains can be buried or inurned (placed in a niche/columbarium) in a national cemetery, and the VA notes that cremated remains are handled with the same honors as casketed remains. Start with the VA’s burial scheduling page for how to request burial honors and memorial items.
This matters because the national trend is clearly moving toward cremation. According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the U.S. cremation rate for 2025 is projected to be 63.4%, compared with a projected burial rate of 31.6%.
And the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) notes that its 2025 Cremation Statistics Report provides deaths and cremations data for 2024 in the U.S. and Canada, reflecting how closely the industry tracks these shifts.
So if your Veteran chose cremation—or your family is considering it for practical reasons—burial in a national cemetery can still be part of the plan.
Choosing an urn for a national cemetery niche
When families start shopping for cremation urns for ashes, the first emotional question is often “What feels right?” The first practical question, especially for a columbarium niche, is “What will fit?”
That’s where small cremation urns can be especially helpful, since niches and cemetery requirements sometimes call for more compact dimensions. Funeral.com’s Small Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is a useful place to browse size-appropriate options.
If your family plans to keep the urn at home for a time before interment—something many families do—then you might begin with a full-size urn and later select a cemetery-appropriate vessel if needed. Funeral.com’s Full Size Cremation Urns for Ashes collection can help you understand the range of designs families choose for home memorials.
Sharing ashes gently: keepsakes and jewelry
Sometimes the most tender conflict in a family isn’t about the cemetery—it’s about proximity. One person wants a niche in a national cemetery. Another wants keeping ashes at home. Someone else lives far away and wants something small they can hold during hard weeks.
In those situations, keepsake urns can be a peaceful compromise: a national cemetery niche can be the permanent resting place, while a few close family members keep a small portion in a keepsake. Funeral.com’s Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes collection is designed for exactly this kind of shared memorial plan.
For families who want something even more portable and private, cremation jewelry—including cremation necklaces—can offer daily closeness without changing the cemetery plan. You can browse Funeral.com’s Cremation Jewelry and Cremation Necklaces collections for examples of how families keep a loved one’s memory physically close in a discreet way.
And if the question behind all of this is “Is it okay to keep ashes at home?”—you’re not alone. Funeral.com’s guide, Keeping Ashes at Home: How to Do It Safely, Respectfully, and Legally, walks through the practical side (placement, visitors, kids, pets) with a compassionate tone.
What to do with ashes when a national cemetery is part of the plan
Families sometimes think they must choose one “final” option immediately. In reality, many plans are layered: a memorial service now, when family can gather; keeping ashes at home for a season; later interment in a national cemetery niche; and keepsakes or jewelry for children, siblings, or a spouse.
If you’re weighing options and want a calm, clear overview of choices—including scattering—Funeral.com’s guide on scattering ashes vs keeping an urn at home can help you talk through the emotional and practical sides without pressure.
And if someone in the family keeps mentioning water burial (often meaning a sea scattering ceremony or a burial-at-sea style ritual for ashes), Funeral.com also has a helpful explainer: Understanding What Happens During a Water Burial Ceremony.
Cost questions families ask (and how to get real answers)
Even with VA-covered cemetery benefits, families still need a workable budget. Two cost questions tend to show up early: “What will the funeral home charge if the cemetery is covered?” and “If we choose cremation, how much does cremation cost?”
For the second question, Funeral.com’s guide How Much Does Cremation Cost? Average Prices and Budget-Friendly Options offers a plain-language breakdown of direct cremation vs cremation with services, and how urns and jewelry can fit into the total.
If your family is choosing burial with a casket (whether in a national cemetery or elsewhere), it can also help to understand what drives casket pricing and what options are available. Funeral.com’s Casket Choices Explained: Materials, Features, Rental Options, and Saving on Costs includes a helpful note that VA burial benefits typically don’t mean the VA provides the casket itself—so families can plan accordingly.
A note for families grieving more than one loss
Military families sometimes carry layered grief—especially when a beloved pet was part of the household during deployments, relocations, or long recoveries after service. If your family is also memorializing an animal companion, it can be comforting to create a separate, intentional space for that grief rather than minimizing it.
If that’s where you are, Funeral.com’s collections for pet urns and pet urns for ashes can help you browse options that feel dignified and persona.
Moving forward with care
Burial in a national cemetery can be a profound way to honor service—one that provides both tangible support (covered cemetery benefits) and something harder to measure: a place that carries collective remembrance. If you take only one practical step from this guide, let it be this: gather the discharge paperwork, choose a funeral home you trust to coordinate with the VA, and let the plan unfold one call at a time.
