Did you know that through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional offices nationwide the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) can assist coroners, medical examiners, and funeral industry partners with the burial of unclaimed remains of veterans?  Here are some of the ways VBA can help: 

• Determining veteran status of unclaimed remains or cremains.
• Contacting next of kin of record with VA (if available).
• Determining eligibility for burial in a national cemetery if veteran status is confirmed.
• Filing claims for burial allowances.

If you are in possession of remains that you are hoping to inter, please contact us.

Each VA regional office has an Indigent Veteran and Unclaimed Remains Coordinator (IVURC) that can help you learn more about available benefits and assist you in making burial arrangements in a national, state or tribal cemetery for eligible veterans.

To locate a VA regional benefit office near you to visit with your local coordinator, please click here.  You may also call the VA's Benefits Hotline at 1-800-827-1000 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.  When calling, be sure to do the following:

• Select “burial assistance” when prompted.
• Enter the decedent’s social security number (if known, but not required to proceed).
• Identify yourself as a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral industry partner.
• Request to speak with the IVURC in the city and state the applicable VA regional office is located.

We will ask you for your contact information and refer you to the IVURC, who will complete a return call within three (3) business days.  

For best resolution of your case, please provide VA with any identifying information you know about the decedent, including their name, social security number, date of birth, and any identifying military information. 

If you have contacted the National Cemetery Scheduling Office or your local state veterans cemetery directly to request the interment of the remains of unclaimed veterans in the past, you are still welcome to continue doing so, but the IVURC at the nearest VA regional office can be a great resource to help facilitate this process.

Monetary burial benefits are available to help cover burial and transportation costs incurred by third party custodians who handle the burial arrangements of unclaimed veterans, or when there are insufficient resources available in the Veteran’s estate to cover these expenses.

Third party custodians may utilize VA Form 21P-530EZ, Application for Burial Benefits (Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 23), to submit a claim by mail or online.

Those who purchase a casket or urn for the interment of the remains of an unclaimed Veteran in a national cemetery or a state veterans cemetery may also utilize VA Form 40-10088, Request for Casket/Urn Allowance, to submit a request, by either fax or mail, for an allowance for the casket or urn purchased.

Click here for more information on indigent veterans and unclaimed remains.

If you know of anyone else who may be in possession of unclaimed veteran remains (e.g., coroners, medical examiners, other funeral service professionals, etc.), please share this information with them.