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VA Form 40-1330, without the guesswork
This is the form that gets a veteran a free government headstone or marker. It is two pages, it is free to file, and the part that trips people up is not the form at all.
VA Form 40-1330 is the Claim for Standard Government Headstone or Marker. File it with a copy of the DD-214 and the cemetery's written agreement to accept the marker. There is no fee, and the inscription is included.
Families usually assume the hard part is the paperwork. It isn't. The form asks for things you already know: who the veteran was, where they are buried, what you want the stone to say. The hard part is the two signatures and the one document, and if you handle those up front the rest is an afternoon.
Which form you actually need
| VA Form 40-1330 | A headstone or marker. Upright, flat, or a bronze niche cover. |
|---|---|
| VA Form 40-1330M | A bronze medallion that attaches to a private headstone already on the grave. |
You get one or the other, never both. If there is already a privately purchased stone on the grave and you like it, the medallion is usually the better call — no second stone, no second foundation, no rearranging the plot.
What each part of the form wants
- Whether the grave is marked. This is the block that determines eligibility for anyone who died before November 1, 1990, and the definition of "marked" is narrower than it sounds. Read the eligibility page before you answer it.
- Type of marker. Upright granite or marble, flat granite, marble, or bronze, or a bronze niche cover for a columbarium. The cemetery's rules may make this decision for you, so call them before you tick a box.
- The inscription. Name, branch of service, and dates of birth and death are standard and included. Rank, war service, awards, and a religious emblem are optional additions at no extra cost. Shaded blocks on the form are the optional items — leaving them blank simply means they won't be inscribed.
- Cemetery information and consent. The cemetery signs to confirm it will accept the marker and place it. Do not skip this.
- Signature. The next of kin, or someone authorized to act on their behalf.
- Service before World War I needs detailed primary documentation: Compiled Military Service Records, extracts from official state files, federal pension documents, or land warrants. A DD-214 will not exist for this era.
Where to send it
Three routes, and the mailing address changed. Old VA fact sheets still circulating online give an address in Quantico, Virginia and a 2007 fax number. Mail sent there will not reach anyone.
| Online | The QuickSubmit tool through AccessVA. You register once, then upload the form and documents. |
|---|---|
| By mail | NCA FP Evidence Intake Center, PO Box 5237, Janesville, WI 53547 |
| By fax | Confirm the current fax number with the VA at 800-697-6947 before sending. |
Send copies, never originals. The VA cannot return documents, and a DD-214 that goes missing in the post is a genuine problem for the family.
The three signatures
This is the part that stalls claims, and it is worth getting right before you post anything.
- Block 17 — the person responsible for the information on the form.
- Block 22 — the consignee, meaning whoever agrees to accept delivery of the stone.
- Block 24 — the cemetery or other responsible official. If nobody is on duty at the cemetery, the person responsible for the property signs instead.
Entries of "None", "Not Applicable" or "N/A" are rejected. If a block seems not to apply, that means you need the right person to sign it, not that you can write it off.
State veterans' cemeteries are the exception: they don't complete blocks 17, 18, 22 or 23.
Two blocks worth knowing about
- Block 27 — use it for a replacement, a second request, or an award that isn't listed in block 8. Also the place to explain a mistake in an earlier inscription or a damaged stone.
- Block 33 — historic headstone styles, for Civil War Union, Confederate, and Spanish-American War service. Requires supporting documentation.
What to attach
Proof of service. In practice that usually means the DD-214 — but the VA accepts more than seventy different discharge documents, and the DD-214 has only existed since January 1, 1950. For earlier service the record may be a WD AGO form, a NAVPERS form, or one of dozens of others.
If you have found an unfamiliar military document in a box of papers, it may well be the one the VA wants. See the full list of accepted discharge documents.
If you can't find it, apply anyway. The VA will try to obtain the records it needs to make the determination. Families lose weeks hunting for a document while the claim sits unfiled, and that is backwards — file it, then chase the paperwork.
The delay nobody warns you about
It isn't the carving. Once the VA approves a claim, the stone is a manufacturing job.
The time goes to eligibility verification, the cemetery's approval, and the proof stage — the point where the family signs off on exactly how the inscription will read. Middle names, nicknames, punctuation, a date that two relatives remember differently. This is the last moment anything can change, and it is worth being slow and certain here, because granite does not have an undo.
Write out the inscription exactly as you want it before you fill in the form. Show it to whoever else in the family will have an opinion. Get the argument over with on paper.
What the VA will not pay for
The stone is free. Setting it in the ground is not.
At a private cemetery the family covers the concrete foundation, the cemetery's setting fee, and any permit. That runs from a couple of hundred dollars to well over a thousand depending on the marker and the cemetery. In a national cemetery, the cemetery handles placement at no cost.
One thing you get automatically
An approved claim brings a Presidential Memorial Certificate, signed by the sitting president, unless you say you don't want it. You can ask for additional copies on the form — one for each child or grandchild is a common request, and it costs nothing.
This walkthrough reflects the published instructions for VA Form 40-1330 and National Cemetery Administration guidance. Download the current form from the VA before filing, since block numbering has changed between revisions. Questions: 800-697-6947.