VA Burial Flag Application: How to Request a Flag for a Veteran's Funeral

How to Get a VA Burial Flag

The United States flag that drapes a veteran's casket or accompanies the urn is provided at no cost by the Department of Veterans Affairs. To request one, complete VA Form 27-2008 (Application for United States Flag for Burial Purposes) and give it to a funeral director, a VA regional office, or a U.S. Post Office.

Most funeral homes handle this automatically. If you are making arrangements directly, bring the form and proof of service to a VA regional office or call your local post office first to confirm it has burial flags in stock.

Who Is Eligible

A burial flag is provided for:

• Veterans who served during wartime; served after January 31, 1955; or served in peacetime and left before June 27, 1950, after completing one enlistment or because of a service-connected disability, and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable
• Service members who died on active duty
• Veterans who were entitled to retired military pay (including Reserve and National Guard retirees who completed 20 qualifying years)
• Certain Selected Reserve members; call VA to confirm the service-specific eligibility criteria

Only one flag is issued per veteran. VA cannot replace a flag that is lost, destroyed, or stolen; some Veterans organizations may be able to help with a replacement.

What Happens at the Service

At a military funeral or committal service, the flag drapes the closed casket (union at the head, over the left shoulder of the deceased). For cremated remains, the flag is typically displayed on a stand beside the urn.

During the committal, the honor guard folds the flag into the traditional triangle and presents it to the next of kin with the words: "On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States [branch of service], and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service."

The flag is given in this order: surviving spouse; children, by age; parents; brothers or sisters; uncles or aunts; nephews or nieces; then other relatives. If no living relative can be located, a friend who requests the flag may receive it.

Displaying or Preserving the Flag

After the service, families typically choose one of these options:

• Triangle display case — a wooden or glass case that holds the folded flag, often displayed on a mantel or shelf
• Flat display — some families unfold and frame the flag, sometimes with the veteran's service medals and photographs
• Burial with remains — the flag can be placed inside the casket or interred with the urn at the family's request

The VA flag is a standard 5-by-9.5-foot interment flag made of cotton or cotton-polyester blend. It is not the same size as a residential outdoor flag.

Flag Presentation When There Is No Military Funeral

Not every veteran has a full military funeral with an honor guard. If the family opts for a simple burial, direct cremation, or private memorial, the burial flag is still available. You can request it through the same VA Form 27-2008 process and display it at the service yourself.

If you want formal military honors — at minimum a two-person flag-folding detail and Taps — the funeral home can request them through the local military installation or veteran volunteer honor guard. These honors are available at no cost for eligible veterans under 10 U.S.C. § 1491, regardless of where the burial takes place.

The Veteran's Death Benefits & Survivor Claims toolkit covers burial flag requests alongside the other burial benefits — headstone/marker application, burial allowance claim, and national cemetery scheduling — so nothing gets missed in the first week.