General Provisions

V.S.A. tit. 18, ch. 121, subch. 1

in effect

18 V.S.A. § 5300 Statutory purposes

5300. Statutory purposes The statutory purpose of the exemption for cemeteries in sections 5317 and 5376 of this title is to lower the cost of establishing and maintaining cemeteries. Added 2013, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.

18 V.S.A. § 5301 Application of chapter

5301. Application of chapter This chapter shall be applicable to all agencies now engaged in, or which shall hereafter engage in any business of a cemetery within this State, and to all property used or intended to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead.

18 V.S.A. § 5302 Definitions

5302. Definitions As used in this chapter and unless otherwise required by the context: (1) “Agencies” means town cemeteries; religious or ecclesiastical society cemeteries; cemetery associations; and any person, firm, corporation, or unincorporated association engaged in the business of a cemetery. (2) “Cemetery” means any plot of ground used or intended to be used for the burial or permanent disposition of the remains of the human dead in a grave, a mausoleum, a columbarium, a vault, or other receptacle. (3) “Cemetery association” means any corporation now or hereafter organized that is or shall be authorized by its articles to conduct the business of a cemetery. (4) “Columbarium” means a structure or room or other space in a building or structure of durable and lasting fireproof construction, containing niches, used or intended to be used, to contain the permanent disposition of human remains. (5) “Community mausoleum” means a structure or building of durable and lasting construction used or intended to be used for the permanent disposition of the remains of deceased persons in crypts or spaces, provided such crypts or spaces are available to or may be obtained by individuals or the public for a price in money or its equivalent. (6) “Cremated remains” means remains of a deceased person after incineration in a disposition facility. (7) “Cremation” means the reducing of the remains of deceased persons, by the use of retorts, to cremated remains and the disposal thereof in a columbarium, niche, mausoleum, grave, or in any other manner not contrary to law. (8) “Crypt” means the chamber in a mausoleum of sufficient size to contain the remains of deceased persons. (9) “Disposition facility” means a building or structure for the reducing of human remains by means of cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction. (10) “Ecological land management practices” means utilization of land stewardship decision-making processes that account for the best available understanding of ecosystem functions and biological diversity. (11) “Natural burial ground” means a cemetery maintained using ecological land management practices and without the use of vaults for the burial of unembalmed human remains or human remains embalmed using nontoxic embalming fluids and that rest in either no burial container or in a nontoxic, nonhazardous, plant-derived burial container or shroud. (12) “Natural organic reduction” means the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil. (13) “Niche” means a recess in a columbarium used, or intended to be used, for the permanent disposition of human remains of one or more deceased persons. (14) “Temporary receiving vault” means a vault or crypt in a structure of durable and lasting construction used, or intended to be used, for the temporary deposit of the remains of a deceased person for a period of time not exceeding one year. Amended 2015, No. 24, § 1; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 94; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5303 Policy declared

5303. Policy declared The object, purposes, and activities of a cemetery shall be restricted to those acts only that are necessary to enable it to accomplish the purposes for which it is created. It shall not be conducted for the purpose of private gain either directly or indirectly to any of the members of the agencies engaged in such business. Lawfully organized cemeteries may be conducted and operated by those agencies now engaged in their conduct and operation, by churches, by religious and ecclesiastical societies, by cemetery associations incorporated as provided in this chapter, and by no others. However, this chapter is not intended to apply to any agency organized, existing, and operating the business of a cemetery prior to June 1, 1933, under any existing law, nor to affect any vested rights acquired thereunder. Insofar, however, as the provisions of this chapter do not violate any vested rights, so acquired, it shall apply to all such agencies. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 166, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5304 Limitation of powers

5304. Limitation of powers The business of cemeteries shall not include among its corporate powers, either by express grant or as an incident thereto, the right to engage in any business enterprise or occupation such as is usually pursued by private individuals. Nevertheless, this provision shall not exclude the right of cemeteries to sell corner posts and other implements to define the boundaries of lots or other subdivisions of such cemeteries, and articles incident to the care and maintenance of lots and burial spaces, and the right of cemeteries to furnish or sell materials necessary for a complete cemetery burial service.

