Five state veterans cemeteries, in Killeen, Corpus Christi, Mission, Abilene and, since 2026, Lubbock. Eligibility and burial benefits match a VA national cemetery, and there is no charge for a veteran, spouse or eligible dependant. Casket burial, cremation, columbarium placement, and a scattering garden are all available.
Also called: cemetery, burial, interment, columbarium, military honors, headstone, VLB, GLO.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
The Veterans Land Board operates the Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, built through a partnership between the state and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They fill the gaps between the federal national cemeteries at Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Kerrville, and the two at San Antonio.
Five are open. Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen opened January 4, 2006 and was the first the Land Board built. Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery is in Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery is in Mission, and the Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene is the fourth. West Texas State Veterans Cemetery, 4614 East 50th Street, Lubbock (806-392-9927), the fifth, began burials in June 2026 and was dedicated on September 4, 2026. Senate Bill 2543 of the 89th Legislature, effective September 1, 2025, removed the statutory limit of seven cemetery locations and the $7 million a year cap on Land Board fund spending for VA-grant cemeteries in Natural Resources Code section 164.005, so more sites are now possible.
Burial benefits at a Texas State Veterans Cemetery are identical to those at a VA national cemetery. The Land Office: "There is no charge for interment of Veterans, their spouses and eligible dependents." The benefit includes military honors, the grave plot, opening and closing the grave, a concrete liner for a casket, a headstone or marker, a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and perpetual care. It does not cover funeral home charges (casket, cremation, viewing, transport), though VA may reimburse up to $2,000 of them when the veteran's death was service connected.
Interment options are casket burial, cremation with in-ground burial, placement in a columbarium, and scattering in a scattering garden. Eligibility is VA's: a discharge characterised as honorable, under honorable conditions or general, and service such as death on active duty, any active duty before September 8, 1980 (enlisted) or October 17, 1981 (officers), 24 consecutive months of active duty after those dates or the full period called up for, certain reserve and Guard service, and others VA lists; a spouse and dependent children also qualify. The Land Office also buries members of the Texas Military Forces killed on state active duty or in state training who had no prior regular active duty.
No grave is reserved in advance. The funeral home contacts the cemetery at the time of need. What a veteran can do in advance is ask VA for a pre-need eligibility determination, assemble the discharge paperwork and tell the family where it is, because the cemetery needs it to verify eligibility on short notice.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Texas State Veterans Cemeteries
Gate
Rule
Service, not a rating
Eligibility follows the VA national cemetery standard: an honorable, under honorable conditions or general discharge and VA's service rules (generally 24 months of active duty after 1980, or the full period called up for). No disability rating is involved, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.
Eligibility rule “Service, not a rating” now reads: “Eligibility follows the VA national cemetery standard: an honorable, under honorable conditions or general discharge and VA's service rules (generally 24 months of active duty after 1980, or the full period called up for). No disability rating is involved, so the rating filter never hides this benefit.”
Summary reworded.
Citation updated to “Texas General Land Office, Texas State Veterans Cemeteries locations (read 2026-10-24)” (was “Texas General Land Office, Texas State Veterans Cemeteries locations”).
And 3 more changes.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.