Who Can Be Buried in a Veterans Cemetery? Spouses, Dependents, and More

Anyone asking who can be buried in a veterans cemetery is really asking about three groups: veterans themselves, their close family members, and a handful of other people whose service the law recognizes. The core rule for veterans is simple. If you served on active duty and received any discharge other than dishonorable, you qualify for burial in a VA national cemetery. Spouses and certain children qualify through the veteran. A separate federal statute can bar even an eligible veteran if they were convicted of a capital crime or a qualifying sex offense.

Veterans

Federal law sets the baseline in 38 U.S.C. § 2402, with the VA’s rules at 38 C.F.R. § 38.620 filling in the detail.¹ A veteran who served on active duty and was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable is eligible.² Any service member who dies while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training is also eligible.

A dishonorable discharge is an absolute bar. Other less-than-honorable discharges, including a general discharge under other-than-honorable conditions, do not automatically disqualify anyone, but the VA has to review the character of service and decide whether it meets the standard. That review takes time, which is one reason to sort eligibility out before it is needed.

Anyone who entered service as an enlisted member after September 7, 1980, or as an officer after October 16, 1981, generally has to have completed at least 24 continuous months of active duty, or the full period they were called up for. The minimum service requirement has exceptions, most notably for anyone discharged early because of a service-connected disability.

Spouses, Children, and Dependents

The law lets certain family members be buried alongside an eligible veteran, whether the veteran is already buried in the cemetery, is buried somewhere else, or is still living.

Spouses and Surviving Spouses

A veteran’s spouse qualifies. So does a surviving spouse, and the statute is explicit that a surviving spouse who later remarried keeps that eligibility.¹ It makes no difference whether the later spouse is a veteran or a civilian.

Minor and Student Children

Unmarried children under 21 are eligible. That age limit extends to under 23 for a child pursuing a full-time course of study at an approved educational institution.³

Unmarried Adult Children With Disabilities

An unmarried adult child of any age may qualify if they became permanently physically or mentally disabled and unable to support themselves before turning 21, or before turning 23 if they were pursuing full-time education at the time the disability began.³ Approval for adult children is at the VA Secretary’s discretion, and documentation of the disability and its onset will be required.

When an eligible spouse or dependent is buried in a national cemetery, they are buried alongside the veteran and their name and dates are inscribed on the veteran’s headstone at no charge.⁴

Other Groups the Law Includes

Beyond traditional veterans and their families, the statute reaches several categories of people whose service the country recognizes.

Reserve and National Guard Members

Reservists and National Guard members qualify in two situations. The first is a member who dies under honorable conditions while hospitalized or being treated at government expense for an injury or illness connected to active duty training or inactive duty training. The second covers anyone who was entitled to retired pay under Chapter 1223 of Title 10 at the time of death, or who would have been entitled to it but had not yet turned 60.¹ That second category picks up many career Guard and Reserve members who accumulated the service points for retirement but died before payments started.

ROTC Members

Members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of the Army, Navy, or Air Force are eligible if death occurs under honorable conditions while attending an authorized training camp, on an authorized practice cruise, traveling to or from that training, or being treated for an injury related to any of it.¹

Public Health Service and NOAA Officers

Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can qualify under conditions tied to the nature and dates of their service. For PHS officers, eligibility generally requires full-time duty on or after July 29, 1945, though earlier wartime or military-detail service can also qualify. NOAA officers follow similar date-of-service rules.²

Allied Forces Veterans and WWII Merchant Mariners

U.S. citizens who served honorably in the armed forces of a government allied with the United States during any war are eligible.¹ World War II Merchant Mariners with oceangoing service between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, also qualify, as do Merchant Mariners who served on blockships in support of Operation Mulberry.⁵

Who Is Barred Even When Otherwise Eligible

Meeting every service requirement is not always enough. Under 38 U.S.C. § 2411, some people are permanently barred from burial in a national cemetery regardless of their military record.

Anyone convicted of a federal or state capital crime where the conviction is final. A federal capital crime is any federal offense that can carry a life sentence or the death penalty. A state capital crime is the willful, deliberate, or premeditated killing of another person under state law where a life sentence or death penalty can be imposed.
Anyone found to have committed a capital crime who was never convicted only because they died or fled before trial.
Tier III sex offenders convicted of a federal or state crime and sentenced to life imprisonment or at least 99 years, where the conviction is final.
Anyone found to have committed a qualifying sex offense who was never convicted only because they died or fled before trial.

The prohibition also blocks memorial markers and Presidential Memorial Certificates. A conviction that has been commuted by the President or a state governor does not trigger the bar.⁶

Arlington Is Not the Same as the VA System

Arlington National Cemetery is a national cemetery, but its eligibility rules are far tighter than those for the rest of the VA system. A veteran with a single period of active duty and an honorable discharge qualifies at any other VA national cemetery but does not automatically qualify for Arlington. In-ground burial at Arlington is generally limited to:

Service members who die on active duty (not training duty)
Veterans who retired from active duty and are receiving retirement pay
Recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross (or the Navy or Air Force equivalent), Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, or Purple Heart
Former prisoners of war who served honorably and died on or after November 30, 1993

Arlington also does not verify eligibility in advance. It is confirmed only at the time of death, so families cannot get a pre-need determination for Arlington the way they can for other VA national cemeteries.⁷

Confirming Eligibility Before It Is Needed

The VA lets veterans and family members apply for a pre-need determination that confirms eligibility in writing. The application is VA Form 40-10007, and it can be filed online, mailed to the NCA Evidence Intake Center at PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547, or faxed to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office.⁸

Proof of the veteran’s service is the central document, most often the DD Form 214, which shows dates of service, branch, and character of discharge. Family members need proof of the relationship: a marriage certificate for a spouse, a birth certificate naming the veteran as a parent for a child. An unmarried adult child applying based on disability also needs medical evidence showing the condition and its onset before age 21, or 23 if the child was in school. If the DD-214 cannot be located, the application can still be filed, and the VA will attempt to locate the service records itself. Once the National Cemetery Administration verifies service and any dependent relationships, it issues a decision letter stating whether the veteran and any listed family members are eligible. Keep that letter with your other end-of-life documents.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 2402 – Persons Eligible for Interment in National Cemeteries
2
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery
3
eCFR. 38 CFR 38.620 – Persons Eligible for Burial
4
National Cemetery Administration. Burial and Memorial Benefits
5
National Cemetery Administration. Eligibility – National Cemetery Administration
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 2411 – Prohibition Against Interment or Memorialization in the National Cemetery Administration or Arlington National Cemetery
7
Arlington National Cemetery. Establishing Eligibility – Arlington National Cemetery
8
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Pre-Need Eligibility for Burial in a VA Cemetery