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Veterans Burial Benefits for Berks County Families

What a Berks family can claim when a veteran dies: the VA's burial and plot allowance by date of death, a national cemetery grave at no cost, a headstone, flag and certificate for a Berks cemetery, military funeral honors, and the county's $75 allowance, with the office that decides each one.

Berks Connect Blog|Published November 9, 2026
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The veterans burial benefits that cost nothing are a national cemetery grave, military funeral honors, a headstone or marker, a flag and a certificate, for a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable who met the minimum service; Berks County adds its own $75 and headstone help for a veteran who served in a period of war. Your funeral director claims most of them with the DD-214, the veteran's discharge paper.

The VA's cash allowance is conditional: as of 2026, up to $1,032 toward the funeral and, for a burial outside a national cemetery, up to $1,032 toward the plot, for a death on or after October 1, 2026 (up to $2,000 for a death connected to service), paid when the veteran's death meets one of the conditions the VA lists; the two $1,032 amounts change each October 1.

Start with a funeral home from the county funeral homes page, which lists them with phone numbers.

What burial benefits do veterans get?

The table lists each benefit and how it's claimed; ask the funeral director which rows they'll file.

The benefit What it is; form or office
VA burial and plot allowance, death not connected to service $1,032 toward the funeral and, outside a national cemetery, $1,032 toward the plot, for a death on or after October 1, 2026 ($1,002 each for a death from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026); moving the remains may be paid back, with an itemized receipt, in the cases listed below. VA Form 21P-530EZ; 800-827-1000.
VA burial allowance, death connected to service Up to $2,000 toward the funeral; no time limit. Same form.
Burial in a national cemetery The gravesite, opening and closing, perpetual care, headstone or marker, flag and certificate, at no cost, for a casket or an urn; spouse and dependent children too. 800-535-1117.
Headstone, marker or medallion in a Berks cemetery A free government headstone, flat marker or bronze medallion, or instead $420 toward a private headstone for a death on or after October 1, 2026 ($441 from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026). VA Form 40-1330, or 40-1330M for a medallion; 800-697-6947.
Burial flag and Presidential Memorial Certificate One flag for the casket or urn (VA Form 27-2008) and the certificate (VA Form 40-0247), automatic at a national cemetery.
Military funeral honors At least two uniformed members, the flag folded and presented, and Taps; no cost. Requested from the veteran's branch; Army: the Pennsylvania National Guard, request form by fax to 717-861-8323, questions 717-861-8694.
Berks County burial allowance $75 toward the funeral of a wartime veteran, or of a veteran's widow or widower who hadn't remarried, who lived in Berks at death; within one year. Veterans@berkspa.gov; 610-378-5601.
Berks County headstone allowance, flags and flag holders Up to $100 toward a headstone, or up to $50 toward the base for a federal marker or a headstone, or up to $50 toward lettering on an existing stone; plus a free flag holder and Memorial Day flag. County headstone form.
Death certificate fee waiver The state's $20 fee waived on up to ten certified copies a year for the spouse (if not remarried), dependent child or estate of a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable; the $10 online fee isn't waived. The funeral home may apply when it files the death record.

Figures as published by each office on November 2, 2026.

This post is general information: for a question about your own veteran, the VA (800-827-1000) decides the federal claims and the Berks County Department of Veterans Affairs (610-378-5601) decides the county's.

The VA burial allowance: who it's paid to and how to claim it.

The VA pays the allowance to the person who paid the funeral and won't be reimbursed by another government agency or the veteran's employer. The VA pays it when the veteran didn't receive a dishonorable discharge and meets one of these:

  • Died of a service-connected disability, an illness or injury the VA finds was caused or worsened by service.
  • Died while getting VA care or traveling at VA expense to it.
  • Died with a VA compensation or pension claim pending that would have been granted.
  • Died while receiving a VA pension or compensation.
  • Was eligible for one but received full military retirement or disability pay instead.

The VA decides, and the same conditions decide the plot or interment allowance, its payment toward some of the plot or interment costs outside a national cemetery. It may also pay back the cost of moving the remains to the place of burial, with an itemized receipt in your name, when the veteran was getting VA compensation or pension at death (or military retirement in its place), died in VA care, or the remains are unclaimed, and for a service-connected death buried in a national cemetery.

