Cemetery plot glossary

Cemetery paperwork uses words most families meet once or twice in a lifetime. This glossary gives plain-English definitions of the terms you will see when buying or selling a cemetery plot, crypt, or niche, grouped so related terms sit together.

Types of burial property

Cemetery plot

A single space of ground in a cemetery, sized for the burial of one casket. Also called a burial plot or grave plot. When you buy a plot you are buying the right to be buried in that space, not the land itself. See interment rights below.

Companion plots

Two adjoining spaces sold together, usually for a couple. Some cemeteries also use the term for a single wider space designed for two side-by-side burials.

Double-depth plot

A single plot where the cemetery permits two burials in the same space, one placed deeper and one above it. Not every cemetery allows this, so the cemetery office confirms whether a specific plot is double-depth.

Family estate

A larger dedicated area within a cemetery reserved for multiple members of one family, often set apart by borders, hedging, or a shared monument.

Crypt

An above-ground chamber that holds a casket, usually inside a mausoleum. Crypts are bought and sold much like plots, and resale listings for them are common.

Mausoleum

A building that houses crypts for above-ground entombment. A community mausoleum serves many families, while a private mausoleum belongs to one family.

Columbarium

A structure made up of niches that hold urns with cremated remains. Columbaria are often walls or rooms within a mausoleum or a garden area.

Niche

A single compartment in a columbarium that holds one or more urns. Like plots and crypts, niches can be owned, transferred, and resold.

Urn garden

A section of a cemetery set aside for the in-ground burial of urns, usually in smaller spaces than casket plots.

Scattering garden

A designated cemetery area where cremated remains may be scattered. Scattering is usually a service rather than a space you own, so there is normally nothing to resell.

Ownership and paperwork

Interment rights

The legal right to be buried in a specific space. This is what a plot owner actually holds. The cemetery keeps ownership of the land and maintains it, while the rights holder decides who may be buried there and can usually transfer or sell those rights.

Cemetery deed

The document that proves interment rights, sometimes titled a certificate of interment rights or certificate of ownership. It works differently from a real estate deed because it conveys burial rights rather than land. It is the key document when you sell a plot.

Transfer fee

The fee a cemetery charges to record a change of ownership in its books. The amount is set by each cemetery, so the office quotes it directly. A sale is complete only when the cemetery records the transfer.

Right of first refusal

A rule some cemeteries hold that lets them buy a plot back before the owner sells it to anyone else. Whether it applies, and on what terms, is written in the cemetery's rules and regulations, so ask the office before you list a plot for sale.

Perpetual care

Ongoing maintenance of the cemetery grounds funded by an endowment, which is why it is also called endowment care. A portion of each original sale typically funds it. Care obligations usually stay with the space when it changes hands.

Pre-need

Bought or arranged in advance, before a death. Most resale plots were originally pre-need purchases whose owners' plans later changed.

At-need

Bought or arranged at the time of a death. At-need buyers often need a specific cemetery on a short timeline, which is exactly when resale listings help.

Buy-back

A cemetery repurchasing a plot from its owner. Most cemeteries do not offer this, and the ones that do usually pay the original purchase price rather than today's value. Our guide on whether cemeteries buy back plots covers the details.

Burial and services

Interment

The burial of remains in the ground, whether a casket or an urn. The word appears throughout cemetery paperwork, as in interment rights and certificate of interment.

Inurnment

Placing cremated remains in an urn, and by extension placing that urn in a niche or urn garden.

Entombment

Placing a casket in a crypt or mausoleum rather than in the ground.

Opening and closing

The cemetery's service of preparing a space for a burial and closing it afterward. It is paid at the time of burial and is separate from the price of the plot itself, which matters when you compare the cost of a resale plot with buying from the cemetery.

Burial vault

A reinforced outer container placed in the grave, into which the casket is lowered. It supports the weight of the soil and keeps the ground level.

Grave liner

A simpler outer container that serves the same ground-support purpose as a vault with less reinforcement. Many cemeteries require either a vault or a liner, and the requirement stays with the cemetery rather than the plot owner.

Disinterment

The removal of buried remains from a grave, governed by permits and, in many cases, court or health department approval. It is rare and is handled by the cemetery and licensed professionals.

Committal service

The brief graveside portion of a funeral, held at the plot, crypt, or niche just before burial or entombment.

Markers and memorials

Headstone

An upright stone marking a grave, also called a gravestone or tombstone. Cemeteries set rules on the size and type of markers each section allows, so a buyer should confirm what a specific plot permits.

Flat marker

A marker set level with the lawn, also called a lawn-level or flush marker. Some sections allow only flat markers, which affects which buyers a plot suits.

Monument

A larger memorial structure, from a family stone shared by several graves up to an obelisk or statue. Monument sections are usually specific areas of a cemetery.

Buying and selling

Resale market

Plots, crypts, and niches offered by private owners rather than by the cemetery. Resale spaces sit in the same grounds as cemetery-sold inventory, and the transfer runs through the same cemetery office.

Cemetery broker

A company or agent that sells cemetery property on an owner's behalf, generally for a commission or fee. A marketplace differs from a broker in that the owner keeps control of the listing and deals directly with the buyer.

Fair market value

What a space is actually worth today, which for cemetery property means what comparable spaces at the same cemetery sell for. The cemetery's current retail price for a similar space is the usual starting point. Our guide on what a cemetery plot is worth shows how to work it out.

Comparable

A recently sold or currently offered space similar to yours in the same cemetery, used to set a realistic asking price. The closer the section and space type, the better the comparable.

Where to go from here

If you are selling, start with how to sell a cemetery plot for the full process from deed to transfer. If you are buying, how to buy a burial plot walks through finding and securing a space, and you can browse current listings by cemetery.

Common questions

Do you own the land when you buy a cemetery plot?

No. Buying a plot buys interment rights, which is the legal right to be buried in that specific space. The cemetery keeps ownership of the land and maintains the grounds. Those rights are real property you can hold, transfer, or sell, but the deed you receive conveys rights of burial rather than land.

What is the difference between a crypt and a niche?

A crypt is an above-ground chamber that holds a casket, usually in a mausoleum. A niche is a smaller compartment in a columbarium that holds an urn with cremated remains. Both can be owned and resold the same way a plot can.

What is a cemetery deed called?

Cemeteries use several names for the same document, including certificate of interment rights, certificate of ownership, and burial deed. Whatever the title, it is the document that proves who holds the right to be buried in the space, and it is what you need when you sell or transfer a plot.

What does opening and closing mean at a cemetery?

Opening and closing is the cemetery's service of preparing a grave, crypt, or niche for a burial and sealing it afterward. It is billed at the time of burial and is separate from the price of the space itself, so it applies whether the space was bought from the cemetery or from a private seller.