Placing a Veteran's Cremated Remains at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen

Who is eligible

Eligibility for the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery follows the same rules as a VA national cemetery. The veteran does not need to be a Texas native or a retiree, but the discharge must be under honorable conditions.

Spouses, surviving spouses, and dependent children are also eligible. A minor child is one who is unmarried and under 21, or under 23 if a full-time student. An adult child who became permanently disabled before those ages is eligible as well.

The cemetery directs veterans with an other-than-honorable or uncharacterized discharge to a Veterans County Service Officer or a VA Regional Office.

What it costs

In the words of the Texas Veterans Land Board, "there is no charge for interment of Veterans, their spouses and eligible dependents."

That benefit covers the opening and closing of the grave or niche, the headstone, marker, or niche cover, use of a committal shelter, and perpetual care.

It does not cover funeral home charges, such as the cremation itself.

The three options for cremated remains

The cemetery offers three ways to place cremated remains. A columbarium niche is closed with a granite or marble niche cover. In-ground cremated-remains burial is marked with a government marker. Scattering takes place in the scattering garden, with the veteran remembered on a memorial plaque.

An urn placed in a niche may be no larger than 13 inches tall, 10 inches wide, and 9 inches deep. If you are choosing an urn with a niche in mind, those are the dimensions to keep.

The paperwork: the DD-214 and the two GLO forms

At the time of need, two General Land Office documents are completed and signed by the next of kin or the family's designated representative: the Interment Packet, TSVC Form 1, and its Monument Worksheet. The current edition is dated FEB 2026; earlier editions are obsolete.

With the forms goes a copy of the veteran's DD-214 or other discharge document. For a spouse, a marriage license or military ID is also needed. For a dependent child, disability documentation is also needed.

The documents should reach cemetery staff within 48 hours of scheduling the service date. Burials take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If the DD-214 is missing

A veteran or the next of kin can request a copy of the DD-214 at no cost from the National Personnel Records Center. The request can be made online at vetrecs.archives.gov, which uses ID.me to verify identity, or by mailing or faxing a signed SF-180 to 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138, fax 314-801-9195.

For this purpose, next of kin means an unremarried surviving spouse, a parent, a child, or a sibling. When the veteran has died, proof of death must accompany the request. The records center's phone number is 314-801-0800.

Planning ahead: pre-registration

A veteran or family who wants to settle this before it is needed can pre-register with the cemetery. The Pre-Registration Application, TSVC Form 5 (JUL 2026 edition), goes to the cemetery together with the Monument Worksheet and a copy of the DD-214. The cemetery keeps the documents on file.

The interment type chosen on the form can be changed later.

Questions about eligibility go to the Texas Veterans Land Board at 800-252-8387 or to a VA benefits counselor at 1-800-827-1000.

One distinction worth knowing: the VA's own pre-need form, VA Form 40-10007, applies only to VA national cemeteries. For a state veterans cemetery, the VA directs families to contact that cemetery about its own program.

Military honors and the burial flag

The state cemetery does not schedule military honors and does not provide the burial flag. Both are arranged by the funeral home or the next of kin.

The flag is requested with VA Form 27-2008 at a post office. Bring the DD-214 and the death certificate or the certificate of cremation.

Honors are booked through the veteran's service branch, which normally needs 72 hours of notice. For the Army, the Fort Hood casualty office is 254-287-7200.

The cemetery is growing

On October 30, 2025, the Veterans Land Board broke ground on an expansion of the Killeen cemetery. The project adds 4,000 columbarium niches, 2,700 in-ground cremated-remains plots, 4,700 crypts, and a second committal shelter. It is funded by a grant from the VA National Cemetery Administration and, in the Land Office's words, is "intended to provide plot space for the next 10 years."

For the current availability of any interment type, call the cemetery office.

For Temple families

For families in Temple, Belton, and the rest of Bell County, the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen is the nearest veterans cemetery. The Texas General Land Office lists five Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, in Killeen, Abilene, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, and Mission, and the VA national cemeteries in Texas at Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Kerrville, and San Antonio. The Killeen cemetery is the only one of those in Central Texas.

The cemetery is at 11463 Fort Hood Street (State Highway 195), Killeen, TX 76542. In the Land Office's words, "It is the first cemetery built and run by the Texas Veterans Land Board, under the Texas General Land Office." The land was previously part of Fort Hood and was donated by the federal government; the cemetery's current size is 174 acres.

From Temple, the cemetery is about 30 miles by road, roughly a 35- to 40-minute drive.

Temple itself has no veterans cemetery; neither the Land Office's list of state veterans cemeteries nor its list of national cemeteries includes one in Temple. Hillcrest Cemetery, at 1873 N. 1st Street, is a City of Temple cemetery: on May 1, 2019, the Temple Cemetery Company transferred ownership, management, and operations to the City of Temple, and its day-to-day operations and grounds are managed by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. The no-charge interment described above is a benefit of the state veterans cemetery, not of a city cemetery.

A Plus Cremation is expanding to Temple and the surrounding Bell County communities. If you would like help gathering the paperwork described here, we are glad to help.

Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery: contact information

Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery, 11463 State Highway 195, Killeen, TX 76542 (also listed as 11463 Fort Hood Street). Phone 254-616-1770. Fax 254-616-1769. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you would like help gathering the paperwork described here, we are glad to help.