Louisiana handles burial differently from most other states. The law sits in Title 8 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, and the land itself shapes the practice. Across much of south Louisiana the water table is high, so families use above-ground tombs and mausoleums. In the north, in-ground burial is the usual choice. This page explains who oversees cemeteries, how the parish system affects your search, and what to prepare before you call.

Who Oversees Cemeteries in Louisiana

Three public bodies matter most to families. The Louisiana Cemetery Board administers the state's cemetery statutes. It deals with cemetery authorities, perpetual care obligations and pre-need sales. It is also the right place to take a complaint when a commercial cemetery will not honour a written contract.

The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors licenses funeral homes and funeral directors. That matters here because many cemeteries are tied to funeral businesses. The listing for Gillis Aubrey - Rose-Neath Funeral Hm-Cemetery in Many shows how the two services often overlap under one roof.

The third body is the Division of Archaeology, which works under the Unmarked Human Burial Sites Preservation Act. It becomes involved when an old grave or forgotten burial ground turns up during construction, farming or storm cleanup.

Ownership varies a great deal, and it decides who you deal with:

Ask who owns a cemetery before you buy a space. That answer tells you who signs the deed, who keeps the burial map and who to call when a grave needs repair.

Parishes, Not Counties: Reading the Louisiana Listings

Louisiana has parishes instead of counties. Our directory uses the word county in its page names, so Orleans County means Orleans Parish and Lafayette County means Lafayette Parish. Local officials and signs will always say parish. Use whichever name helps you find the right page, but use the parish name when you speak to a clerk or sexton.

The biggest concentration of burial grounds is in Orleans County. New Orleans is famous for its "cities of the dead", dense rows of tombs that look like small streets of houses. Gates Of Prayer Cemetery on Canal Street sits in that landscape. Many tombs are held by families across generations, so ownership questions can be complicated. A family tomb may hold several relatives, and the person with authority to open it is not always obvious. Bring a death certificate, proof of relationship and any old deed or receipt you can find.

Across the river and upriver, Jefferson Parish County includes Gretna, where McDonoghville Cemetery on Hancock Street is listed with a working phone number, 504-363-1577. Calling ahead is wise. Smaller historic cemeteries may have limited staff hours and no walk-in office.

In the capital region, East Baton Rouge Parish County has the long-established Baton Rouge Magnolia Cemetery on North 22nd Street. Nearby Livingston Parish adds Newsom Cemetery in Denham Springs. Further north, Caddo Parish County covers Shreveport, where Eppes Cemetery Corporation on Shirley Francis Road lists 318-938-1612.

Acadiana, North Louisiana and Rural Parishes

Burial customs change as you leave the big cities. In Acadiana, Catholic tradition is strong. Fountain Memorial Cemetery on Pandora Street in Lafayette and New Iberia Holy Family Cemetery on Curtis Lane are examples of places where family plots and parish ties run deep. Around All Saints' Day on November 1, families clean and whitewash tombs and bring flowers. Cemeteries are busiest then, and grounds crews often ask visitors to avoid driving on narrow lanes.

Smaller towns can have several burial grounds within a few miles. Ville Platte has multiple listings, including Deville Cemetery on P Z Road. Jennings has Jennings Parkview Cemetery on Park Street. Abbeville has Abbeville Graceland Cemetery on Graceland Avenue. In places like these, the cemetery may not have an office at all. A phone call often reaches a caretaker, a church secretary or a local funeral home that keeps the plot book.

The Gulf Coast adds a storm factor. Hurricanes and flooding have damaged tombs, shifted markers and disturbed older graves in several parishes. If you are searching for a family grave after a storm, ask the cemetery or parish office whether records were lost or rebuilt. Some small cemeteries rely on a single handwritten ledger.

North Louisiana is more rural and inland. Cemeteries in Bastrop, Minden and Coushatta are mostly in-ground, often next to churches or on community land. Hours are informal. Some grounds are open daily, while others lock a gate after dusk.

Practical Steps Before You Call a Louisiana Cemetery

A few preparations save time on any call. Gather these items first:

If you are arranging a new burial, ask about opening and closing charges, vault or liner requirements, marker rules and perpetual care. Request prices in writing. Louisiana cemeteries set many of these terms in their own rules, so a plot in one parish may come with different requirements from a plot ten miles away.

