Louisiana Burial Laws: Cemetery Licensing, Trust Funds, and Penalties

Louisiana burial laws sit in Title 8 of the Revised Statutes and a handful of related regulations. They require a burial transit permit before any interment, license private cemeteries through the Louisiana Cemetery Board, force operators to fund a perpetual care trust of at least $50,000, restrict disinterment to court or coroner order, and protect historic graves through a separate preservation act. Break any of these rules and the penalties run from administrative fines through misdemeanor charges to license revocation.

What Has To Happen Before a Burial

No burial happens in Louisiana without a burial transit permit. The permit is prepared on forms provided by the State Registrar of Vital Records and issued only after the death certificate has been filed with the local registrar. It records the method of final disposition, the date, and the cemetery name and lot number.¹

The funeral director handling the arrangements must be licensed in Louisiana. Licensure requires passing an examination administered by the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.² Families can verify a director’s current license status before signing anything.

Above-Ground Burial Is Tradition, Not Law

Louisiana is known for above-ground tombs, especially in New Orleans, but no state statute requires them. The tradition grew from a high water table that can push below-ground caskets during flooding. Individual cemeteries set their own policies, and many require outer burial containers, such as vaults or grave liners, to prevent the ground from sinking.

Federal law forbids funeral providers from telling customers that the state requires an outer burial container when it doesn’t. If a cemetery insists on one, that requirement is a matter of the cemetery’s own policy, and the provider has to say so plainly.³

Moving Remains After Burial

Once someone is interred, the burial is treated as permanent. Disinterment is allowed only by an order from a court of competent jurisdiction or from the coroner of the parish where the cemetery is located.⁴

Families who want to move a loved one should expect to hire a licensed funeral director, secure the court or coroner authorization, and coordinate with both the original and destination cemeteries. State health regulations and the receiving cemetery’s own rules apply on top of the authorization. Courts generally want a compelling reason before signing an order.

Running a Cemetery: Incorporation, Licensing, and the Trust Fund

Private cemeteries in Louisiana answer to the Louisiana Cemetery Board. Publicly owned cemeteries operated by municipalities or parishes fall under a separate chapter of Title 8 with different requirements, though the board still touches many operational matters.

Incorporation

Any entity operating a cemetery must be incorporated. Operations that predate the current law are grandfathered, but new ventures need a corporate structure, and the articles of incorporation must certify the trust fund arrangements for perpetual care.⁵

Certificate of Authority

No one may sell burial plots or conduct interments without a valid, unsuspended certificate of authority from the board. The application requires proof of compliance with applicable laws, evidence of financial responsibility, and a demonstration of the applicant’s reputation.⁶ Operating without a certificate is a misdemeanor, and each sale or interment counts as its own violation, with fines of $100 to $500 and imprisonment of 30 days to six months, or both.⁷

The board can suspend a certificate on an emergency basis, before any formal hearing, if it finds that public health, welfare, or safety is at risk.⁶

Perpetual Care Trust Fund

Before a new cemetery can advertise or sell burial spaces as “perpetual care” or “endowed care,” it must establish a trust fund of at least $50,000 in cash. Securities listed on a national exchange or government obligations with equivalent fair market value can substitute for cash. The trust must be held by a federally insured financial institution or trust company located in Louisiana with fiduciary powers.⁸

After the fund is established, the cemetery deposits at least 10 percent of the gross sales price of every interment space or interment right sold. Sales tax and finance charges are excluded, but the deposit can never drop below 10 percent of the fair market value of the space, even if the space was sold at a discount.⁹ A promotional price on plots does not shrink the trust obligation.

