VA Form 21P-530EZ Instructions: How to File for Burial Benefits

VA Form 21P-530EZ is the application for burial benefits — the form you file to get reimbursed for a veteran's funeral, burial, and plot costs. It looks straightforward, but small errors delay payments by weeks, and missing documentation means the VA sends the whole thing back.

Here's how to fill it out correctly the first time.

What This Form Is For

The 530EZ covers three types of reimbursement:

1. Burial and funeral expense allowance — for costs like the funeral home services, casket or urn, hearse transportation, and memorial service fees
2. Plot-interment allowance — for the cost of a cemetery plot, opening and closing the grave, and interment fees (only for burial in a private or state cemetery, not a VA national cemetery)
3. Transportation reimbursement — for the cost of transporting the veteran's remains to the place of burial (primarily for service-connected deaths or VA-hospitalized veterans)

You can claim all three on the same form.

Documents You'll Need Before You Start

Gather these before you sit down with the form:

Certified death certificate: Not a photocopy — the VA needs a certified copy issued by the vital records office. Order at least 10 copies; you'll need them for other claims too.

DD Form 214: The veteran's Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. If you don't have it, submit an SF-180 to the National Personnel Records Center (see our guide to recovering lost discharge papers).

Itemized funeral bill: The funeral home's statement showing each line item — professional services, casket, embalming, transportation, flowers, and cemetery charges. The VA needs to see what was charged, not just a total.

Proof of payment: Receipts, cancelled checks, credit card statements, or a funeral home statement showing the balance was paid. If you haven't paid the full amount, you can still file — the VA will pay the allowance to the person or entity that incurred the expense.

Marriage certificate (if filing as surviving spouse): The VA uses this to verify your relationship. Certified copy, not a photocopy.

Cemetery receipts (for the plot allowance): Documentation of the plot purchase price or interment fees.

Section-by-Section Walkthrough

Section I — Veteran Information: Full legal name, Social Security number, VA file number (if known — leave blank if not), date of birth, date of death, place of death. The VA file number is not the Social Security number for older veterans; check any previous VA correspondence for a "C-number."

Section II — Claimant Information: Your name, address, phone number, and your relationship to the veteran. Anyone who paid the funeral expenses can file — this doesn't have to be the surviving spouse. If the funeral home paid and is seeking reimbursement, the funeral home is the claimant.

Section III — Burial Information: Date of burial, name and address of the cemetery, and whether the burial was in a national, state, or private cemetery. If the veteran was cremated, the "date of burial" is the date the remains were permanently interred or placed in a columbarium.

Section IV — Type of Benefit Claimed: Check the boxes for burial allowance, plot allowance, or transportation — or all three. Indicate whether the death was service-connected. This matters because service-connected deaths have higher reimbursement amounts and no filing deadline.

Section V — Previous VA Benefits: Whether the veteran was receiving VA compensation or pension at the time of death. This establishes eligibility for the non-service-connected burial allowance.

Filing Options

Online: Submit through VA.gov under the "Burials and memorials" section. The digital form pre-fills some fields and lets you upload supporting documents.

By mail: Send the completed form and supporting documents to your regional VA Pension Intake Center. Check VA.gov for the correct address based on your state.

Through a VSO: A Veterans Service Organization representative can submit the form on your behalf and ensure all documentation is included. This is the most reliable method if you're unsure about any part of the form.

The Two-Year Filing Deadline

For non-service-connected deaths, you must file within two years of the veteran's permanent burial. There is no filing deadline for service-connected deaths. If you're unsure whether the death was service-connected, file within two years anyway to preserve your eligibility under both categories.

The Veteran's Death Benefits & Survivor Claims toolkit includes a burial benefits tracker that matches your funeral expenses to the VA's reimbursement categories, so you know exactly what to claim before you fill out the 530EZ.