Arlington schedules services based on available cemetery and military resources. The process to schedule a burial at Arlington National Cemetery can be complex and we handle each family’s request individually with the utmost care and professionalism. Each request is unique and it can take several weeks to several months to schedule and conduct a service at Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery has made great strides to streamline processes and hire additional staff to maximize the number of services we can schedule and conduct per day.
Tips for scheduling services at Arlington National Cemetery:
- Have all of the required documentation together before you call to schedule. The required documentation is:
DD214 or equivalent service documentation showing honorable discharge and active duty service (Mandatory for a veteran; second interment of spouse does not require this if Arlington can verify the veteran's eligibility from historic archived records)
- Death certificate
- Cremation certificate if applicable
- Succession documents for the Person Authorized to Direct Disposition to act on behalf of the Primary Next of Kin if applicable. Only the Primary Next-of-Kin or person authorized can sign the required documents.
- Other documents will be required for signature before a service can take place.
- Ensure the cemetery has multiple ways to contact the Primary Next-of-Kin or Person Authorized for Direct Disposition directly or via the funeral home to help ensure the cemetery reaches someone when the scheduler first calls to schedule.
- Requests for chapel services can extend the wait time by two months for a service at Arlington National Cemetery. Only four out of the 27-30 services conducted each week day can have a service at a chapel. To reduce the wait time in the scheduling process, we recommend requesting the use of the chapel only if a funeral service has not been conducted.
- If the family is requesting a specific date for their service after their loved one has passed, we recommend contacting Arlington four months prior to the desired interment date.
- If the decedent is being interred with someone already at Arlington National Cemetery, please provide the section and grave number for in-ground gravesites and court, section, column and niche for above-ground interments.
- Consider having a service on Saturday for placements or services for cremated remains that do not require military honors or military chaplain support.