Cemeteries file annual reports with the board on their trust fund status, and trustees file their own separate accounting. The board can examine the funds and require the cemetery to cover the cost of the examination.⁵

Records and Contracts

Every cemetery keeps a record of all remains interred on its premises. For each burial the record must include the name of the deceased, the date of interment, the location, and the name of the funeral director or funeral home.¹⁰ The statute sets no retention period, so these records effectively must be kept indefinitely. Ownership and transfer records for burial plots must also be available for inspection.⁵

Any cemetery selling burial rights, merchandise, or services must give the customer a written contract at the time of purchase, complying with Title 8 and the board’s rules. Cemeteries operating under an abandoned cemetery sales and management license must deliver any merchandise or perform any service sold within 120 days of the contract date.¹¹

When the Federal Funeral Rule Applies

The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule reaches cemeteries that sell both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. Cemeteries without an on-site funeral home that do not sell funeral services are generally not covered, though the line can blur and misclassification is a costly mistake.¹²

Where it applies, the Rule requires:

A printed General Price List handed to anyone who asks in person, showing itemized costs for all goods and services, which the customer keeps.
Separate casket and outer burial container price lists shown before displaying products, if those prices are not already on the General Price List.
A written itemized statement at the end of the arrangement discussion listing every item purchased and its price.
Accurate price information over the phone, without requiring the caller to visit in person.
Handling third-party caskets or urns without any refusal or handling fee.

Historic and Abandoned Graves

Louisiana has thousands of small, unmarked burial sites from the colonial and antebellum periods, and a separate law protects them. The Louisiana Historic Cemetery Preservation Act covers abandoned cemeteries more than 50 years old that are not under the Cemetery Board’s jurisdiction.¹³

Disturbing a historic cemetery or isolated grave without a permit from the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism is unlawful, and “disturb” is read broadly. A first offense carries a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both. Second and subsequent offenses rise to a maximum $10,000 fine or two years of imprisonment. Each disturbed cemetery or grave is a separate violation.¹³

If you discover what looks like a historic cemetery or isolated grave, notify the department within 72 hours. Any activity that could disturb the site must stop immediately and cannot resume until the department authorizes it. Property developers and construction crews are bound by this rule, and a chance find can halt an entire project.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Enforcement runs on several tracks.

Administrative Fines

After a formal hearing, the Cemetery Board can impose fines up to $1,000 per non-willful violation and up to $10,000 per willful violation, plus court reporter and attorney fees.⁶ Specific ranges for common violations appear in the board’s fine schedule.¹⁴

Criminal Penalties

Operating without a certificate of authority is a misdemeanor, with each sale or interment a separate violation and fines of $100 to $500, with imprisonment of 30 days to six months possible.⁷ Violating cemetery sales or management licensing rules brings fines of $200 to $1,000, imprisonment of 30 days to one year, or both, along with license revocation.¹⁵

Revocation, Injunctions, and Civil Suits

The board can revoke or suspend a certificate for any violation of Title 8 or its regulations, and can go to court for an injunction shutting the operation down. Families whose burial sites are neglected or whose contracts are not honored can sue directly. A cemetery that took perpetual care money and then let the grounds go has a straightforward breach-of-contract exposure. Administrative fines do not block the board or the attorney general from bringing separate civil actions.¹⁴

1
Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 48 V-12311 – Burial Transit Permit
2
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 37 RS 37-842 – Minimum Qualifications for License
3
eCFR. 16 CFR Part 453 – Funeral Industry Practices
4
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 8-660 – Exceptions
5
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 8 – Cemeteries
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 8-75 – Refusal to Grant, Revocation, or Suspension of Certificate; Injunction; Fines; Additional Orders
7
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 8-74 – Sale or Interment; Certificate of Authority; Penalty
8
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 8 RS 8-454 – Trust Funds Required; Master Trust Funds
9
Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 46 XIII-1501 – Payments to Perpetual Care
10
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 8 RS 8-662 – Record of Remains to Be Kept
11
Louisiana Cemetery Board. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 8 Cemeteries – RS 8-206 Contracts Required; Disclosure
12
Federal Trade Commission. Complying With the Funeral Rule
13
Louisiana Office of Cultural Development. Chapter 21-B – Louisiana Historic Cemetery Preservation Act
14
Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 46 XIII-1135 – Fine Schedules for Willful and Nonwillful Violations of the Louisiana Cemetery Act
15
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 8 RS 8-408 – Penalties