A lot of families picture “burial” as a casket and a headstone, and then feel off-balance when cremation becomes the choice by preference, by cost, by timing, or simply because it’s what your loved one asked for. But burial doesn’t disappear with cremation. It just changes shape.
Interment of ashes (sometimes called urn burial or cremation interment) is the process of placing cremated remains in a cemetery either in the ground or inside a columbarium niche. It can be quiet and simple, or it can include an interment ceremony with prayers, readings, military honors, or a gathering at the graveside. Most importantly, it can give families a place to go, a physical point of connection, without giving up the flexibility that often draws people to cremation in the first place.
Cremation has also become the majority choice in the U.S. According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the U.S. cremation rate is projected to be 63.4% in 2025, more than double the projected burial rate. The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) also tracks annual cremation statistics and long-term trends that help explain why more families are asking very practical questions about cemeteries, niches, vaults, and markers.
If you’re here because you’re wondering how to bury cremated remains, you’re not behind. You’re doing what families do in real life, taking one next step at a time.
What “interment of ashes” really means (and why cemeteries have rules)
When someone is cremated, the remains are typically returned in a temporary container or a sealed bag inside a basic box. Before a cemetery can accept them, the cemetery usually needs three things authorization, a container that meets their requirements, and a plan for where the remains will rest.
That’s why this topic quickly turns into specifics like urn vault requirements, niche dimensions, permitted materials, and whether a marker is required. Most cemetery rules aren’t meant to make things harder. They’re meant to protect the grounds, keep records accurate, and ensure long-term maintenance.
This is where choosing the right memorial container matters. Families often start with cremation urns for ashes that feel meaningful, then discover that a cemetery may require an outer container (often called an urn vault) if the urn is going in the ground. Or they discover that a niche has precise dimensions and the urn has to fit exactly.
If you want to browse options while you plan, Funeral.com’s cremation urns for ashes collection is a helpful starting point for understanding styles and materials in one place.
Step-by-step: how to bury cremated remains in a cemetery
Start with the “where” plot, urn garden, or columbarium niche
Most cemeteries offer at least one of these an in-ground urn space (sometimes in an “urn garden” section), a traditional grave that can accommodate one or more urns, or a columbarium niche (an above-ground wall or structure designed for urns).
Families often choose based on what feels most visitable. A niche can feel orderly and accessible; an urn garden can feel peaceful and park-like; a traditional grave might matter if there’s already a family plot or existing headstone.
If you’re leaning toward a niche, sizing matters earlier than people expect. Funeral.com’s guide How Big Is a Cremation Urn? Sizes, Cubic Inches, and What Fits in a Columbarium Niche walks through the difference between “capacity” and “dimensions,” which is often the exact detail a cemetery asks for.
Make the cemetery call before you buy anything
Here’s the moment that saves the most money and frustration. Call the cemetery (or the cemetery office) and ask for their cremation interment requirements in writing, if possible. Cemeteries can vary widely even in the same town.
What you’re really doing is confirming whether they allow burying ashes in a cemetery directly in the ground, or if they require an urn vault, whether there are material restrictions (metal, stone, biodegradable, wood), what the niche interior dimensions are (height/width/depth) if you choose a columbarium, and whether there are rules for engraving, marker types, or installation fees.
If your family is juggling decisions about materials, durability, and what can actually be buried, Funeral.com’s Cremation Urn Materials Guide can help you match material to plan and understand the questions cemeteries commonly ask.
Confirm who has legal authority to authorize interment
Cemeteries typically require an authorization signed by the legal next of kin or the person with the right to control disposition. If a funeral home handled the cremation, they may already have paperwork that helps. If you’re unsure, ask the cemetery what they require and whether they provide their own interment authorization form.
This can feel awkward in grief especially in blended families or when siblings disagree but it’s better to clarify early than to arrive at the cemetery with an urn and no paperwork.
Choose the urn that matches the cemetery’s requirements and your family’s needs
This is where families often realize there are really two “right” answers. The urn that works for the cemetery, and the memorial that works for the living.
For in-ground interment, families often choose durable materials metal or stone or a burial-appropriate design that will be placed inside an urn vault if required. If you’re still comparing sizes, styles, and what feels appropriate, Funeral.com’s guide How to Choose a Cremation Urn That Fits Your Plans is designed around real-life scenarios, including cemetery burial.
If your family expects to share ashes among siblings or keep a small portion at home while interring the rest, that’s where small cremation urns and keepsake urns become part of the plan, not an “extra.” You can browse small cremation urns and keepsake urns.
And for families who want something even more personal day-to-day, cremation jewelry especially cremation necklaces can hold a very small amount of ashes while the main interment happens at the cemetery. Explore cremation jewelry and cremation necklaces.
