Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs stands as a voice and an advocate for Iowa veterans and their families. We are dedicated to ensuring Iowa veterans, their dependents, and their survivors receive the full measure of county, state, and federal benefits to which they are entitled. To that end, veterans are treated with compassion, integrity, dignity, and accountability.
"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan"
Abraham Lincoln
The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and Iowa Veterans Cemetery, with the support of our citizens, recognizes and honors Iowa’s veterans and their families by providing the highest quality programs, services, and benefits. Each of Iowa’s 99 counties has a Commissioner of Veterans Affairs and a County Director. We urge veterans to visit their county office as their first point of contact.
The IDVA also has benefits specialists, accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who specialize in federal and state VA benefits and a multitude of other services. Our Department oversees the first federally-funded state-owned and operated veterans’ cemetery in Iowa. The Iowa Veterans Cemetery operates under United States Department of Veterans Affairs operational standards.
Each veteran organization has a representative that serves on the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor, serve a four-year term, and advise the Governor and Legislature on issues impacting veterans. The Commission of Veterans Affairs is an 11-seat commission appointed by the Governor of Iowa for staggered four year terms. Seats are designated for the Iowa National Guard, Reserve Officers Association, the American Legion, American Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, Iowa Association of County Commissioners and Veteran Services Officers, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and one 'at large' member of the public knowledgeable in the general field of veterans affairs. The Commission was created to provide recommendations to the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and supervision to the Iowa Veterans Home. Contact one of the Commissioners.
Each of Iowa’s 99 counties has a County Commission of Veterans Affairs that consists of three to five veterans identified by the county’s Board of Supervisors. Its duties are defined by Iowa Code chapter 35B. Among those duties are to ensure interment in a suitable cemetery any veteran, spouse or child if the person died without sufficient means to defray funeral expenses.
The Iowa Veterans Home is located in Marshalltown, Iowa and is the third largest state-owned facility for veterans in the nation. The campus spans over 150 acres with a resident population of over 700 people. The home provides personalized medical, nursing, rehabilitative care, mental health, pharmacy, and dietary services, along with many other services. Learn more about the Iowa Veterans Home.
The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs is also strongly committed to its partnerships with the Iowa Veterans Home, the Iowa Workforce Veterans Employment Division, the Iowa National Guard and other military organizations, the Federal VA medical centers and community-based VA clinics located across the state, the many veteran service organizations in Iowa, and numerous other entities.
Iowa wants every veteran to make a successful reintegration into civilian life and community, and the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs is here to help all veterans access services and benefits that they and their families are entitled to.
On behalf of all Iowans, thank you for your service and dedication to our country. Welcome home.