What is provided at no cost
For an eligible veteran, interment in a VA national cemetery is provided without charge. That includes cremated remains, which may be placed in a columbarium niche or in the ground. The grave or niche, its opening and closing, a government headstone or marker, perpetual care, a United States burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate are all included.
What is not included is the cremation itself, or transport to the cemetery. Those remain the family’s cost, which is why the published price of the cremation still matters.
Allowances are a different thing
Separately from interment, the VA may pay a burial allowance and a plot allowance in defined circumstances — broadly, whether the death was service-connected, and whether it occurred while in VA care. The amounts are set by regulation and adjusted, so any figure printed on a page like this one goes out of date quietly.
Check the current amounts and eligibility directly with the VA rather than trusting a number in an article. That includes this article.
The document that unlocks it
Eligibility turns on discharge documentation — typically the DD-214. Locating it after a death is a common source of delay, and requesting a replacement takes time. If you are planning ahead for yourself or a parent, find it now and put a copy with the written instructions.
A spouse and, in some circumstances, dependent children may also be eligible for interment in a national cemetery.
The burial flag
A United States burial flag is provided for an eligible veteran and may be requested through a funeral provider or the VA. Families who intend to keep the folded flag with the cremated remains sometimes choose a flag case rather than a conventional urn — worth deciding early, because it affects what container you buy.