18 V.S.A. § 5305 Right to make rules and regulations

5305. Right to make rules and regulations The right of an agency engaged in the business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium to make rules and regulations for the use, care, management, and protection thereof is hereby affirmed, and such agencies may by rule or regulation determine who may be buried or deposited in the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 167, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5306 Perpetual care funds

5306. Perpetual care funds An agency engaged in the cemetery business shall have the right to acquire by gift, devise, or otherwise, land and property of every name and nature and to set aside surplus funds, to be held in trust as a perpetual care fund, the income thereof to be used according to the directions of the trust, where such directions are given, and where no specific directions are given, or, where given, and the purpose is incapable of performance, or there is a surplus of income after the directions of the trust have been fully complied with and performed, to use the same for the purpose of building, repairing, maintaining, adorning, and beautifying buildings or parts thereof, fences, graves, vaults, mausoleums, monuments, walks, cemetery lots, grounds, drives, or avenues, as the interests of the lot owners and cemetery shall appear. The duty upon all agencies organized to establish a perpetual care fund according to the terms set forth in this chapter is hereby imposed. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 168, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5307 Rule against perpetuities

5307. Rule against perpetuities A trust having one or more purposes provided under this chapter shall not be declared invalid by reason of indefiniteness as to the termination thereof, nor by the rule against perpetuities.

18 V.S.A. § 5308 Custodian of funds; bond

5308. Custodian of funds; bond When such funds are not deposited with a bank chartered by the State or a national bank, the custodian or depositary thereof, unless otherwise directed by the terms of the trust or other provisions of this chapter, shall be the treasurer of the agency owning, operating, or controlling the cemetery in which lots or burial spaces are sold, or in which mausoleums or columbariums are located, who shall furnish and file with such agency, at its expense, a good and sufficient bond or bonds with surety or sureties approved by the Probate Division of the Superior Court, indemnifying and securing such agency against loss occasioned by the failure of the treasurer to properly protect, preserve, and administer such funds under the treasurer’s control. Such funds shall be invested and the income from the funds expended upon the written orders of the directors or trustees of such agency. Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 169, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5309 Investment of funds

5309. Investment of funds The principal sum of such funds shall be invested in bonds of the United States or the State of Vermont, or in the bonds or in notes issued in anticipation of taxes and authorized by vote of any town, village, or city in this State, or loaned upon first mortgage on real estate in this State a sum not in excess of 60 percent of the value of such real estate, or upon collateral of any of the above securities of equal value with the loan, or in shares of a savings and loan association of this State or share accounts of a federal savings and loan association with its principal office in this State and to the extent to which the withdrawal or repurchase value of such shares or accounts may be insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, or stock in a federal bank, a safe deposit company, or a national bank or state bank or trust company organized and doing business in the United States. Up to 35 percent of the association’s assets may be invested in common or preferred stocks of corporations organized and existing under the laws of any state of the United States of America, or may be invested in the manner required for the investment of trust funds, unless otherwise authorized by the donor. No assets of the association may be loaned to a member, officer, trustee, or director of any such cemetery agency. Amended 1979, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.).

18 V.S.A. § 5310 Plats

5310. Plats An agency engaged in any business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall cause to be made a plat of its grounds, showing the part thereof improved or in use and that part held for future cemetery use. The plat of the improved part shall show the land laid out in sections, lots, driveways, walks, and paths, sections to be designated by symbols, and the lots shall be numbered. All additions to such improved areas, and all new cemetery grounds hereafter established, shall be platted in the manner provided above. It is further provided that in case of a community mausoleum or columbarium, every agency shall cause to be made a plat thereof on which shall be set forth the sections, halls, rooms, corridors, elevators, or other subdivisions thereof with their descriptive names and numbers. The agency making such plat shall file the same for record in the office of the town clerk of the town in which the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium is located.

18 V.S.A. § 5311 Recording of plats

5311. Recording of plats It shall be the duty of the town clerk to receive and insert or bind in a book provided for that purpose all original plats or photostatic copies thereof, made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, of such cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, which shall constitute the recording thereof. The fees therefor shall not exceed the cost of the work of such recording, plus $3.00. The making or recording of a cemetery plat by any agency other than those specified in this chapter, or the recording of any cemetery plat which does not conform to and with the provisions of this chapter shall be void and of no effect.

18 V.S.A. § 5312 Limitation of sales

5312. Limitation of sales A lot, section, subdivision, crypt, niche, or any part of the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall not be sold, contracted for sale, or offered for sale, until and unless a plat shall be made and recorded in accordance with the terms of this chapter.

