Glossary
What is interment?
Interment is the act of placing a body or cremated remains in their final resting place, most often by burying a casket in the ground or entombing it in a crypt. The cemetery fee to open and close the grave is commonly called the interment charge.
Interment most often refers to in-ground burial, but it also covers entombment in a mausoleum crypt. Placing cremated remains is frequently distinguished by the separate term inurnment, though some cemeteries use "interment" for both.
The interment charge is the cemetery's fee to open and close the grave — to excavate it before the burial and fill it afterward. It is billed separately from the plot itself, from any required outer container, and from the funeral home's services, and it is paid to the cemetery.
Because cemetery costs are not part of the funeral home transaction, they fall outside the FTC Funeral Rule, so the price discipline is on you: ask the cemetery for an itemized list of the plot, opening and closing, the container requirement, and any weekend or holiday surcharge, and ask the funeral home for its own General Price List, so you see the full picture before deciding.
Related terms
Inurnment
Inurnment is the placing of cremated remains into an urn, or the placing of an urn into its final resting place such as a columbarium niche or a grave. It is the cremation counterpart to the burial term interment.
Crypt
A crypt is a chamber, typically above ground in a mausoleum, that holds a casket. Families purchase the right to entomb a body in a specific crypt, often choosing between single, companion, or stacked arrangements.
Burial vault
A burial vault is a sealed outer container, usually concrete or reinforced material, that encloses the casket in the grave. It supports the soil above and helps keep the ground level. Many cemeteries require a vault or a grave liner.
Grave liner
A grave liner is a basic outer burial container that covers the top and sides of a casket in the ground. Like a burial vault, it keeps the ground from settling, but it is unsealed and usually less expensive than a fully sealed vault.
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This definition is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws and prices vary by state and provider. See our editorial standards.