Grave Site; Application for a Right of Use

Before the burial, an application for a burial plot usage right must be submitted to the municipality. The specific terms of this usage agreement depend on the provisions set forth in the cemetery bylaws of the respective municipality. This applies in particular to the acquisition, renewal, and transfer of the usage right.

When allocating burial plots, a distinction is generally made between row graves and choice graves.

A row grave is a single grave site provided for the burial of a deceased person for the duration of the resting period. These graves are allocated in sequence according to the municipality’s occupancy plan and cannot be assigned during the person’s lifetime. The right of use expires when the burial period ends.

Selected graves are burial plots for which a special right of use—typically for the burial of multiple deceased individuals—is granted. Subject to the cemetery’s layout plan, the applicant can usually select the grave site themselves. If municipal regulations permit, the right of use for a grave may also be granted before a death occurs. However, there is no legal entitlement to the allocation of a specific grave.
The special right of use is granted for a limited period; the term of use is generally longer than the minimum burial period for the deceased. Check with the cemetery administration to find out whether and how often the right of use can be extended.

The bylaws also specify how the right of use may be transferred upon the death of the holder. In such cases, the municipality may leave this decision to the person entitled to use the grave, who can then arrange the transfer in accordance with inheritance law. However, the municipality may also specify in the bylaws to whom the right is transferred. The consent of the future grave user to the transfer is required, as the transfer also entails the obligation to maintain the gravestone and tend the grave.

A right of grave use generally ends upon the expiration of the term of use.

Rights of use for burial plots are not governed by law. Rather, they are determined by the municipality’s cemetery regulations, which set forth the conditions for obtaining or potentially extending such rights at the municipality’s discretion and taking into account the burial rights of the municipality’s residents.

A request for the right to use a burial plot must be submitted no later than the time of the burial. If municipal regulations permit, this right may also be granted before a death occurs.

• Documents must comply with local regulations