Texas has more than 29 million residents, 254 counties, and a wide gap between its largest cities and its smallest ranching towns. That gap shapes how burial grounds are run. Our directory lists 727 cemeteries across the state, from large perpetual care parks in Houston and Dallas to city-run grounds in Lubbock and Abilene. This page explains who oversees them, how they differ by region, and what to do before you call or visit.

Most Texas cemetery questions come down to three things: who owns the ground, who holds the right to be buried there, and who must approve a change. Once you know those answers, the rest is paperwork and timing.

How Cemetery Oversight Works in Texas

Texas has no single office that runs every burial ground. Ownership is split among commercial companies, cities, counties, churches, nonprofit associations, and families, and each group answers to different rules. A call to the wrong office often ends with a polite redirect.

Most state-level rules sit in the Texas Health and Safety Code. Chapter 711 covers general cemetery matters, including burial rights, visitor access, and abandoned or neglected grounds. Chapter 712 covers perpetual care cemeteries, which must set money aside in a trust for long-term upkeep. The Texas Department of Banking has long been the state regulator for those cemeteries, so it is the place to take a complaint about trust funds or maintenance promises.

Funeral homes and crematories fall under a different body. The Texas Funeral Service Commission licenses funeral directors, embalmers, funeral establishments, and crematories under Chapter 651 of the Occupations Code. It does not run cemeteries. A dispute over a grave space and a dispute over a funeral bill may therefore go to two separate offices.

City-owned grounds follow local ordinances rather than a state license. The City of Lubbock Cemetery, at 2011 34th Street, and Abilene City Cemetery, at 633 Walnut Street, are municipal examples in our directory. Their phone lines, 806-767-2270 and 325-676-6094, usually reach staff who can check burial records, sell spaces, and explain monument rules.

Whatever the owner, a purchase in Texas generally buys a right of interment rather than the land itself. You should receive a deed, certificate, or contract that names the space, section, and lot. Keep it with your family papers. Cemeteries use it to confirm who may authorize a burial or a headstone.

Houston, Dallas, and Beyond: How Texas Regions Differ

Texas is large enough that cemetery practice changes with the map. In the big metros you will find sprawling memorial parks with on-site funeral homes, mausoleums, and cremation gardens. Earthman Funeral Directors & Cemeteries at 13102 North Freeway in Houston (281-443-0063) and American Memorial Park Cemetery at 10924 Garland Road in Dallas (214-328-7111) fit that model. Harris County and Dallas County hold the most listings in our database, so they are the natural starting points for a metro search.

The Gulf Coast has its own habits. Low ground and a high water table make above-ground entombment more common around Houston, Galveston, and Beaumont. Beaumont Live Oak Memorial Park Cemetery, at 12563 West Port Arthur Road (409-729-0700), and Orange Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery, at 4560 State Highway 87 (409-735-7145), serve the Golden Triangle. Ask any coastal cemetery about vault requirements, drainage, and storm history before you buy.

Central Texas mixes old and new. Austin Memorial Park Cemetery at 2800 Hancock Drive (512-453-2320) serves the capital. Suburbs to the north rely on places such as Leander Cedar Grove Cemetery, 105 Sonny Drive (512-986-8714), in Williamson County. Population growth keeps demand rising, so ask early what space remains in the section you want.

Further west and north, distance matters. El Paso sits more than 700 miles from Houston by road, and its cemeteries, including El Paso Mount Carmel Cemetery at 401 South Zaragoza Road (915-860-0606), operate in a very different climate and culture from East Texas. In the Panhandle, Amarillo Memory Gardens Cemetery at 14200 Interstate 27 (806-622-0106) lies in Randall County even though it carries an Amarillo address. East Texas listings such as Tyler Memorial Cemetery on Texas 64 (903-597-1396), Judson Memorial Cemetery in Longview (903-663-0100), and Angelina Cemetery Service in Nacogdoches (936-422-3957) often sit along highways and county roads outside town limits.

That last point matters in practice. A mailing address may say Tyler, Arlington, or Corsicana while the grounds lie in another city or an unincorporated area. Cedar Hill Memorial Cemetery on U.S. 287 in Arlington (817-478-1878) and Corsicana Eureka Cemetery on U.S. 287 (903-874-8084) are examples. Check the county before assuming a city office has jurisdiction, and use a map to confirm the gate location.

Rural Texas leans on small community cemeteries kept by volunteer associations or churches. Many have no office, no regular hours, and records held by a volunteer secretary. The county clerk, a local funeral home, or the nearest town hall is often the fastest way to find that person.

Finding the Right Cemetery Office and Preparing Your Visit

Start by deciding what you need. Buying a space, scheduling a burial, ordering a marker, and researching a family grave are four different tasks. Different people often handle them at the same cemetery. Sales counselors sell spaces, while the sexton or superintendent handles openings, closings, and records.

For an upcoming burial, the cemetery usually asks for the following:

Ask for fees in writing before you commit. Opening and closing charges, vault requirements, marker foundations, and perpetual care fees are often priced separately, and a verbal quote can leave gaps. The federal Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to give an itemized price list. Cemeteries that only sell burial spaces are generally outside it, so a written price sheet protects you.

Timing also matters. Weekday mornings are usually easiest for office business, and weekend burials may cost extra. Visits spike around Memorial Day, All Saints' Day, and Día de los Muertos, especially in South Texas, where Hidalgo County alone has 18 listings. If you plan a holiday visit, call ahead about gate hours and decoration rules.

