Iowa does not have one office that runs every burial ground. Cemeteries across the state belong to cities, townships, churches, Catholic dioceses, private companies, and the federal government. Each owner sets its own rules for lots, burials, and monuments. This page explains who runs what, so you know whom to call before you drive out or sign a contract. The directory lists cemeteries from busy Des Moines to quiet gravel-road churchyards in towns like Winterset and Greene.

Who Oversees Cemeteries in Iowa: Insurance Division, Townships, and Cities

Commercial cemeteries fall mainly under Chapter 523I of the Iowa Code, which the Iowa Insurance Division administers. The chapter covers perpetual care funds, cemetery registration, and prepaid contracts for burial merchandise and services. If a company holds your money for a future grave, vault, or monument, this is the agency that supervises how that money is handled. Complaints about pre-need contracts or care funds can go to the Insurance Division.

City cemeteries work differently. A city council, a cemetery board, or a parks department usually runs them, and the city clerk or a sexton sells lots. Township cemeteries answer to elected township trustees, who often hire a part-time caretaker. Iowa law also allows counties and townships to look after abandoned and pioneer cemeteries, so an old burial ground with no active owner is not necessarily unmanaged.

Several other offices touch almost every burial. The funeral home you hire files the death certificate, and county recorders issue certified copies afterward. The county medical examiner reviews certain deaths and authorizes cremation. The Office of the State Archaeologist, based at the University of Iowa, handles unmarked and ancient burials, which state law protects.

Buying a lot in most cemeteries gives you a right of burial rather than ownership of the land. Ask for the deed or certificate in writing. Read the rules on monuments, flat markers, and the number of cremated remains allowed per space.

Metro Cemeteries in Polk, Linn, Black Hawk, and the River Counties

Iowa's largest clusters of cemeteries follow its largest cities. In Polk County, Des Moines Laurel Hill Cemetery at 3601 East Court Avenue takes calls at 515-248-6325. Polk County also includes Ankeny, where a pet cemetery operates on North Ankeny Boulevard.

In Linn County, Cedar Rapids Mount Calvary Cemetery Association sits at 375 32nd Street Drive Southeast and answers at 319-362-4659. Catholic cemeteries like this one often work through an association or parish office rather than a city clerk. Burial arrangements go through that office, and the funeral home coordinates with it.

Black Hawk County holds the Waterloo and Cedar Falls pair. Catholic Cemeteries of Waterloo is at 3912 West 4th Street, phone 319-233-0746. Cedar Falls Greenwood Cemetery is at 404 North College Street, phone 319-268-5490. The two cities are neighbors, yet each cemetery has its own owner, price list, and rules, so compare them separately.

In the west, Council Bluffs Walnut Hill Cemetery at 1350 East Pierce Street (712-328-1579) lies in Pottawattamie County, across the Missouri River from Omaha. Families there sometimes weigh Iowa and Nebraska options, so confirm which state's rules apply to any contract.

Along the Mississippi, Davenport Holy Family Cemetery at 804 East 39th Street (563-391-3550) serves the Quad Cities area. Clinton Springdale Cemetery on 4th Avenue South (563-242-2554) and Burlington Sacred Heart Cemetery at 700 Division Street (319-752-6733) serve river towns with long settlement histories.

Metro cemeteries generally keep weekday office hours and maintain record desks that can confirm a burial or mail a copy of a deed. Call ahead for same-week openings, since staff must schedule grave diggers and equipment.

Rural Iowa Cemeteries: Winterset, Ames Townships, and Butler County

Rural Iowa looks different. Winterset, the Madison County seat best known for its covered bridges, has seven listings in our database, a high count for a small town. One example is Trester Cemetery at 2169 148th Street, which has no phone number on file.

Near Ames in Story County, Pleasant Grove Community Church And Cemetery sits at 56971 170th Street. In Butler County, South Vilmar Cemetery at 16073 Keystone Avenue, Greene, answers at 641-775-3390. In northwest Iowa, Le Mars Resthaven Cemetery on 150th Street lists 712-546-7175. In Union County, Creston Graceland Cemetery at 1844 Cherry Street Road lists 641-782-4841.

Iowa's rural road grid uses names such as 148th Street and 170th Street, and a phone GPS can drop you at the wrong gate. Call before your first visit, and ask for the nearest crossroads or a landmark. Many small cemeteries are mowed by volunteers or township crews, so there may be no office to walk into.

When no phone is listed, start with the township trustees or clerk. The county auditor's office can often name them. Local genealogical societies and public libraries also hold burial transcriptions and old plat maps, and they are often quicker than any government office for finding a family grave.

Records in small cemeteries may be a handwritten ledger or a map kept by one volunteer. Ask who holds it, and photograph the pages rather than removing them.

Veterans, Catholic, and Pet Cemeteries Across Iowa

Keokuk National Cemetery on Ridge Street sits in Lee County and answers at 319-524-5193. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs runs it, and it dates to the Civil War era. Lee County has two county seats, Keokuk and Fort Madison, and Fort Madison Elmwood Cemetery on Avenue L (319-372-8917) is listed in the second. Iowa also has a state-run veterans cemetery at Adel.

Catholic burial grounds make up a large share of the listings. Examples include Catholic Cemetery Improvement in Fort Dodge (1700 North 15th Street, 515-576-2923), Ottumwa Calvary Cemetery (1000 East Pennsylvania Avenue, 641-683-0687), and Sioux City Calvary Cemetery (1821 Jackson Street, 712-255-7933). In some city counts, Sioux City appears as 'Sioux' and Iowa City as 'Iowa', so search both forms.

