Glossary
What is opening and closing fee?
The opening and closing fee is what a cemetery charges to dig and refill a grave — or to open and reseal a crypt or niche — for a burial or entombment. Billed separately by the cemetery, not the funeral home, it commonly runs $1,000 to $3,000 and is easy to overlook.
The fee covers the labor and equipment to prepare the grave before the service and close it afterward, including placing the vault or liner. Rates are often higher on weekends and holidays.
Because it is a cemetery charge, it does not appear on the funeral home's General Price List. Ask the cemetery for its full fee schedule so the cost does not surprise you later.
Related terms
Burial plot
A burial plot is a specific space in a cemetery reserved for a burial. When you buy a plot you are purchasing the right to be interred there — the right of interment — not the land itself, and cemetery rules govern markers, vaults, and how many remains a plot may hold.
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.
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.
Entombment
Entombment is placing a body in an above-ground tomb, most often a crypt inside a mausoleum, rather than burying it in the ground. It is the above-ground counterpart to interment, while cremated remains placed in a niche are usually called inurnment instead.
Common questions about Opening and closing fee
Sources
Explore with AI
This definition is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws and prices vary by state and provider. See our editorial standards.