San Diego | Veteran Focused | Family Supported

Veteran Benefits Guide

What You Need to Know

Honoring a Veteran: Step by Step

Veterans and their families have earned benefits that are often unused because no one explains them. This guide walks through what to gather, what your family is entitled to, and how to apply. Eligibility is always decided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Call us at (619) 537-8164 any hour and we will help with each step.

Who may be eligible for a national cemetery burial

Veterans who were honorably discharged
Service members who died on active duty
Spouses, including a surviving spouse who remarried
Minor children, and in some cases an unmarried adult dependent child

Former spouses (by divorce or annulment) are not eligible. For other discharge situations, a VA regional office makes the decision.

The Process

Five Steps

1. Gather the paperwork

The most important document is the veteran’s DD-214 (or other discharge papers). You will also need the death certificate. We order certified death certificates for you ($26 each). Send us the DD-214 by email at support@americanveteranscremation.com.

2. If the DD-214 is missing

Next of kin (a surviving spouse who has not remarried, a parent, child or sibling) can request military records from the National Archives, online through eVetRecs or by mail or fax on Standard Form 180. Include the death certificate or a letter from the funeral home. Call us and we will help you start it.

3. Choose burial or memorial plans

Eligible veterans may be buried, or have cremated remains interred, in a VA national cemetery. Decide on the cemetery and whether you want burial or cremation. Families may also choose a private cemetery or scattering and still apply for the flag, marker and memorial certificate below.

4. Schedule with the National Cemetery Scheduling Office

The veteran, a family member, or the funeral director can request a burial by calling 800-535-1117 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:30 PM Eastern). Have the DD-214, the deceased’s details and next of kin information ready. Burials are held Monday to Friday.

5. Apply for the benefits you want

Request the flag, headstone or marker, memorial certificate and, if you qualify, the burial allowance. Each is explained below, with the form to use.

Benefits

What Your Family May Receive

Burial in a national cemetery

Eligible veterans can be interred in a VA national cemetery, with a casket or cremated remains. Request an eligibility determination online or call 800-535-1117. To plan ahead, VA offers a pre-need eligibility decision (VA Form 40-10007), applied for online or by mail.

Please note: Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego is closed to new interments; only additional burials in an existing family gravesite are accepted. Miramar National Cemetery (5795 Nobel Drive, San Diego, 858-658-7360) is open to new burials for both casketed and cremated remains, with columbarium facilities. Its office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

Military funeral honors

Honors include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the burial flag. Your funeral director arranges them, and a veterans service organization or national cemetery staff can also help.

Burial flag

Next of kin or a close friend can receive a United States flag to drape the casket or accompany the urn. Complete VA Form 27-2008 and bring it to a funeral director, a VA regional office, or a U.S. post office (call the post office first to confirm it stocks flags).

Headstone, marker or medallion

Available for eligible veterans in a national or private cemetery, for an unmarked grave, and as a memorial marker when remains were scattered. Complete VA Form 40-1330 and send it with a copy of the DD-214 (never the original). Questions: 800-697-6947.

Presidential Memorial Certificate

A certificate signed by the President honoring the veteran. It is presented automatically at a national cemetery burial. For a private cemetery or other arrangement, a family member or close friend applies with VA Form 40-0247 and copies of the death certificate and DD-214.

Burial allowance

VA may reimburse part of the funeral, burial and transportation costs if you paid them and no other source reimbursed you. For a service-connected death: up to $2,000 (deaths on or after September 11, 2001). For a non-service-connected death: a burial amount and a plot amount (VA lists $1,032 each for deaths on or after October 1, 2026). The veteran must have been honorably discharged and must meet a VA condition, such as receiving VA pension or compensation at death.

There is no time limit when the death was service-connected; otherwise, file within 2 years after the burial. Apply online or with VA Form 21P-530EZ, with the death certificate and DD-214. A surviving spouse listed on the veteran’s VA profile does not need to file.

Survivor and dependent benefits

Spouses and dependents may qualify for additional VA support. Call the VA benefits hotline at 800-827-1000 to find out what applies to your family.

VA Forms You Can Open and Download

We make all arrangements with the national cemetery the veteran qualifies for and arrange military funeral honors. Families file their own benefit applications, and we give you the information and the forms to make that easy. Each link opens the official VA page, where you can download the form or apply online.

Our Promise to Your Family

You do not have to figure this out alone. We make all arrangements with the national cemetery, arrange military funeral honors, help you gather the DD-214, explain which benefits apply, and point you to the right forms. Your family files the benefit applications, and we give you as much information as we can. Families who present a DD-214 also receive 20% off the whole bill (death certificates and permits excluded).

Arrange Now Veteran Discount

Benefit details come from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (va.gov), the National Cemetery Administration and the National Archives, and can change. Amounts and rules were checked in October 2026. VA makes the final decision on eligibility.

San Diego

We are here when you need us

Call any hour. Our office at 7710 Balboa Avenue, Suite 223E, San Diego, CA 92111 is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Call (619) 537-8164 Email Us

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