How to Fill Out the Application for Burial Benefits (VA Form 21P-530EZ)

VA Form 21P-530EZ is the Application for Burial Benefits that survivors, executors, or anyone who paid the veteran’s funeral costs file with the Department of Veterans Affairs. For deaths on or after October 1, 2025, it can bring in up to $1,002 for a non-service-connected burial, up to $2,000 for a service-connected burial, a separate $1,002 plot or interment allowance, and transportation reimbursement in qualifying cases.¹ You can file online at va.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center in Janesville, Wisconsin, or with help from an accredited Veterans Service Organization.

Who Can File

The VA accepts the form from anyone who paid or is responsible for the veteran’s burial expenses: a surviving spouse, surviving child, or parent. If none of those family members files, the executor or administrator of the estate can apply, and so can a funeral home, another relative, or a friend who personally covered costs.² Item 13 on the form asks you to check the box that identifies your role.³

The veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. If the discharge was corrected after death to meet that standard, your filing clock starts from the correction date rather than the burial date.³

Filing Deadlines

The deadline depends on which allowance you are claiming. A non-service-connected burial allowance must be filed within two years of the veteran’s permanent burial or cremation.³ This is the deadline that catches people. Miss it and the claim will be denied no matter how strong the evidence is.

There is no time limit for a service-connected burial allowance, a plot or interment allowance, a non-service-connected claim tied to a VA hospitalization death, or transportation reimbursement.³ Filing sooner still helps, because receipts and service records get harder to find as time passes.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these documents together first. You will need them whether you file online or on paper.

A copy of the veteran’s death certificate showing the cause of death. The VA uses this to decide whether the death was service-connected.¹
The DD-214 or other separation documents covering all periods of service. The VA uses these to confirm discharge status and dates.¹
If you are claiming transportation reimbursement, an itemized statement of the transportation charges.³

The form does not require you to attach funeral home receipts for the basic burial allowance; the VA verifies expenses from the information on the application. Keep the itemized invoice in your files anyway, since the VA can ask for more evidence during review.

Filling Out the Six Sections

Form 21P-530EZ is organized into six sections. Work through them in order.³

Section I: Veteran Identification

Items 1 through 6 cover the veteran’s name, Social Security number, VA file number if one was ever assigned, date of birth, date of death, and date of burial. Match the name to the death certificate and DD-214. If the veteran served under a different name, save that for Item 15 in Section III rather than crowding it into Item 1.

Section II: Claimant Information

Items 7 through 13 ask for your name, Social Security number, date of birth, mailing address, phone number, email, and relationship to the veteran. Item 13 is the box that identifies you as spouse, child, parent, executor, funeral home, or other. Checking the wrong box slows the claim while the VA writes back for clarification.

Section III: Service Information

Items 14 and 15 cover military service history: dates and places of entry and separation, service number, and branch. List each period of service if the veteran served more than once. Item 15 captures any alternate name the veteran served under. The DD-214 has everything you need.

Section IV: Final Resting Place

Items 16 through 19 ask where the veteran is buried: a cemetery, private residence, mausoleum, or other location, and whether it is a national, state-owned, or private facility. Items 19A and 19B ask whether any government agency or employer contributed toward the burial cost, and how much. If the veteran was buried in a state-owned veterans cemetery, the plot allowance goes to the state or tribal organization, not to you.⁴

Section V: Burial Allowance Claim

Item 20A is where you select the type of burial allowance: non-service-connected, service-connected, or unclaimed remains. A non-service-connected claim requires that at time of death the veteran either died in a VA facility or state veterans nursing home, was receiving VA compensation or pension, or had no next of kin claiming the body and no resources to cover burial. A service-connected claim applies when the death resulted from a service-connected disability or occurred while receiving VA care for a service-connected condition.⁵

Item 20B asks where the death occurred: private facility, VA-paid facility, VA medical center, or state veterans home. If you are the surviving spouse, Item 21 asks whether you have already received a VA burial allowance. Items 22A and 22B confirm that you are responsible for the expenses or that the remains were unclaimed.

Section VI: Plot and Transportation Allowance

This section covers the $1,002 plot or interment allowance and the transportation reimbursement. Confirm whether you are responsible for the plot costs and whether you are claiming transportation. Attach the itemized statement of transportation charges here if you are claiming that benefit.

Where to Submit the Form

Online

The quickest route is the online application at va.gov. It walks through each section and lets you upload the death certificate, DD-214, and any receipts as you go.¹ You will need a Login.gov, ID.me, or My HealtheVet account. The system shows an on-screen confirmation when you submit.

By Mail

Print the form from va.gov, fill it in, and mail it with your supporting documents to:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Pension Intake Center
PO Box 5365
Janesville, WI 53547-5365¹

Use a mailing method with tracking. The Pension Intake Center does not send acknowledgment on its own, so the tracking number is your only proof the package arrived.

Tracking the Claim

After filing, check status at va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status. Sign in with the same account you filed under, or create one if you mailed the application, to see where the claim stands, view any evidence the VA has requested, and download the decision letter once it issues.⁶ Processing time depends on how complete the application is, whether separation documents were included, and current workload. The VA also mails a decision letter when review is finished.

If the Claim Is Denied

A denial can be challenged through three review paths. File a Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995 if you have new evidence the VA did not consider, such as a corrected death certificate or newly obtained service records. Request a Higher-Level Review if you believe the reviewer misapplied the rules; no new evidence is allowed on this path. Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals for review by a Veterans Law Judge, the most formal option and usually the slowest. An accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization representative can handle any of these at no cost, and many VSOs have staff inside VA regional offices who deal with burial benefit disputes routinely.⁷

1
Veterans Affairs. Veterans Burial Allowance and Transportation Benefits
2
Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21P-530EZ Burial Benefits Application
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Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 21P-530EZ – Application for Burial Benefits
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 US Code 2303 – Death From Non-Service-Connected Disability; Plot Allowance
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Burial Benefits – Compensation
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Veterans Affairs. Check Your VA Claim, Decision Review, or Appeal Status
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Veterans Affairs. VA Decision Reviews and Appeals