Cemeteries · Plats · Records · October 24, 2026

Cemetery Plot Map: How to Find a Grave Location and Records

How to find a cemetery plot map: ask the sexton, search posted section maps and county records, read section, lot and grave codes, and check ownership.

A cemetery plot map shows how a burial ground is divided into sections, blocks, lots and individual graves, and which spaces are used or still for sale. If you are trying to find a relative's grave, check what a family owns, or buy a space, the map and the burial register that goes with it are the two records you need. This guide explains how cemetery plot maps are laid out, who keeps them, where to look online and in person, how to read a grave location, and how the cemetery shows up on county plat and parcel maps.

The short answer

Start with the cemetery office or sexton. The caretaker usually holds the burial register and the master map that ties each name to a section, lot and grave number.
Look online next. Many city-run and larger private cemeteries post section maps or burial searches; local historical and genealogy societies often host scanned maps.
Check government records. A cemetery that was platted may have a plat filed with the county, and government-owned cemeteries keep their own grave maps.
Use volunteer databases as clues. Find a Grave and BillionGraves can point you to a cemetery and sometimes a photo or GPS point, but they are not official records.
Read the location code. Most grave addresses follow a pattern such as section, block or lot, then grave number.

What a cemetery plot map shows

A cemetery is laid out much like a small subdivision. The grounds are broken into numbered or lettered sections, sections into blocks or lots, and lots into individual graves or spaces. A family lot might hold four, six or more graves side by side. Drives and paths separate the sections, and the map usually shows them so visitors can find their way.

There are usually two levels of map. An overall map shows the whole property with its section boundaries, roads and gates. Section maps zoom in so each lot number is visible, and the most detailed versions mark every grave. If you have used a subdivision plat, the idea is the same: a drawing that turns a large tract into numbered pieces that can be sold and located later.

Who keeps cemetery plot maps

The cemetery office or sexton

Most active cemeteries have an office or a caretaker, often called a sexton, who keeps the interment register: a list of who is buried, when, and in which grave. That register is tied to the master map and to the lot ownership records, because the office needs both to sell spaces and schedule burials. This is the most reliable source, so contact it first. Staff can often look up a name and give you a printed map with the grave marked.

City, township or county governments

Municipal cemeteries are run by a city, town or township department, and their records are public records. Some places have scanned old burial books and section maps and posted them online. Belleville, Illinois, for example, publishes maps for Walnut Hill Cemetery with an overall layout and a separate map for each section showing lot numbers.

Counties can hold cemetery records too. Texas's records retention guidance for local governments, for instance, lists county cemetery records that include deeds, plats and lists of persons buried, plus separate maps and plats showing every grave for cemeteries a government owns. Whether your county kept a separate cemetery file or simply filed the plat with its other recorded plats varies.

Churches and associations

Church cemeteries may keep their maps in the parish office or with a cemetery committee, and rural cemeteries are often run by a volunteer association. If the original group is gone, records may have moved to a nearby church, the township clerk, a library or the county historical society.

Where to find a cemetery plot map online

The cemetery's own website. Larger cemeteries often have a burial search or downloadable section maps.
City or county pages. Search the city name plus “cemetery records” or “burial search.” Rochester, New York, for example, points visitors to digitized interment records and to plot maps hosted by a local genealogical society.
Genealogy and historical societies. Many have transcribed headstones, scanned sexton books or hand-drawn lot maps for small cemeteries.
Volunteer grave databases. Find a Grave and BillionGraves let users add memorials, photos and sometimes GPS locations. Treat the plot details as leads to confirm with the cemetery.
Veterans' burial search. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs runs a Nationwide Gravesite Locator for veterans and eligible family members buried in national cemeteries and certain other cemeteries.

If you only know roughly where a cemetery is, the federal Geographic Names Information System lists named cemeteries along with their coordinates, and older ones often appear on USGS topographic maps. Our guide to a topographic map of your property explains how to pull those maps.

How to read a grave location

Cemeteries do not all use the same system, but most grave addresses are built from the same pieces. A record might read Section C, Lot 42, Grave 3, or Block 7, Lot 15, Space 2. To find it on the ground:

Find the section on the overall map and note which drive or gate is closest.
Open the section map and locate the lot number. Check which direction the numbers run; some count along rows, others snake back and forth.
Within the lot, grave numbers usually run in a set direction from a corner marker or from the family monument. The office can tell you which corner is grave 1.
Look for corner stones or small numbered markers set flush with the ground at lot corners. Many cemeteries use them the way surveyors use monuments on a plat.

The same habits that help with a plat map apply here: find the north arrow, read the legend, and match the numbering pattern before you start walking.

Cemeteries on county plat and parcel maps

On a county GIS parcel map, a cemetery normally appears as its own parcel with an owner such as a city, church, cemetery association or company. The parcel record can tell you who to call for the internal map, and older plat books often labeled cemeteries by name, which helps when a small burial ground has since been absorbed into farmland or woods. If you are tracing an abandoned family plot, our guide on finding old plat maps covers where historic county atlases are kept.

What a parcel map will not show is the individual graves. Those live in the cemetery's own map and register. For burial grounds on private land, see our guide to a family cemetery on private property, which covers access and how these sites are recorded.

Buying or checking ownership of a plot

Buying a cemetery space is not quite like buying a house lot. In many cemeteries the buyer receives a certificate or deed for a right of burial in a specific space, and the cemetery's rules and state law control how it can be used, transferred or resold. Before you buy or inherit a plot, ask the office to show it on the section map, confirm how many spaces are in the lot and which are already used, and get any transfer recorded in the cemetery's own books. Rules on markers, cremation burials and resale differ widely, so ask for them in writing.

This page is general background, not legal advice. Cemetery law and record keeping vary by state and by cemetery.

Cemetery plot map FAQ

How do I find a cemetery plot map?

Contact the cemetery office or sexton first, since it keeps the burial register and master map. Then check the cemetery or city website, local genealogy and historical societies, and county or municipal cemetery records.

Are cemetery plot maps public?

Maps for city, town or county cemeteries are generally public records. Church and private cemeteries are not required to post theirs, but most offices will look up a grave or share a section map on request.

How do I read a grave location like Section C, Lot 42, Grave 3?

Find Section C on the overall map, then lot 42 on that section map. The grave number counts spaces within the lot from a starting corner, which the cemetery office can identify for you.

Can I find a grave location on Find a Grave?

Often you can find the cemetery and sometimes a photo, plot note or GPS point added by volunteers. Those entries are not official, so confirm the section, lot and grave with the cemetery before you visit or order a marker.

Do county parcel maps show individual graves?

No. A county GIS map usually shows the cemetery as one parcel with its owner. Individual graves appear only on the cemetery's internal plot map and burial register.

Who owns a cemetery plot?

In many cemeteries the buyer holds a right of burial in a specific space, recorded in the cemetery's books, rather than ordinary land ownership. Transfers and resale follow the cemetery's rules and state law.

The bottom line

A cemetery plot map turns a grave's section, lot and grave number into a spot you can walk to. Ask the cemetery office or sexton first, since it keeps the burial register and the master map. Then look for posted section maps, genealogy society scans and government cemetery records, and use volunteer databases only as leads. For the land itself, the county parcel map shows who owns the cemetery, which tells you who to call.