For above-ground tombs, ask what the cemetery permits for repairs and who may hire a mason. Most historic sites limit work to approved contractors. Do not attempt to repaint, patch or reseal a historic tomb yourself without permission.

If a phone number is listed, start there. If none is listed, as with Covington Wilson Cemetery on North Columbia Street, contact the nearest funeral home or the local parish government office and ask who maintains the grounds.

Government cemeteries in Louisiana 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 132 cities across Louisiana. They are spread across 52 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

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

Cemetery by Counties

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

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

Visiting, Records and Care at Louisiana Cemeteries

Visiting a Louisiana cemetery takes some planning. Weather can be hot and humid for much of the year, and low ground may stay wet after heavy rain. Wear sturdy shoes and bring water, especially in older cemeteries with little shade. Stay on paths where you can, because sunken ground and loose brick around tombs are real hazards.

Records are held in several places. The cemetery office may keep burial registers and lot maps. Funeral homes keep arrangement files. Catholic parishes, which are central to many Louisiana communities, keep sacramental and burial records in their church offices. For genealogy, start with the cemetery and the church before moving to wider searches. Ask about copy fees and how long a request takes.

When you leave flowers or decorations, check the cemetery rules first. Some grounds remove items on a set schedule so mowers and crews can work. Respect other families' graves, and never lean on or climb a tomb.

The Louisiana Cemetery Board administers the state's cemetery laws, which are found in Title 8 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. It covers matters such as cemetery authorities, perpetual care and pre-need sales. Funeral homes and directors fall under a separate body, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. If your problem is a contract dispute with a commercial cemetery, start by writing to the cemetery, keep copies of everything, and then contact the Cemetery Board. For a small church or community cemetery, the first contact is usually the congregation or the local board that runs it.

New Orleans sits low, and the water table is high. Graves dug into the ground can fill with water, so the city developed a long tradition of tombs, vaults and wall crypts built above the surface. Gates Of Prayer Cemetery on Canal Street is among the 44 listings we show for Orleans County. Family tombs are often reused, and a custom frequently described as a year and a day is used before a tomb is reopened for another burial. Rules differ by cemetery, so ask the office or the tomb's owner of record.

Start with the town and parish where the person died or lived. Call the cemeteries there, using the numbers in our listings where available, and give the full name and approximate dates. If that fails, contact the funeral home that handled the service or the church the family attended. Catholic parishes often hold burial entries going back many decades. Remember that Louisiana uses parishes, so a search for Lafayette or Terrebonne means Lafayette Parish or Terrebonne Parish. Be ready for the possibility that older records are handwritten or were damaged in a hurricane.

Southeast La Veterans Cemetery is at 34888 Grantham College Drive in Slidell, within St. Tammany County. It is a state veterans cemetery, and eligibility is based on military service and discharge status, with some provisions for spouses and eligible dependents. Exact rules and required papers can change, so confirm them before making plans. Our listing shows 985-646-6458. Have the veteran's discharge paperwork, usually a DD-214, and the death certificate ready when you call. Your funeral director can also help submit the request and arrange the committal service.

Stop any digging or clearing near the spot right away, and do not move bones or markers. Louisiana's Unmarked Human Burial Sites Preservation Act protects such burials, and the state Division of Archaeology is the agency that handles them. Notify local law enforcement so they can decide whether the remains are recent, and contact the Division of Archaeology for guidance. Take photographs and note the location, but avoid disturbing the site. Old family plots, plantation burial grounds and Native American sites can all be found this way, especially after storms or during land clearing.

Use the phone number in the listing first. Deville Cemetery in Ville Platte lists 337-831-8402, and Jennings Parkview Cemetery lists 337-821-5500. In Calcasieu County, Combre Memorial Park Cemetery on Opelousas Street in Lake Charles lists 337-436-0514. Small cemeteries may not have staffed offices, so leave a clear message with your name, the person you are researching and a call-back number. If no one answers, try the local funeral home or the church tied to the cemetery. Both often know who keeps the plot book and who can approve a burial.