18 V.S.A. § 5313 Records; burial records open to public

5313. Records; burial records open to public An agency engaged in the business of a cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium shall provide and maintain a suitable place of deposit for the records and files of such cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, of such character as will safely keep and preserve such records and files from loss and destruction, and it shall make and file proper records in such place. The record of the permanent disposition of human remains shall at all reasonable times be open to the public. Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5314 Sale of property for interment purposes; disposition of receipts

5314. Sale of property for interment purposes; disposition of receipts After recording the plat as provided in this chapter, and subject to the further provisions of this chapter relating to the sale of lots, crypts, and niches, the sale of lots, crypts, and niches may be made for the sole purpose of interments under such rules and regulations as may be imposed by the agency owning the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, and no part of the proceeds from such sales or other income shall ever be divided among its members, but shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the cemetery, community mausoleum, or columbarium, or placed in the perpetual care fund thereof, the income thereof to be so used. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 170, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5315 Sale of property for other than burial purposes; disposition of proceeds

5315. Sale of property for other than burial purposes; disposition of proceeds Either before or after the recording of the plat, as provided in this chapter, whenever it is determined that such lands acquired for cemetery purposes, except those acquired by condemnation proceedings, are unsuitable for the permanent disposition of human remains, such lands may be sold for purposes other than permanent disposition and conveyed in fee simple in such manner and upon such terms as may be provided by the agencies owning the same. The proceeds thereof shall be applied to the purchase of other lands or to general cemetery purposes. When such sales are made, the land so sold shall be returned by the agencies to the tax lists for taxation. In the case of land acquired by condemnation proceedings, it shall be disposed of under the law governing the disposal of land acquired by condemnation proceedings. (V.S. 1947, § 4021. 1947, No. 202, § 4022. P.L. § 3853. 1933, No. 49, § 16; amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. Jan. 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 171, eff. July 1, 2023.)

18 V.S.A. § 5316 Encumbrance of cemetery property prohibited

5316. Encumbrance of cemetery property prohibited A public mausoleum, crematorium, columbarium, the land or lot or right of burial shall not be mortgaged, pledged, or in any manner encumbered by the agency owning or controlling the same.

18 V.S.A. § 5317 Tax exemptions

5317. Tax exemptions Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all cemetery lands, buildings, and property, and the proceeds thereof, as defined in this chapter, which have been platted and devoted to or held exclusively for cemetery purposes, including donations or gifts and held in trust or otherwise, and all other funds held for the improvement, maintenance, repair, and ornamentation of such cemetery, together with the income therefrom and all other revenues and income shall be exempt from taxation.

18 V.S.A. § 5318 Public use of cemetery for other purposes

5318. Public use of cemetery for other purposes A public highway or railroad shall not be laid through such burial ground without the consent of the town, association, or the General Assembly, and no portion of such burial ground shall be taken for public use without special authority from the General Assembly.

18 V.S.A. § 5319 Disposition of remains of dead

5319. Disposition of remains of dead (a)(1) The permanent disposition of human remains shall be by: (A) interment in the earth; (B) deposit in a chamber, vault, or tomb formed wholly or partly above the surface of the ground of a cemetery conducted and maintained pursuant to the laws of the State; (C) deposit in a crypt of a mausoleum; (D) cremation; or (E) natural organic reduction. (2) However, this shall not be construed to prevent a private individual from setting aside a portion of the private individual’s premises owned in fee by the private individual and using the premises as a burial space for the members of the private individual’s immediate family, provided the private individual’s use for such purpose is not in violation of the health laws and rules of the State and the town in which the land is situated. (b)(1) Interment of any human body in the earth shall not be made unless the distance from the bottom of the outside coffin or body shall be at least three and one-half feet below the natural surface of the ground. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the interment of a human body at a depth greater than three and one-half feet below the surface of the ground. (2) The burial boundaries of a new or expanded cemetery shall be located: (A) not less than 200 feet up gradient of a drilled bedrock well or a drilled well in a confined aquifer that is part of an exempt or permitted potable water supply or a transient noncommunity public water system source; (B) not less than 500 feet up gradient from any other groundwater source that is part of an exempt or permitted potable water supply or a transient noncommunity public water system; (C) not less than 150 feet cross or down gradient from any groundwater source that is part of an exempt or permitted potable water supply or transient noncommunity public water system; (D) outside zone one or two of the source protection area for an existing or permitted public community water system; (E) outside the source protection area for an existing or permitted nontransient, noncommunity public water system; (F) outside a river corridor as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 1422 and delineated by the Agency of Natural Resources; and (G) outside a flood hazard area as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 752, and delineated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Flood Insurance Program. (c) With the exception of human remains processed by natural organic reduction, the permanent disposition of human remains shall not be made in a single chamber, vault, or tomb wholly or partly above the surface of the ground unless the part thereof below the natural surface of the ground be of a permanent character, constructed of materials capable of withstanding extreme climatic conditions, be waterproof and air tight, and can be sealed permanently so as to prevent all escape of effluvia. That portion of the same above the natural surface of the ground shall be constructed of natural stone of a standard not less than that required by the U.S. government for monuments erected in national cemeteries, of durability sufficient to withstand all conditions of weather, and of a character to ensure its permanence. (d) The remains of a human body after cremation or natural organic reduction may be deposited in a niche of a columbarium or a crypt of a mausoleum, buried, or disposed of in any manner not contrary to law. Amended 2015, No. 24, § 2; 2017, No. 19, § 1; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. Jan. 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 172, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5320 Temporary vaults

