Free Burial at VA Cemetery

American flag waving on a flagpole against a partly cloudy blue sky.

What You Should Know About Having a Burial at the New VA Cemetery

  • The official name of the cemetery is the South Florida National Cemetery
  • Located at 6501 S. State Road 7, Lake Worth, FL 33449(561) 649-6489
  • The VA Cemetery will provide (1) free grave to eligible veterans and their spouses which must be shared by both husband and wife.
  • (2) Concrete burial vaults stacked on top of each other which will accommodate each individual in-ground burial
  • (2) opening & closings of the grave are provided at no charge
  • (1)Husband & wife cemetery marker which will memorialize each burial. (front & back of marker)
  • VA Cemetery will require at least 2-4 days advanced notice when scheduling all funeral services. (Honorable Discharge Papers DD-214 forms are required for all burials.)
  • For cemetery services only, the VA Cemetery will provide a non-air conditioned shelter with limited seating for just 9 people.
  • There will be no funeral services scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays.
  • The VA Cemetery will place a lot of emphasis on funeral services starting on time. The use of the shelter will be available for only 15 minutes.
  • Once everyone in the family and all the attending guests and the clergy has arrived,everyone will follow the hearse or the graveside service vehicle to the outdoor shelter for the funeral ceremony. 
  • If family members are late, that will reduce the amount of time the shelter will be available for the service.
  • Because funeral services are scheduled every 30 minutes, if the service can not start when scheduled, the cemetery will try and fit your service in between a later service if possible. Otherwise your service will be the last service of the day.
  • When the service in the shelter is concluded, a cemetery representative will acknowledge the conclusion of the service and will ask the family and the funeral guests to leave the cemetery. The casket will then be placed into a transport van and the casket will be taken to the grave for final burial. No one other than the cemetery workers are permitted to be in the vicinity of the grave.