Title 38, Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-102
§112 Presidential Memorial Certificate Program
Title 38 › PART I — GENERAL PROVISIONS › CHAPTER 1 — GENERAL › § 112
Summary
If the President asks, the Secretary may run a program to send a President‑signed certificate that thanks deceased people who are eligible for burial in a national cemetery under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a). The certificate can be sent to the next of kin, a relative or friend who asks, or an authorized service representative, and more than one person may get a certificate. No certificate may be issued for a person described in section 2411(b).
Full Legal Text
Title 38, §112
Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)At the request of the President the Secretary may conduct a program for honoring the memory of deceased persons eligible for burial in a national cemetery by reason of any of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of this title, by preparing and sending to eligible recipients a certificate bearing the signature of the President and expressing the country’s grateful recognition of the deceased individual’s service in the Armed Forces. The award of a certificate to one eligible recipient will not preclude authorization of another certificate if a request is received from some other eligible recipient.
(b)For the purpose of this section an “eligible recipient” means the next of kin, a relative or friend upon request, or an authorized service representative acting on behalf of such relative or friend.
(c)A certificate may not be furnished under the program under subsection (a) on behalf of a deceased person described in section 2411(b) of this title.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–315 substituted “persons eligible for burial in a national cemetery by reason of any of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of this title,” for “veterans, discharged under honorable conditions, and persons who died in the active military, naval, or air service,”. 2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–154 inserted “and persons who died in the active military, naval, or air service,” after “under honorable conditions,” and substituted “deceased individual’s” for “veteran’s”. 2002—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–330 added subsec. (c). 1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83 substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2016 Amendment Pub. L. 114–315, title III, § 302(b), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1551, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to the death of a person eligible for burial in a national cemetery by reason of paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (7) of section 2402(a) of title 38, United States Code, occurring before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 16, 2016].”
Effective Date
of 2002 Amendment Pub. L. 107–330, title II, § 201(d), Dec. 6, 2002, 116 Stat. 2823, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section and section 2301 and 2306 of this title] shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 6, 2002].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
38 U.S.C. § 112
Title 38, Veterans' Benefits
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102