Can You Be Buried on Your Own Property in Massachusetts?

You can conduct a home burial on private property in Massachusetts, but only if your town’s board of health and local governing body both give written approval, your land passes an environmental and soil review, and a burial permit is issued before interment. The property also has to be controlled by the decedent’s family, so rented or leased land is out. Most of the work happens before anyone is buried, and not every parcel will qualify.

Who Has To Approve the Burial

Two separate local authorities have to sign off in writing: the board of health and the local governing body, typically the select board or city council.¹ You cannot bury first and file paperwork later. The land must be under the control of the decedent’s family, which rules out property you rent or lease.

Before the board of health will consider the request, you submit a site plan showing the proposed plot in relation to property boundaries, with setback distances to all wetlands, ponds, rivers, streams, and both private and public wells nearby.¹ If the board is satisfied, it issues written permission to establish a family burial plot. Timelines vary a lot by municipality, and many towns have never processed a request like this.

The Burial Permit

Site approval is not the same as a burial permit, and you need both. Under M.G.L. Chapter 114, Section 45, no one may bury or otherwise dispose of a human body until a permit has been issued by the board of health, its designated agent, or the town clerk.² The permit will not be issued until the board receives a satisfactory written statement with the facts required by law, along with a death certificate signed by the attending physician or, when necessary, a physician affiliated with the board of health.

If a funeral director is involved, they usually handle the permit. Massachusetts does allow families to manage a burial directly, in which case the family is responsible for obtaining the permit. Burying someone without one can lead to legal consequences, including a potential exhumation order.

Whether Your Land Will Qualify

This is where most properties fall out. M.G.L. Chapter 114, Section 35 prohibits burial on any land where surface water or ground drainage could flow into a stream, pond, reservoir, well, or any other source of public water supply, unless the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has reviewed and approved a plan for the site in writing.³ The restriction extends to tributaries and aqueducts connected to a public water source.

State guidance directs local boards of health to forward every approved home burial request to the appropriate MassDEP regional office for review.¹ If MassDEP denies the plan, the burial cannot proceed at that location regardless of local approval. Properties near wetlands, floodplains, or any waterway tied to municipal water systems face the highest scrutiny.

Beyond the water-source rule, the physical site has to meet specific conditions. The state recommends hiring a Certified Soil Evaluator to perform a geologic evaluation of the proposed plot, looking at the seasonal high water table, soil composition, depth to bedrock, and consistency across the burial area.¹ The body must be covered by at least three feet of soil, and the bottom of the excavation must maintain at least three feet of naturally occurring soil above the estimated seasonal high water table. The plot cannot sit within a FEMA Velocity Zone or a 100- or 500-year flood zone, and the ground slope cannot exceed 3:1. Seasonal flooding, high water tables, shallow bedrock, heavy clay, or steep terrain will likely disqualify a property.

Caskets, Vaults, and Green Burial

There is no statewide requirement to use a vault, casket, or grave liner for a home burial, and no Massachusetts law directly addresses green burials.⁴ Concrete grave liners are typically a cemetery policy, not a legal mandate. For a home burial, a biodegradable shroud or simple wooden container is generally acceptable.

Green burial generally means no embalming, no metal or hardwood casket, and no vault. Several Massachusetts towns already permit it. Boards of health do retain authority to prohibit green burial of someone who died from an infectious disease, pending the board’s review of the circumstances.¹

Zoning

Local zoning ordinances, which operate under M.G.L. Chapter 40A, control how land within a municipality can be used.⁵ Most residential zoning codes do not explicitly address private burials, which leaves a gray area. Some towns read their codes as prohibiting burials on residentially zoned land; others treat it as permissible if the health and environmental requirements are met.

If your town’s code does not clearly permit home burials, you may need a special permit or variance from the zoning board of appeals. Those applications usually involve public hearings where abutters can object. If the property carries conservation restrictions, you may also need approval from the local conservation commission. The outcome depends heavily on how your town views nontraditional land uses.

Recording the Burial on Your Deed

Massachusetts expects families who conduct a home burial to record the burial on the property deed before the land can be transferred.¹ Once the board of health approves the burial, file a copy of the approved site plan as an addendum to the deed at the county Registry of Deeds. That way, a future buyer, heir, or title searcher will find the burial site during a routine title examination.

It is also worth keeping detailed private records: the exact GPS coordinates of the grave, the identity of the person buried, and the date of burial. A restrictive covenant specifying the plot’s boundaries and prohibiting disturbance of the remains adds another layer of protection. Without any of this on record, the grave can be disturbed during future construction or landscaping by someone who had no way to know it was there.

Selling the Property and Family Access Later

Massachusetts does not prohibit selling land that contains a private grave, but the burial site must remain undisturbed unless proper legal steps are followed. Any burial noted on the deed will show up in a title search, and buyers will want to understand what obligations come with the grave. A home burial can reduce buyer interest and complicate appraisal.

If a new owner or the original family wants to relocate remains, they must first obtain an exhumation permit from the board of health or town clerk where the body is buried, as required by Section 45 of Chapter 114.² The family of the deceased should be notified before any relocation. Some municipalities also impose deed restrictions preventing future development directly over a burial site.

Visitation is a separate problem. Massachusetts does not have a specific statute granting descendants an automatic right to visit graves on private land. If the land is sold, descendants who want to visit the grave will need the new owner’s permission. The most reliable protection is to negotiate an express easement at the time of sale, recorded in the deed, that grants descendants the right to enter the property at reasonable times to visit and maintain the grave. Without that, a new owner can legally refuse access.

When To Involve an Attorney

Home burial approval touches property law, environmental regulation, municipal zoning, and public health at once. An attorney familiar with Massachusetts land use can help you prepare the board of health application, draft the deed amendment and any restrictive covenants, and negotiate a visitation easement if you expect to sell the property later. That help matters most in towns with little experience processing these requests, where the absence of established procedure can produce delays or denials that better preparation would have avoided.

If you want to be buried on your own land, putting that wish in a will may not be enough on its own, since a will is often not read until after disposition of remains has already occurred. A separate burial directive, early communication with your board of health, and a family that understands the approval steps are what make the plan workable in the time available.

1
Mass.gov. Information for Local Boards of Health on Home Burials and Green Burials
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 114 Section 45 – Burial Permits, Permits For Removal Of Bodies, Certificates Of Death, Deceased Veterans
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 114 Section 35 – Lands to Be Used for Burial, Approval
4
Mass.gov. Issues to Consider in Preparing for Disposition of Decedents
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A – Zoning