If the cemetery requires an urn vault, decide whether you’re purchasing it through them
Many cemeteries require an outer container for in-ground urn burial to prevent settling and to protect the grounds. Sometimes that means a specific product they sell; sometimes they allow outside vaults that meet their specs. Either way, ask the cemetery for approved vault dimensions, material requirements (concrete, polymer, etc.), and any installation or “opening/closing” fees.
Even when the urn itself is beautiful, the vault requirement can shape the final choice especially if the vault has an interior size limit.
Coordinate timing with the cemetery and (if used) the funeral home
Interment can happen days after cremation, or months later. Some families wait for better weather, travel schedules, or emotional readiness. That’s normal.
When you schedule, you’re usually coordinating the cemetery’s opening/closing crew (or niche placement staff), clergy or celebrant (if you want an interment ceremony), family arrival times and accessibility needs, and marker installation timelines (some markers are set weeks later).
If you’re planning a service alongside the interment, Funeral.com’s How to Plan a Funeral in 7 Steps can help you hold the big picture without getting lost in logistics.
Prepare the urn for burial or niche placement
Sometimes the funeral home handles placement of ashes into the chosen urn. Sometimes families do it privately at home. Either way, the goal is the same secure, respectful, sealed.
If you’re doing the transfer yourself or dividing ashes into keepsakes, Funeral.com’s guide How to Transfer Ashes into an Urn walks through tools, setup, and sealing in a way that’s genuinely beginner-friendly.
This is also where families often pause and ask whether they want to keep some ashes at home, even after interment. If that’s part of your story, Funeral.com’s guide on keeping ashes at home helps you think through safety, placement, visitors, and the emotional side of it.
Cemetery interment costs: what families are usually paying for
Families often ask how much does cremation cost, and then feel surprised by the separate costs of cemetery interment. The cremation itself is one piece; the cemetery is another.
Typical cemetery-related costs may include the urn space or niche purchase, opening/closing fees, an urn vault (if required), engraving, and marker or niche-front costs. Prices vary drastically by region and cemetery type, so the best approach is to request an itemized estimate.
If you’re trying to understand the wider budget picture including service options and what “direct cremation” usually includes Funeral.com’s guide How Much Does Cremation Cost? Average Prices and Budget-Friendly Options is a good grounding point before you compare cemetery quotes.
What about pets? Yes, pet ashes can be interred too
Families don’t always expect to be planning a cemetery decision for a pet, but many do, especially when a beloved animal was part of the family for years.
Some cemeteries have pet sections; others work with pet cemeteries specifically. The same step applies call first, confirm container rules, and ask about marker requirements.
If you’re choosing a memorial for a companion animal, Funeral.com has collections for pet urns for ashes, pet figurine cremation urns, and pet keepsake cremation urns.
Even when a pet’s ashes are interred, families sometimes keep a small portion nearby much like they do with human cremains because grief is grief, and the bond is real.
When burial isn’t the only plan: water burial, scattering, and what to do with ashes
Sometimes interment is one part of a larger story. A family might place most ashes in a cemetery, then scatter a portion in a meaningful place. Others plan a water burial and later choose a keepsake for home.
If that’s your family, it helps to treat the urn decision like a strategy instead of a single purchase one primary urn for the cemetery, and one or more keepsakes for the living. Funeral.com’s guide Keepsake Urns and Sharing Urns reflects that reality with a lot of tenderness.
And if water burial is part of your plan, Funeral.com’s guide Understanding What Happens During a Water Burial Ceremony can help you picture the process without guessing.
Cremation interment checklist: what to confirm before you pay or purchase
You don’t need to memorize cemetery rules. You just need a short list of confirmations that protect you from expensive surprises.
- Confirm the cemetery location type plot, urn garden, or columbarium niche
- Ask for written cemetery rules for cremated remains including container materials, size limits, marker rules
- Verify who can sign authorizations for interment
- Ask about urn vault requirements and whether the cemetery requires a specific vault
- Request an itemized estimate space or niche, opening and closing, vault, engraving, marker, installation
- Confirm urn dimensions not just capacity for niche placement
- Decide whether you want keepsake urns, small cremation urns, or cremation jewelry for shared memorials
- Schedule the interment date and ask what the cemetery provides on-site chairs, tent, clergy coordination
A gentle final note
Interment of ashes is practical paperwork, policies, measurements but it’s also deeply human. You’re creating a place in the world where love can land. Whether your family chooses a cemetery burial, a niche placement, keeping ashes at home, or a combination that reflects a real life and a real relationship, the right choice is the one that feels steady over time.
