The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, through the National Cemetery Administration, can furnish a headstone, a marker, or a medallion for an eligible veteran. This is a national benefit. It is not a state program, and it is not limited to veterans buried in a national cemetery. The VA decides eligibility. A monument company does not.
In general, the benefit covers veterans who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, and service members who died on active duty. The exact rules, including reserve service and other special cases, are the VA's current rules. Read them on VA.gov or ask the VA before you assume a person qualifies. This page is an introduction, not a determination.
Where the veteran is buried changes which item the VA furnishes and who orders it. In a national cemetery or a state veterans cemetery, the marker is part of the burial arrangements with that cemetery. In a private cemetery, the family or another authorized applicant requests a government headstone or marker for the veteran's grave, or a medallion when the grave is already marked with a private headstone.
The furnished pieces follow VA styles. Upright headstones and flat markers are available in the materials and sizes the VA offers, including granite and bronze flat markers and niche markers. The inscription follows the VA's format: the name, the branch, the dates, and an emblem of belief from the VA's list, within the space that style allows. It is a dignified, standard marker. It is not a fully custom monument.
A medallion is different. It is a bronze emblem the VA provides so it can be attached to a headstone the family has already purchased for a private cemetery. The VA's medallion rules include a date-of-death condition and a requirement that the grave already has a private marker. Confirm those conditions on VA.gov. The medallion does not replace the private stone. The private stone is still designed and bought by the family.
The VA does not charge the family for the headstone, marker, or medallion it furnishes. Setting a government marker in a private cemetery is arranged with that cemetery, and the cemetery's own fees, if it charges any, are not the VA's charge for the marker. A privately designed monument ordered from a monument company is also separate. The VA benefit does not pay for that private design. Families who want a custom stone may still request a medallion, when the veteran is eligible, to place on it.
Applications are VA Form 40-1330 for a headstone or marker and VA Form 40-1330M for a medallion. Submit them as the VA instructs on VA.gov. Do not send the form to the store in place of the VA. If you are ordering a private monument, say whether a VA medallion must be attached so the design leaves a place for it.