Glossary
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 often distinguished as inurnment.
Cemetery costs for interment — the plot plus opening and closing the grave — are separate from the funeral home's charges and are paid to the cemetery.
Related terms
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Common questions
- What is the interment fee?
- The interment charge is the cemetery's fee to open and close the grave — to dig and later fill it. It is separate from the cost of the plot itself and from the funeral home's charges, and it is paid to the cemetery.
- Does interment only mean in-ground burial?
- Most often it refers to in-ground burial, but it also covers entombment in a mausoleum crypt. Placing cremated remains is usually distinguished by the separate term inurnment.
- Who pays the cemetery for interment?
- Cemetery costs — the plot plus opening and closing the grave — are paid to the cemetery directly and are separate from what you pay the funeral home. Ask each for an itemized list so you can see the full picture.
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