Private memorial parks round out the picture. They include Dubuque Memorial Gardens Cemetery (8289 Jecklin Lane, 563-582-2991), Iowa City Memory Gardens Cemetery (2600 Muscatine Avenue, 319-338-0231), and Muscatine Memorial Park Cemetery (2907 Mulberry Avenue, 563-263-8842). Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone, on Forest Avenue, lists 515-432-6295.

Pet owners have fewer choices. Caring Friends Pet Cemetery at 4208 North Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny (515-965-6979) is one. A listing named Cemetery Shop in Mount Pleasant (319-385-1480) may be a retail business rather than a burial ground, so call before planning a visit.

What to Bring and When to Go for Cemetery Business in Iowa

Office staff at Iowa cemeteries often work part-time, especially outside the metro areas. Plan ahead and bring what the office needs to act without a second trip.

Timing matters in Iowa. Winter frost can slow grave openings, and spring thaw can leave rural roads soft. Memorial Day weekend is the busiest visiting time, and many cemeteries have rules about what may be left on graves. Autumn offers mild weather for headstone installation and cleanup, and many crews finish seasonal work before the first hard freeze.

Before any digging for a monument foundation, the contractor should call Iowa One Call at 811. The call is free, and the service marks buried utilities.

Government cemeteries in Iowa include facilities administered by the VA's National Cemetery Administration, state veterans cemeteries funded through state and federal partnerships, and local municipal and county cemeteries operated by city and county governments throughout the state.

Cemetery locations are available in 155 cities across Iowa. They are spread across 86 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Des Moines, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Iowa may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Services to confirm eligibility requirements and available state-operated facilities.

Cemetery by Counties

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
P
R
S
T
U
V
W

Families and genealogists in Iowa can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Iowa counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

Browse Cemetery by county across Iowa to find the nearest location.

Choosing Between Cities, Townships, and Companies for Iowa Burials

Cost and process in Iowa vary more by owner than by county. A city cemetery in a small town may charge modest lot fees and take orders at city hall. A memorial park in a metro area may bundle a lot, opening and closing, and perpetual care into a contract with several line items. Neither is automatically better. What matters is that you can see every charge on paper before you commit.

Ask four questions at any Iowa cemetery. Who owns it, and who maintains it? What does the perpetual care charge cover? Are there restrictions on monuments, vaults, or cremation urns? Can the office give you a written price list? Cemeteries in Scott County, such as Davenport Holy Family Cemetery, and rural ones in Hardin or Plymouth counties may answer differently, and the answers are worth getting in writing.

Families who live out of state should call the cemetery office and the funeral home together. The funeral home handles the death certificate, the required paperwork, and scheduling. The cemetery office confirms the lot, the opening time, and any liner or vault requirement. Sending documents by email or fax can save a trip across Iowa.

If a cemetery cannot explain who owns it or where its records are, treat that as a warning. Ask the county recorder whether a deed or plat is on file, or ask the township trustees whether they oversee it.

Common Questions About Cemeteries in Iowa

It depends on who owns the cemetery. For a commercial cemetery, a care fund, or a prepaid burial contract, contact the Iowa Insurance Division, which administers Chapter 523I of the Iowa Code. For a city cemetery, start with the city clerk or council. For a township cemetery, write to the township trustees, who meet publicly. For a church or Catholic cemetery, begin with the parish office or diocese. Put the complaint in writing, keep copies of contracts and receipts, and note dates and names from every call. Complaints about a funeral director's conduct go to the Iowa Board of Mortuary Science.

Several rural listings, such as Trester Cemetery near Winterset and Pleasant Grove Community Church And Cemetery near Ames, show no office phone. Begin with the township clerk or trustees, since they usually hold the cemetery's map or burial ledger. The county auditor's office can often tell you who the trustees are. Local historical and genealogical societies, county libraries, and old newspaper obituaries are the next stop. Online grave indexes can give you a lead, but verify the section and row on site, because volunteer transcriptions contain errors. Rural addresses use county grid road names, so confirm directions by phone before driving out.

Eligibility is set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not by the cemetery. Generally, veterans who served on active duty and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable may qualify, along with eligible spouses and dependent children. The VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing, a headstone or marker, and perpetual care at no charge. Have the veteran's discharge papers ready and call the cemetery at 319-524-5193 to confirm which interment options are currently available, because space varies at older national cemeteries. Iowa also operates a state veterans cemetery at Adel as another option.

Yes, but planning matters. Iowa ground can freeze deep enough to slow digging, and some cemeteries use heavier equipment or extra time in winter. Ask the cemetery office whether a winter opening carries an added fee and how much notice it needs. Some families hold a funeral service on schedule and arrange a committal in spring, with the cemetery or funeral home holding remains in the meantime. Smaller rural cemeteries that rely on part-time sextons or contract crews may need more lead time than city or metro operations, so call early.

Stop digging and leave the remains where they are. Call local law enforcement or the county medical examiner so they can determine whether the remains are recent. If they appear to be old, the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa becomes involved, because Iowa law protects burial sites whether or not a headstone exists. Landowners and contractors should not disturb the area or move bones. Photographing the site from a distance and noting its location can help officials, but do not collect any objects.

No. Pet cemeteries such as Caring Friends Pet Cemetery at 4208 North Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny, reachable at 515-965-6979, operate separately from the cemeteries that handle human burials. Most human cemeteries do not accept animal remains, though policies differ, so ask before assuming. When you call a pet cemetery, ask about plot or niche sizes, whether cremated pets are accepted, how long care is promised, and what happens if the owner relocates. If you plan to bury a pet on your own land, check county and local zoning rules first.