Veterans, Historic, and Family Cemeteries in Texas

Veterans have separate options. The Department of Veterans Affairs runs national cemeteries in Texas, including Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, Houston National Cemetery, and Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. The Texas Veterans Land Board operates state veterans cemeteries. Eligibility rests on service records, usually the DD-214, and a funeral director can often submit the request. San Antonio is also home to Alamo Masonic Cemetery at 800 Center Street (210-335-4293), a reminder that fraternal and private grounds sit alongside public ones in Bexar County.

Texas also has a deep layer of history. The Texas Historical Commission runs a Historic Texas Cemetery designation program for qualifying grounds. Fort Worth Oakwood Cemetery at 701 Grand Avenue (817-624-3531) is a long-established ground in Tarrant County. In Marshall, Black Roots Cemetery Restoration & Genealogy Center at 200 East Bowie Street (903-935-9900) works, as its name says, on restoration and family research. Genealogists should call before visiting, because staff may hold records that are not online.

Thousands of small family cemeteries sit on private ranch and farm land. State law gives visitors a right of reasonable access to a cemetery on private property, but you should still contact the landowner first. The county clerk can help locate deeds and plats that show where a family plot lies.

Government cemeteries in Texas 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 314 cities across Texas. They are spread across 156 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Texas may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Texas 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 Texas can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Texas counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

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

Cemeteries Beyond the Big Texas Metros

The largest counties draw the most attention, but our 727 listings spread across 156 counties, and plenty of useful offices sit outside Houston and Dallas. In Montgomery County, Garden Park Perpetual Care Cemetery at 1600 Porter Road in Conroe (936-756-4082) serves a fast-growing area north of Houston. In the Brazos Valley, Weedon Cemetery Service at 5335 Farm to Market Road 1179 in Bryan (979-776-2881) sits on a farm road, a common Texas pattern.

South and coastal Texas have their own options. Rose Hill Memorial Park Cemetery at 2731 Comanche Street in Corpus Christi (361-882-5497) and Golden Sunset Cemetery at 3011 Refugio Highway in Victoria (361-580-0600) serve the Coastal Bend. Comal Cemetery at 422 Peace Avenue in New Braunfels (830-625-4713) is a Hill Country choice between San Antonio and Austin. In the capital region, Travis County holds 18 listings, including Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. North of Dallas, Gainesville Memorial Care of North Texas Cemetery at 321 East California Street (940-736-8263) serves Cooke County, and Cedar Creek Memorial Park Cemetery on Texas 198 in Mabank (903-887-3111) lies in Kaufman County.

Before driving anywhere, call to confirm hours, office location, and which gate to use. Many Texas grounds are large, and the office may sit apart from the burial sections.

Cemetery Questions Texas Families Ask

No single agency covers every cemetery. Perpetual care cemeteries are governed by Chapter 712 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, and the Texas Department of Banking has traditionally supervised them, so trust fund and maintenance complaints usually go there. General rules on burial rights, visitor access, and abandoned cemeteries appear in Chapter 711. The Texas Funeral Service Commission licenses funeral homes, embalmers, and crematories, but not cemeteries themselves. City and county cemeteries answer to their local governments, and church or family cemeteries often answer to no agency at all. Because duties can shift, confirm the current office on the agency's website or ask the cemetery directly.

Texas law generally allows families to arrange a burial themselves, but the paperwork still has to be done. The death must be registered with the local registrar, and a burial-transit permit is normally needed before the body is buried or moved. A physician or medical examiner must complete the medical certification, which can take time. The cemetery will also want proof of your right to the space, and it may require a grave liner or vault plus its own opening and closing fee. Call the cemetery first, because some require a funeral director's involvement as a matter of policy even where state law does not.

A perpetual care cemetery sets aside part of the money from each sale in a trust, and the income is meant to pay for basic upkeep such as mowing, roads, and fences. Garden Park Perpetual Care Cemetery in Conroe (936-756-4082) is one example in our directory. Perpetual care does not usually cover personal choices like flowers, repairs to a private monument, or premium landscaping. Ask for the perpetual care terms in writing, including whether the fee is built into the plot price or charged separately. Also ask whether the cemetery is regulated under Chapter 712, since that determines which state office hears a complaint.

Eligible veterans, and often their spouses and dependent children, can be buried in a VA national cemetery at no charge for the gravesite, opening and closing, and a government marker. Texas national cemeteries include Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Fort Bliss in El Paso, Houston National Cemetery, and Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. The Texas Veterans Land Board also runs state veterans cemeteries. You will typically need the veteran's DD-214 or other discharge papers. A funeral director can usually submit the request, or you can contact the VA National Cemetery Scheduling Office. Private cemeteries may also offer veteran sections, so ask.

Begin with the cemetery office. Large operators such as Earthman in Houston and American Memorial Park in Dallas keep records for their sections, and city-run grounds like Abilene City Cemetery (325-676-6094) typically maintain interment registers. For older or smaller graveyards, call the county clerk or a local historical society, since church and family cemeteries often keep records informally. Black Roots Cemetery Restoration & Genealogy Center in Marshall (903-935-9900) works on historic Black burial grounds and family history. Have the full name, approximate death year, and last known county ready. A death certificate may also name the burial place, which can narrow your search before you travel.

Visit in person and ask for a written price list covering the space, opening and closing, vault or liner, marker setting, and perpetual care. Confirm the exact section and lot, and whether the right can be transferred or resold. Ask what rules govern flat versus upright markers and decorations. On the Gulf Coast, ask about drainage and flooding history. In any area, ask whether the space allows cremated remains in addition to a full burial. Be cautious about pressure to decide quickly. If you also buy prepaid funeral services, remember the cemetery and funeral home are separate businesses with separate contracts. Keep every signed document.