Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. 1. Please switch auto forms mode to off. 2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). 3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.

National Cemetery Administration

Pause1 Play1
Pre-Need Eligibility form.

Pre-Need Eligibility


Planning in advance for a Veteran's or loved-one's final resting place can eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce stress on a family at a difficult time.


Green burial. Return to nature. Rest in green. Eco-friendly farewell. Sow seeds of life.

Green Burials


NCA accepts both cremated and intact remains that are prepared naturally for interment in green burial sections at its open national cemeteries.


Three sizes of Bronze Medallions.

Memorial Benefit: Medallion


Medallions are furnished in lieu of a traditional Government headstone or grave marker for those Veterans who served on or after April 6, 1917, and whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker.


Image of Map from the NCA Find a Cemetery page.

Find a Cemetery


NCA's interactive map enables Veterans to search for their final resting place or for those who want to visit their Veteran interred at 157 VA managed or 124 VA grant-funded cemeteries.


 

Federal Government Lapse in Appropriations — Impact on the National Cemetery Administration (NCA)

NCA activities that will continue during a lapse:

  • Interring Veterans and eligible family members
  • Conducting committal services
  • Scheduling burials
  • Determining burial eligibility
  • Processing headstone/marker applications

NCA activities that will cease during a lapse:

  • Permanent headstone/marker installation by NCA employees
  • Grounds maintenance (mowing, trimming, mulching, or other landscape management) by NCA employees
  • Processing new Presidential Memorial Certificate applications
  • Processing new Pre-Need eligibility applications
  • Awarding new Veterans Cemetery Grants
  • Memorial Products Applicant Assistance Unit call center operations

For Additional Information, visit: https://department.va.gov/contingency-planning/

Photograph of the USS Cole underway to the Mediterranean Sea before the October 12, 2000 terrorist attack.

Remembrance: Sailors of USS Cole attack

On October 12, 2000, as USS Cole (DDG 67) was refueling in port at Aden, Yemen, suicide bombers detonated an explosive-laden boat directly against the ship. The crew's tireless efforts and skillful first aid saved the lives of countless men and women and ensured the ship's survival, but the attack killed 17 Sailors.

NCA invites you to remember these Sailors by visiting those with memorial pages to celebrate the legacy, military service, and sacrifice to our nation of these heroes. You can post tributes, upload images, and share biographical information or historical documents.

Burial and Memorial Benefits


Review the VA benefits to plan the burial or memorial for Veterans and family members, check eligibility and find out how to apply.

Learn about these VA burial and memorial benefits and more:

  • Headstone or marker
  • Medallion
  • Presidential Memorial Certificates
  • Burial flag
  • Burial allowance

Veterans Legacy Memorial


The Veterans Legacy Memorial is the nation's largest digital platform dedicated to the memory of more than 10 million Veterans and servicemembers.

Visit their memorial pages to celebrate their legacy, military service and sacrifice to our nation.

  • Post tributes
  • Upload images
  • Share biographical information and historical documents

Share your story, today, with "VLM for Living Veterans"

Jennifer Jessup, VA
Richelle Taylor, NCA

"VLM for Living Veterans" allows Veterans to share their life stories today.

Made possible by the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM), the new online feature is free and it enables Veterans to securely share their photos, autobiographies, military and life milestone achievements, and historical documents about their lives.

All you need to do is sign up for and be approved for a pre-need eligibility determination with VA. Pre-need eligibility is a way to find out if you're eligible to be buried in a VA national cemetery ahead of time.

 

VA will keep your personal content secure until you pass and are approved for a burial or memorial benefit. Following approval, your content will become public and appear on your VLM personal page.

Started in 2019 by VA's National Cemetery Administration, VLM is a digital platform where family and friends of Veterans who have passed can honor their loved ones. Currently, VLM honors nearly 10 million Veterans interred in 156 VA national cemeteries, VA grant-funded cemeteries, National Park Service cemeteries, military-managed cemeteries and private cemeteries around the world. VLM expanded its reach in May 2025 to include approximately 200,000 more Veterans who are buried in American Battle Monument Commission cemeteries and memorials.

Army Chaplain and 1st Lt. Lawrence Provost recently created his legacy page. "I signed up because pre-need gives me peace of mind for my family when planning for my burial. The VLM for Living Veteran feature of sharing my story now is a great tool to tell my story the way I want to tell it."

Since the VLM website launched, users have sent in more than 200,000 tributes and content. NCA moderators review all content submissions before posting to a Veteran's page to ensure conformity with the VLM User Policy.

VA encourages you to share your story while you are alive and to ensure that your family members, friends and others can appreciate your experiences through your own voice.

VLM Featured Veteran
Aleda E. Lutz
U.S. Army Air Forces, 1st LT
World War II · Army Nurse Corps
Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart · Air Medal
Nov 9, 1915 – Nov 1, 1944
Photo for Featured Veteran from the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM): Aleda E. Lutz, U.S. Army, 1st LT, World War II, Army Nurse Corps, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, November 9, 1915 to November 1, 1944.
Contact NCA
Message us
Online answers to your questions:
Ask VA

Call us
MyVA411 main information line:
800-698-2411

Connect with us
VA on Facebook VA on X VA on YouTube NCA Email Updates from GovDelivery NCA History Blog

Mail us
National Cemetery Administration
Attn: General Inquiries
810 Vermont Ave
Washington, DC 20420