Do I need an urn vault?

Only if your cemetery requires one.No state law in the U.S. requires an urn vault. Many cemeteries do, so the ground over the grave doesn't sink. Some don't, and green-burial sections usually don't allow them at all.

How to find out

Look up your cemetery in our list. If we haven't checked it yet, call the cemetery office and ask these three questions:

1. Do you require an urn vault for an in-ground urn burial?
2. Can we use a vault we buy ourselves, and do you have size or material rules?
3. What is the opening and closing charge for an urn?

Ask for the answer in writing, or for the cemetery's price list, before you agree to anything.

What an urn vault does

An urn vault is a sealed box, usually plastic or concrete, that the urn goes inside. It carries the weight of the soil and the mowers, so the grave stays level, and it keeps water and soil off the urn. Families often put a photo, a letter, or a small keepsake inside with the urn.

Your rights when you buy one yourself

• Funeral homes:under the FTC's Funeral Rule, a funeral home can't refuse a casket or urn you bought somewhere else, and can't charge you a fee for using it.
• Cemeteries:the Funeral Rule doesn't cover cemeteries that don't have a funeral home on site. Each cemetery sets its own rules about outside vaults, so ask.
• State law:the FTC says outer burial containers “are not required by state law anywhere in the U.S.” When a vault is required, it's the cemetery's rule.

If you need one

Measure your urn and use Will my urn fit? to see which size you need. The same page compares prices, including what funeral homes charge.