5320. Temporary vaults A town may construct and maintain, on land owned by such town, temporary receiving vaults for the temporary disposition of dead bodies, if approved by a majority of voters present and voting at an annual or special town meeting duly warned for that purpose. Such temporary disposition shall be for a period not to exceed one year.

18 V.S.A. § 5321 Improvement of private burial grounds; duties of officers

5321. Improvement of private burial grounds; duties of officers When the use and care of a private burial ground has been abandoned and such ground becomes unsightly from any cause, or when headstones or monuments have been displaced, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners having charge of the public cemeteries in the town where such burial ground is located, on written request of three legally qualified voters of such town, shall immediately cause a notice to be published once a week on the same day of the week for three successive weeks in some newspaper circulating in the town, calling upon any person interested in such burial ground to cause the same to be put in proper condition within three months after the date of such notice. At the expiration of such time, if such demand is not complied with, the selectboard or board shall proceed then and thereafter as if such ground were a public burial place. Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2023, No. 6, § 173, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5322 Temporary access to cemeteries

5322. Temporary access to cemeteries (a) Any person wishing to have a temporary right of entry over private land in order to enter a graveyard enclosure to which there is no public right-of-way may apply in writing to the selectboard or cemetery commissioners, as the case may be, state the reason for such request and the period of time for which such right is to be exercised. The applicant shall also notify in writing an owner or occupier of the land over which the right-of-way is desired. If the selectboard or cemetery commissioners find that the request is reasonable, they shall issue a permit for a temporary right of entry designating the particular place where, and the manner in which, the land may be crossed. The owner or occupier of the land may recommend a place of crossing which, if reasonable, shall be the place designated by the selectboard or cemetery commissioners. (b) An owner or occupier of the land who refuses to comply with a permit issued under subsection (a) of this section may be liable for reasonable costs and attorney’s fees expended to enforce the permit. Added 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; amended 1993, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.

18 V.S.A. § 5323 Natural burial grounds; exemptions

5323. Natural burial grounds; exemptions (a) A natural burial ground shall not be subject to the following provisions of this chapter: (1) section 5310 of this title with regard to the method of platting so as to allow the use of any nonstandard method of locating human remains that enables demarcation in the town land record of the exact location and identity of each buried body, such as by mapping, surveying, or use of a global positioning system; (2) section 5362 of this title; (3) section 5364 of this title, to the extent that selectboard members or cemetery commissioners need not maintain or repair a fence around a public natural burial ground so long as the perimeter of the natural burial ground is marked in a less obtrusive manner, such as by survey markers; and (4) section 5371, unless the regulations governing a particular natural burial ground require a marker on a person’s grave, in which case the selectboard members of the town or the aldermen of a city where the person is buried shall cause to be erected on the person’s grave a marker in keeping with the regulations of that natural burial ground. (b)(1) A person shall not construct improvements on property used as a natural burial ground, except for improvements that serve as a winter storage facility or that are either educational or devotional in nature and maintain the character of the land. (2) A deed transferring rights in property used as a natural burial ground shall set forth the prohibition in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Added 2015, No. 24, § 3.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/18/121Fetched: 10/21/2026