How to Buy a Cemetery Plot (and What Happens to One You Inherit)
The short answer: when you "buy a plot," you usually buy the right to be buried in a particular space, often called interment rights, not the land itself. The cemetery keeps owning and running the grounds. The price of that right is only part of the cost: expect separate charges for opening and closing the grave, a grave liner or vault (most cemeteries require one), sometimes a fee for long-term upkeep, and later a headstone and the fee to set it. Ask every cemetery for a written, itemized price list and a copy of its rules before you sign. If someone has died and you think they already owned a plot, find the paperwork and call the cemetery before you buy another one.
This page is about the grave itself. For the stone that goes on it, see buying a headstone. For the full picture of what a funeral costs, funeral costs: what to expect.
What You Are Actually Buying
Most cemetery purchases give you a right of use. The paperwork may call it a deed, a certificate of interment rights or a burial right, and it usually lets you decide who may be buried in that space. You do not get to build on it, plant what you like, or ignore the cemetery's rules about what can be placed on the grave.
The main kinds of space:
| Space | What it is |
|---|---|
| Single plot | One grave for one casket |
| Companion plot | Two people side by side, or one above the other ("double depth") |
| Family plot | Several adjoining graves, sometimes with one family monument |
| Cremation plot | A smaller grave for an urn; many cemeteries have a separate section |
| Niche | A space for an urn in a columbarium wall |
| Crypt | A space in a mausoleum, above ground |
| Green burial | A grave in a natural section without a vault, where the cemetery offers it |
Some cemeteries also let you place cremated remains in an existing family grave. What to do with ashes covers that option.
The Costs Beyond the Plot
The FTC's guide to buying a cemetery site lists the charges families most often miss:
- Opening and closing. The FTC notes there are charges, "usually hundreds of dollars," to open a grave for burial and more to fill it in. These are paid at the time of burial, not when you buy the plot, so a plot bought years ago does not mean the burial is paid for.
- Grave liner or vault. "Most, but not all, cemeteries require you to purchase a grave liner," the FTC says. It is a box the casket goes into so the ground does not sink. Ask whether you can buy one elsewhere; some cemeteries restrict vaults bought outside.
- Perpetual or endowment care. Upkeep of the grounds is sometimes included in the price and sometimes charged separately. Ask which.
- The headstone and its setting. Cemeteries set rules on size and material, and many charge a fee to install a stone, including one bought somewhere else.
- Mausoleums and columbaria come with their own opening and closing fees and care charges too.
One more thing to know: the FTC says its Funeral Rule, which gives you the right to itemized prices at funeral homes, "does not cover cemeteries and mausoleums unless they sell both funeral goods and funeral services." Cemetery prices and rules are set mostly by the cemetery and by state law. If a fee seems wrong, ask for it in writing and ask your state's cemetery board or consumer protection office.
If the Person Was a Veteran
The FTC notes that all veterans are entitled to a free burial in a national cemetery and a grave marker, and that spouses and dependent children can also be buried there. Families usually pay other costs, such as transport. Many states also run veterans cemeteries with their own eligibility rules. The FTC also warns about "veterans' specials" at private cemeteries, where the veteran's plot is free but the spouse's plot and the opening and closing fees are priced high. Veteran burial benefits goes through what the VA provides.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Take this list to every cemetery you visit:
- What exactly am I buying, and what does the deed or certificate say?
- What is the full price of a burial in this plot, including opening and closing, the liner or vault, and any care fee?
- Is perpetual care included? If not, what does it cost?
- Do you require a vault or liner, and can I buy one elsewhere?
- What are your rules on headstones: size, material, upright or flat, and who may install it? Is there a setting fee?
- What can families leave on graves (flowers, flags, photos), and when do you clear them away?
- Can more than one person be buried in this space, or can urns be added later?
- If we move away or change plans, can we sell the plot back to you or transfer it? What is the transfer fee?
- Are there religious sections or requirements I should know about?
- Can I have all of this in writing?
Visit in person if you can. Walk the section, look at how graves are kept, and check whether the location is somewhere the family will actually want to go.
Buying Ahead of Time, or At Need
Many people buy a plot years in advance, often with a spouse. Doing it early takes a decision off your family's hands at the worst possible moment and lets you compare cemeteries calmly. If you do, keep the deed with your important papers and tell your family where it is. A plot nobody can find does not help anyone.
Buying "at need," right after a death, is also normal. The funeral home can usually help you contact cemeteries, but you are free to deal with the cemetery directly and to compare more than one.
Buying a Plot From a Private Seller
Some people sell plots they no longer need, usually through classified listings or resale sites, often for less than the cemetery charges. It can work, but protect yourself:
- Call the cemetery first and confirm the seller actually holds the rights to that exact space.
- Ask the cemetery how transfers work. Many require the transfer to go through their office on their own form, and many charge a transfer fee.
- Do not pay until the cemetery has recorded you as the new holder, or until you have its written confirmation of the process.
- Remember that opening and closing, the liner and the stone are still paid to the cemetery at the time of burial.
When You Inherit a Plot
This is common: a parent bought spaces for the whole family decades ago, or someone dies and the family finds an unused plot among their papers.
Find the paperwork. Look for a deed, certificate or receipt from the cemetery among their documents. If you cannot find one, call the cemetery with the person's full name; cemeteries keep their own records of who holds rights to each space.
Ask the cemetery what it needs from you. Usually a death certificate, plus something showing you are entitled to use or transfer the rights. Depending on the state and the cemetery, that can be the will, an affidavit, or papers from probate court.
Know that state law may decide who can use it. Rules differ, and some are more specific than people expect. California's Health and Safety Code, for example, says that once a family member is buried in a plot it becomes a family plot; a spouse of the owner of a plot with more than one space has a right to be buried there; unused spaces pass under a will that names them specifically, or otherwise under the state's inheritance rules; and unused space in a family plot generally cannot be sold or given away while anyone with a right to be buried there is still living, unless they waive it in writing. Other states handle this differently, so ask the cemetery which rules apply.
If the family wants to sell it, ask the cemetery whether it buys plots back and at what price, and how a sale to someone else would be recorded. If several heirs share the rights, everyone usually has to agree.
If you want to move someone into a family plot later, that is a separate process with its own permits. See moving a grave.
Common Questions
Do I own the land? Usually not. You own the right to be buried in that space, under the cemetery's rules.
Is the burial paid for if the plot is already bought? Usually not. Opening and closing, the liner or vault and the headstone are normally separate and paid when they are needed.
Can I be cremated and still use a plot? Often, yes, and many cemeteries allow more than one urn in a grave. Ask what the cemetery permits. Cremation vs. burial covers the bigger choice.
What if the cemetery closes or changes hands? Ask the cemetery how its care fund is held and who would take over. Some states require cemeteries to keep a care fund for exactly this reason.
A plot is a place to visit. A memorial page is a place anyone can visit, wherever they live. GetMemorial gives your family a permanent home for photos, stories and tributes. Start an online memorial whenever you are ready.
