VA Casket or Urn Allowance Program

 

To provide a monetary allowance for the purchase of a casket or urn used to inter Veteran remains in VA national or VA-grant -funded cemeteries when there is no next of kin or sufficient resources for a casket or urn.

Active 64.205 Directory/National Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs C - Direct Payments For Specified Use Fiscal Year 2022 For FY22, there were 323 casket reimbursements totaling and 10 urn reimbursements. 38 U.S.C. 2306 (f) Prior to approving payment of the monetary allowance VA must find all of the following: (1) The veteran is eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery; (2) The individual or entity has certified that they cannot identify the veteran's next-of-kin, or that an identified next-of-kin is unwilling or unable to assume responsibility for the deceased veteran's burial arrangements, and that the individual or entity has followed applicable state or local law relating to the disposition of unclaimed remains; (3) The individual or entity has certified that, to the best of their knowledge, sufficient resources are otherwise unavailable to furnish the casket or urn; (4) The invoice presented by the individual or entity clearly indicates the purchase price of the casket or urn purchased by the individual or entity; and (5) The invoice presented by the individual or entity contains information sufficient for VA to determine, in conjunction with a visual inspection, that the casket or urn meets the following standards: (i) Caskets must be of metal construction of at least 20-gauge thickness, designed for containing human remains, sufficient to contain the remains of the deceased veteran, include a gasketed seal, and include external fixed rails or swing arm handles. (ii) Urns must be of a durable construction, such as durable plastic, wood, metal, or ceramic, designed to contain cremated human remains, and include a secure closure to contain the cremated remains. Beneficiary eligibility is the same as applicant eligibility. An individual or entity may request payment of the monetary allowance from VA by completing and submitting VA Form 40-10088 Request for Casket/Urn Allowance along with the invoice from the manufacturer or distributor from which the entity requesting the allowance purchased the casket or urn. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Applicants may submit a supplemental claim by submitting new and relevant evidence. Applicants may request a higher level review if they believe the application was incorrectly decided. Applicants may appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not Applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The amount of the allowance for a casket or an urn is set in regulation as $1,199.00 for a metal casket and $138.00 for an urn of durable material. Any changes to the amount will be published in a Federal Register notice. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. None/Not specified. NCSO Eligibility Office
4850 Lemay Ferry Road
Saint Louis, MO 63129 USA
eligibility1@va.gov
Phone: 800-535-1117 Option 3 https://www.cem.va.gov/ 36-0102-0-1-701 (Direct Payments for Specified Use) FY 22$492,000.00; FY 23 est $500,000.00; FY 24 est $500,000.00; FY 21$458,000.00; FY 19$353,000.00; FY 20 est $469,000.00; - The allowance for a casket or an urn is updated annually and published in a Federal Register notice. The allowance rates payable for qualifying interments occurring during calendar year (CY) 2023 are $1,199 for caskets and $138 for urns. Not applicable. Not applicable.