Cemeteries
About
The City of Austin Cemetery Operations is a division of the Parks and Recreation and operates five municipal cemeteries and maintains two family cemeteries: Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood Annex Cemetery, and Plummers Cemetery. The family cemeteries include the cemetery at Longview Park and the Stanley-Nolen Cemetery at Garrison Park.
Cemetery Operations is located at Austin Memorial Park and the staff manages the grounds, administrative operations, burials, and historic resources.
Gates of each municipal cemetery are open from 7 a.m.– 7 p.m., 365 days per year.
While Cemetery Operations arranges interments at every cemetery, burials spaces are only available for purchase in Austin Memorial Park and Evergreen cemeteries.
Sign Up for Cemeteries Updates
- Scheduled Clean-Up Dates
City of Austin Cemeteries scheduled clean-up dates as follows:
- After February 1
- After August 1
- After November 1
Signage providing a minimum of 30 days’ notice will be placed at each cemetery prior to the scheduled clean-up date. Contact Cemetery Operations at 512-978-2320 or cemeteries@austintexas.gov with any questions or concerns.
Fees, Services and Rules
- Burial Services
Burials (or interments) take place at all cemeteries. At-need and pre-need spaces are available for purchase through Cemetery Operations at both Austin Memorial Park and Evergreen Cemetery.
Types of Burials Offered:
- Adults
- Infants
- Cremated remains
The Cemetery Operations office observes all City holidays. Burial services can be scheduled on all holidays except for New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Any Burial Services scheduled on the remaining holidays will be subject to a holiday fee in addition to the interment fee.
- Other Services
Cemetery Operations offers other services to assist families with purchasing burials spaces, locating loved ones and improving cemetery lots.
Additional services include:
- Gravesite location
- Monument setting and leveling
- Grave revegetation
- Information on selling or conveying burial spaces
- Special public service/maintenance requests
- Rules and Regulations Draft Process 2018
The Cemetery Rules and Regulations (Rules) revision process was initiated on October 17, 2013. On this date, City Council approved a resolution (No. 20131017-042) directing the City Manager and, by extension, Austin Parks and Recreation to conduct a public engagement process to evaluate the Rules, which were originally adopted in 1978. The Rules’ purpose is to maintain the public’s health, safety, comfort and welfare in the municipal Cemeteries while showing respect for those interred.
The Austin Parks and Recreation, with community input, developed new proposed Cemetery Rules (PDF) which were adopted by the Austin Parks and Recreation Acting Director on August 2, 2018. These rules have been appealed.
Cemetery Rules finalized on August 2, 2018 (appealed)
Memo on Cemetery Rules Appeals Process Sent to Mayor and Council August 31, 2018 (PDF) Rule Adoption R161-18.08 time stamped (appealed; PDF)
For more information about public input on Cemetery Rules & Regulations, please contact cemeteries@austintexas.gov.
- Memo to Mayor and Council Cemetery Rules and Regulations Updated 1-26-2018 (PDF)
- Cemetery Rules Notice and Enforcement Process (PDF)
- Memo to Mayor and Council Cemeteries Perpetual Care Fund 5-8-2018 (PDF)
- Austin Parks and Recreation Signed Notice of Cemetery Rule Adoption 7-31-2018 (PDF)
- Cemetery Public Comments - Austin Parks and Recreation Response 7-30-2018 Final (PDF)
- Cemetery Rules Report (PDF)
- Community Meeting Presentation (PDF)
- Cemetery Rules Public Comment Summary (PDF)
- Rules and Regulations Draft Process 2022
Cemetery Rules 2022 (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
Next Steps (PDF)
- Cemeteries Locations
List of Cemeteries There are five cemeteries currently operated by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation. This map shows the locations of the five cemeteries.
FAQ
Please contact the City of Austin Cemetery Operations Office at Austin Memorial Park.
Main Office Address: Austin Memorial Park
2800 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas 78731
Office Phone Number: (512) 978-2320
Office Fax Number: (512) 978-2321
Website: www.austintexas.gov/cemeteries
Email address: cemeteries@austintexas.gov
Gate Access Hours: Daily from 7am to 7pm
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 7am-12pm and 1 pm-4pm (closed from 12pm-1pm for lunch)
The administration office is closed on weekends* and official City holidays.
* If you need assistance locating the burial of a loved one on a weekend, the staff at Oakwood Cemetery Chapel are available Wednesday – Sunday 12pm to 5pm
Space is available for purchase at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery and Evergreen Cemetery. Please contact the Cemetery Operations staff for the current fee schedule or visit the City of Austin Cemetery website at www.austintexas.gov/cemeteries for more information.
Yes, a payment plan is available with a 25% down payment and installment payments to be paid over a period of 11 months or by the time of need, whichever comes first.
When you purchase a space, you are in fact purchasing the right to sepulture (right to bury) on City of Austin cemetery grounds and are issued a cemetery deed in return.
Yes, you are able to sell or convey your space; however, the City of Austin does not buy back cemetery spaces. Please contact Cemetery Operations staff for additional information.
The City allows one casketed burial plus one cremation burial per full sized space, OR up to four cremation burials in a full sized space.
Heirship may be established with a deed or any document which proves ownership, heirship, or the right of sepulture (right to bury) that occurs after the issuances of a deed. Examples of such documents include: Last Will & Testement; Affidavit of Heirship; Marriage, Birth and/or Death Certificate; Divorce Decree; Warantee Deed; and Document of Intention, among others. We recommend that documents are presented in person at the Cemetery Office for verification; please contact us if that is not possible.
No pets are not permitted on City of Austin cemetery grounds at any time. Pets also may not be interred in any City of Austin cemetery.
Yes, the City of Austin requires outer burial containers for interment within City of Austin cemeteries.
Any monument placed in a City of Austin Cemetery must be pre-approved to ensure it meets City guidelines. Please contact Cemetery Operations staff for additional information.
Please contact Cemetery Operations staff for additional information on the process and cost for releveling or resetting a monument on City of Austin cemetery grounds.
Yes, Cemetery Operations revegetates burial spaces following an interment.
Trees, shrubs or other plantings may be permitted with written approval from Cemetery Operations. Please contact cemetery staff for additional information.
While unsightly, the City of Austin Forestry Department does not consider ball moss to be a health threat to a tree. However, if you would like to hire a tree service to trim the ball moss on trees in your area, please contact Cemetery Operations staff for additional information.
Any tree work performed on a City of Austin property must be approved and permitted by the Forestry Department. Please submit your request online or download the form at http://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Forestry/publictreecarepermit.pdf
Email the form to urbanforestry@austintexas.gov
City of Austin Cemetery Operations is committed to working with individuals to improve cemeteries through repairs and restoration, landscaping and grounds, and invertible vase installation. Written approval from Cemetery Operations is required prior to conducting work or hiring contractors to conduct work on cemetery grounds. Please contact Cemetery Operations staff for additional information.
City of Austin Cemetery volunteers adhere to the standards set by the Austin Parks and Recreation Volunteer Programs, including interview and criminal background check. For more information contact programs_conservation@austintexas.gov or view the volunteer handbook
Monuments within the municipal cemeteries are considered private proptery of the family. Please leave the stone where you found it and contact the administration office at Austin Memorial Park or Oakwood Cemetery Chapel. Moving the stone even a little can make it impossible for staff to determine where it originated from causing the original space to become unmarked for future visitors.