How to Fill Out and Submit VA Form 40-0247: Eligibility, Documents, and Filing

VA Form 40-0247 is the one-page application used to request a Presidential Memorial Certificate, an engraved paper certificate signed by the current President honoring a deceased veteran’s service. The National Cemetery Administration issues the certificates at no cost, and you can submit the form by fax, mail, or through the VA’s QuickSubmit portal. There is no limit on how many certificates you can request, and more than one person can request a certificate for the same veteran.¹

Who Can File

Anyone who valued the veteran’s service can request the certificate. Surviving spouses, children, parents, other relatives, and friends are all eligible requesters, and each can submit a separate form to receive their own copy.¹

The veteran being honored must have been eligible for burial in a national cemetery under 38 U.S.C. § 2402(a)(1), (2), (3), or (7). In practice that covers people who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, along with certain Reserve, National Guard, ROTC, and retired Reserve members who died under qualifying circumstances.² Veterans convicted of a federal or state capital crime, or of certain serious sex offenses carrying a life sentence, are barred from memorialization and cannot receive a certificate.³

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these items together before opening the form:

A photocopy of the veteran’s DD Form 214 or other discharge paperwork showing active-duty service.
A photocopy of the death certificate.
The veteran’s full legal name, date of birth, date of death, and at least one of the following: Social Security number, service number, or VA file number.

Send photocopies only. The VA cannot return original documents.¹

If You Do Not Have the DD-214

You can still apply. The VA will try to locate the service records on its own.⁴ If you prefer to obtain a copy first, submit Standard Form 180 to the National Personnel Records Center at 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, or fax it to 314-801-9195. Next of kin requesting records for a deceased veteran must include proof of death, such as a death certificate or published obituary.⁵

Filling Out the Form

Download the PDF from the VA website. The VA estimates it takes about three minutes to complete.⁴

Section II: Veteran or Servicemember Information

Enter the veteran’s first, middle, and last name exactly as they appear on the service records. Mismatches between the form and official records are the most common reason a certificate has to be corrected later. Fill in the Social Security number, service number, or VA file number (at least one is required), along with the date of birth and date of death. The demographic fields are optional and used only for statistical purposes.⁴

Section III: Person Requesting the Certificate

Print your name, mailing address, phone number, and email. In field 11, enter how many certificates you want; you can ask for more than one. In field 12, check “Initial Request” if this is the first request for this veteran, or “Replacement, Reorder, Additional” if you need a corrected copy or additional copies.⁴

Section IV: Certification and Signature

Sign the form by hand. Knowingly submitting false information on a federal form can bring fines or up to five years in prison under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.⁶

Where to Send It

You have three options:

Fax the signed form and supporting documents to 800-455-7143.
Mail everything to NCA FP Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547.
Upload through the VA’s QuickSubmit tool at AccessVA (eauth.va.gov/accessva). First-time users need to register.

If you want a staff member to look over the packet before it enters the system, you can also bring it to any VA regional office in person.¹

After You File

The VA does not publish a guaranteed turnaround, but its guidance says to allow at least four months before following up. If more than four months have passed and nothing has arrived, call 800-697-6947, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. There is no online tracking tool for these requests, so the phone line is the only way to check status.¹

Do not submit a second application for the same certificate unless the VA asks you to. Duplicate filings can slow the process rather than speed it up.¹

Replacements and Additional Copies

If a certificate arrives damaged, has a misspelled name, or you just want more copies, use the same VA Form 40-0247. Check the “Replacement, Reorder, Additional” box in field 12, complete Section II with the veteran’s information, and submit through any of the three channels. Replacements are also free.⁴

1
Veterans Affairs. Presidential Memorial Certificates
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 112 – Presidential Memorial Certificate Program
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 2411 – Prohibition Against Interment or Memorialization of Persons Committing Certain Federal or State Crimes
4
Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 40-0247 Presidential Memorial Certificate Request
5
National Archives. Request Military Personnel Records Using Standard Form 180
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally