Home › VA medallions
A medallion, or a second stone?
If a veteran already has a privately purchased headstone, the VA gives you a choice. Understanding what each option actually looks like on the grave makes the decision easy.
If a veteran died on or after November 1, 1990 and already has a private headstone, the VA will furnish either a full marker or a bronze medallion for the existing stone. Not both. The medallion needs no foundation and no extra plot space, which is why most families in this situation choose it.
What each option looks like on the grave
The medallion is a bronze emblem fixed to the face of the headstone that is already there. Nothing is moved, nothing is dug, and the memorial the family chose stays exactly as it is with the service marked on it.
And here is the part that changes the cost comparison entirely: the VA mails the medallion with a kit that lets the family, or the private cemetery's staff, attach it themselves. The VA's own wording is that these can be affixed to privately purchased headstones "by anyone." No crew, no foundation, no setting fee.
The VA offers two types. The veteran medallion comes in three sizes — small (2" wide), medium (3¾" wide), or large (6⅜" wide) — each inscribed with VETERAN across the top and the branch of service at the bottom. The Medal of Honor medallion comes in medium or large.
Eligibility runs from April 6, 1917. Veterans who served on or after that date, whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone, can receive one.
The full marker is a second, free-standing stone. It carries a complete military inscription — branch, rank, war service, awards, religious emblem. It also needs its own space in the plot and its own concrete foundation.
How to decide
| Choose the medallion if | The family is attached to the existing stone, the plot is tight, or you want to keep the cost of setting it down. |
|---|---|
| Choose the marker if | The existing stone carries no military detail at all and the family wants the service fully recorded, and there is room in the plot. |
There is a practical argument that decides it for a lot of families: a second stone means a second foundation, and a foundation is the expensive part. A medallion is mounted onto granite that is already set. No concrete, no crew, no permit for a new footing.
Two things to check before you file
The cemetery has to allow it. Some don't permit anything attached to a headstone, and some have rules about size or placement on the stone. One phone call settles it, and it is better to make that call before the medallion arrives than after.
Service on or after April 6, 1917. The medallion program covers veterans who served from that date. For earlier service, the marker is the route.
The form is different
A medallion is requested on VA Form 40-1330M, not the standard 40-1330. Different form, same free, same proof of service attached. Families sometimes fill out the wrong one and lose a month, so check for the M before you start writing.
For the Medal of Honor version, check "OTHER" in block 11 and specify MOH.
One case families miss: if a single privately purchased headstone marks the graves of two veterans — spouses who both served, for instance — two medallions can be requested and fixed to the same stone, if the local cemetery official authorises it.
If the grave has no stone at all
Then this page doesn't apply and the answer is simpler: the VA furnishes a full headstone or marker for an unmarked grave, regardless of the date of death, anywhere in the world. That is the cleanest case in the whole program.
Eligibility rules here follow VA Form 40-1330 and National Cemetery Administration guidance. This is general information, not an official determination — only the VA can decide a claim. Questions: 800-697-6947.