Frequently asked questions about the planned cemetery fees

The fees for the use of graves and burial services in Erlangen have in some cases remained unchanged for decades. At the same time, the costs for personnel, maintenance and infrastructure of the municipal cemeteries have risen. The aim of the planned adjustments is to ensure that the municipal cemeteries, as fee-financed facilities, cover their costs in future. The cost recovery ratio in 2024 was only around 60 percent. The Bavarian Municipal Auditing Association therefore recommended that the need for fees be recalculated.

The calculation is based on the specifications of the Bavarian Municipal Auditing Association and the Municipal Tax Act. All costs for personnel, care, maintenance and infrastructure are taken into account. For the use of graves, the fees are calculated according to the equivalence number calculation, which takes into account factors such as the number of grave spaces, maintenance costs and share of the cemetery design. The new Erlangen fees are still lower than those of comparable cities.

The new fees will apply from January 1, 2026. For all grave usage rights acquired before this date or extended after the end of the usage period, the previous fees will remain unchanged until the end of the usage period. The decisive factor for the extension is the date from which the new period of use to be invoiced begins. If this is still in 2025, the previous fees will still be charged. The new fees apply for periods of use from January 1, 2026. In principle, grave usage rights can be extended at the earliest three months before the end of the usage period.

The amount of the fee increase depends on the previous fee history and the actual costs. Grave types whose fees have not been adjusted for a long time, such as burial plots and urn burial plots, will rise more sharply. Grave types that were already set higher in the past or have larger grave areas will see comparatively more moderate increases.

The administration plans to regularly review the cemetery and burial fees every three years. This will allow adjustments to be made in smaller and predictable steps in order to avoid large jumps in fees in the future.