SERVING

Those That

SERVED

Tennessee State Benefits

The state of Tennessee offers a wide range of services for veterans and active duty service members.         

  • State Veterans Cemeteries
  • State Veterans Homes
  • Free license plates for 100% service connected disabled veterans,
  • Ex-POW's, and recipients of MOH, DSC, NC or AFC
  • Property tax relief for Service Connected Disability, permanently and totally disabled veterans and/or their surviving spouses
  • Free hunting and fishing licenses for Veterans with 30% or more war service connected disabilities, after an initial one-time fee of $10.
  • Parking privileges for free license plate holders
  • Veterans preference in State employment
  • Credit for military service in State employment
  • Motor vehicle privilege tax exemption for 100% disabled veterans
  • Special/Memorial license plates for certain veterans
  • Reemployment rights of public employees
  • Registration of discharges by county registrar at no fee
  • Burial benefits

   

Eligibility For Interment:

Any person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps) who was discharged or released there from before September 7, 1980 under conditions other than dishonorable.

  • Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who died while on active duty.
  • Any person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who entered active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, and officers commissioned who entered active duty after October 17, 1981, and whose discharge or separation from active military service was under "other than dishonorable'" conditions. A person whose first tour of duty began on or after the dates listed above is eligible if he or she completed a continuous period of active duty of at least 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty, whichever is shorter or was released because of a hardship discharge, or has a compensable service connected disability or was released because of a service connected disability.

  

  

  

   

   

   

  

  

   

    

       

Verification Required

  • Full name of veteran.
  • Date of birth, service and social security numbers.

  

Service Dates: entry and discharge from active duty. (This information can be found in veteran’s discharge papers or DD Form 214.)
                             

Cost                    

There is no cost if eligibility requirements are met except under the following conditions:

                  

There is a $300.00 fee for the interment of a veteran’s spouse or eligible dependent children that must be paid prior to or the day of the burial

    

Cremations

The same guidelines apply.                   

                                 

Outside Containers

The State of Tennessee does not require an outside container for burial. This is a personal preference of the family.

    

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

      

        

Headstones

All veterans are entitled to a white, upright marble headstone at government expense when buried in a State Veterans Cemetery. A temporary grave marker is used to identify grave site until the permanent headstone is delivered in approximately three to four months.

    

Information for Reserve & National Guard Members                         

                                         

Eligibility For Interment:

Reserve & National Guard members who are in receipt of compensation or pension from the VA are eligible for burial and do not have to pay the plot allowance, except when our claim is denied by the U. S. Department of Veterans of Affairs.

                                         

Reserve & National Guard members who completed twenty or more years of reserve or guard service and are entitled to retirement pay.                                        

                                  

This category of veterans does not qualify for the $300.00 plot allowance, headstone and flag at government expense. Costs must be paid prior to burial.

   

Reserve & National Guard members are also eligible for burial under the following five (5) categories and do not have to pay the plot allowance cost, except when our claim is denied by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

  • Dies under honorable conditions while undergoing active duty for training.
  • If called to active duty, completes the full period for which called up.
  • Dies under honorable conditions while performing full time AGR service.
  • Completed at least 24 months of active service.
  • Discharged due to service connected disability while on active duty.

         

Complimentary Camping

Tennessee’s state parks is honoring resident veterans with complimentary camping and golf on each service branch birthday and Veterans Day leading up to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

   

All veterans of any service branch are eligible for a complimentary one-night camping stay and waived green fees on the following dates this and next year:

  • Aug. 4. and Aug. 4, 2025 (Coast Guard);
  • Sept. 18 and Sept. 18, 2025 (Air Force);
  • Oct. 13 and Oct. 13, 2025 (Navy);
  • Nov. 10 and Nov. 10, 2025 (Marines)
  • Nov. 11 and Nov. 11, 2025 (Veteran’s Day);
  • Dec. 13 and Dec. 13, 2025 (National Guard);
  • Dec. 20, and Dec. 20, 2025 (Space Force); and
  • June 14 and June 14, 2026 (Army).

         

Veterans can claim their free night of camping by calling the reservation line at 1-888-867-2757. Premier campsites are excluded.