A surviving spouse the VA already has on file is paid a set amount automatically when the VA learns of the death; the plot or interment allowance, transportation and the service-connected amount are paid on a claim, so file VA Form 21P-530EZ for those. If the veteran was getting a VA pension or compensation, report the death at 800-827-1000; everyone else files the form.

Burial in a national cemetery and how it's scheduled.

Cemetery eligibility doesn't depend on the allowance's conditions: a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty, the spouse or surviving spouse, and dependent children.

There's no national cemetery in Berks. The nearest are Indiantown Gap in Annville and Washington Crossing in Newtown, Bucks County; see our page on burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

A living veteran can get a pre-need decision letter, VA Form 40-10007, which confirms eligibility but reserves nothing. After the death, the funeral director, or you, faxes the DD-214 to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417 or emails it to NCA.Scheduling@va.gov, then calls 800-535-1117 to set the date of the committal, the short service held at the cemetery's committal shelter. Missing papers: see replacing lost discharge papers.

Cremated remains are buried or inurned at a national cemetery the same way and with the same honors as a casket; the cremation and any service at a Berks funeral home are arranged with the home at the family's expense. The committal lasts about 20 minutes; the funeral service happens elsewhere, since national cemeteries have no viewing facilities.

A headstone, flag and certificate for a burial in a Berks cemetery.

The VA furnishes a government headstone or flat marker at no charge for an unmarked grave, or for a grave with a private headstone if the veteran died on or after November 1, 1990. The alternative is the dollar allowance toward a private stone in the table. The burial flag comes through the funeral director, a VA office or a post office; the Presidential Memorial Certificate is requested by a family member or close friend, or comes automatically at a national cemetery.

Military funeral honors and who provides them.

Federal law requires that, on request, every veteran's funeral gets at least two uniformed members of the armed forces, who fold and present the flag and play Taps; the honors cost the family nothing. The funeral director requests them from the veteran's branch: for the Army, the Pennsylvania National Guard's Military Funeral Honors office, whose fax and phone are in the table; for the other branches, the Department of Defense's honors directory at militaryonesource.mil. At a national cemetery the staff can also help arrange honors, and the Commonwealth pays veterans organizations to perform them there under Pennsylvania's burial honors program.

A veterans organization's honor guard can add a rifle party, pallbearers or an escort. The request goes in at least 48 to 72 hours before the service where the flag will be presented; at a national cemetery that's the committal. In Berks, the American Legion's Ray A. Master Post 217 in Topton has an honor guard that works mostly in Berks and Lehigh counties; Post 217's honor guard is requested through the funeral director, and its coordinator is at 610-914-0302.

Berks County's own burial benefits.

The Berks County Department of Veterans Affairs pays $75 toward the funeral of a veteran who was honorably discharged, served in a period of war and lived in Berks at death, and the same $75 for a veteran's widow or widower who lived in Berks at death and hadn't remarried; the application must be made within one year. The $75 applies wherever the burial is.

The county's war periods: World War I, April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918; World War II, December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 (continuous service through July 26, 1947 also counts); Korea, June 1950 to January 31, 1955; the Vietnam era, August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975 (or November 1, 1955 to August 5, 1964 for service in Vietnam); and the Persian Gulf War, August 2, 1990 to a date still to be set. The wartime service has to show on the discharge papers; the office decides every county claim.

The funeral director emails the DD-214, the death certificate and the funeral bill to Veterans@berkspa.gov. Social Security's $255 and the Department of Human Services' up to $750 are in our post on what a funeral costs in Berks County.

Our guide on how to order death certificates covers the certified copies, which the funeral home orders when it files the death record; the table has the fee waiver. When you're ready, pick a funeral home from the county funeral homes page and bring the DD-214.

Frequently asked questions.

Do we pay the funeral first and claim the VA allowance after?

Yes, in most cases; a surviving spouse on the veteran's VA profile is paid a set amount without filing and claims the rest on the form.

Is there a deadline for any of these claims?

From the VA, the burial allowance for a death not connected to service must be claimed within two years after the burial, with no time limit if the veteran died while under VA care; the VA's other burial benefits, the plot allowance, transportation and the service-connected amount, have no filing deadline. The county's $75 must be claimed within one year of the death.

Can the veteran's spouse be buried in the national cemetery too?

Yes: the VA's list includes the spouse or surviving spouse, even one who remarried after the veteran's death, buried with the veteran and named on the veteran's headstone, even if the spouse dies first.

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