Family Cemetery on Private Property in Georgia

A family cemetery on private property in Georgia does not become the landowner’s to remove. Georgia law declares that “human remains and burial objects are not property to be owned by the person or entity which owns the land or water where the human remains and burial objects are interred or discovered” (O.C.G.A. § 36-72-1). An owner who wants to develop or change the use of land with a known burial ground must first get a permit from the city or county. And although no statute gives descendants a right to visit, Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA) says case law gives them an implied easement to do so.

The rules at a glance

Question	What the source says	Source
Who owns the remains?	Not the owner of the land where they lie	O.C.G.A. § 36-72-1
Can the owner disturb a known burial ground to develop the land?	Only after a permit from the city or county governing authority	O.C.G.A. § 36-72-4
What does a permit require?	Evidence of land ownership, an archaeologist’s report on the locations of all graves, and a survey by a registered land surveyor, among other items	Georgia DCA
Do descendants have a right of access?	No statute addresses it; DCA says case law gives heirs of those buried an implied easement	Georgia DCA
Must a survey show graves?	Plats must show “observed evidence of human burials or cemeteries”	Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 180-7

The permit rule

Section 36-72-4 reads: “No known cemetery, burial ground, human remains, or burial object shall be knowingly disturbed by the owner or occupier of the land on which the cemetery or burial ground is located for the purposes of developing or changing the use of any part of such land unless a permit is first obtained from the governing authority of the municipal corporation or county wherein the cemetery or burial ground is located.” For land in Lumpkin County, that points to the City of Dahlonega inside the city limits and the county outside them.

Two parts of that wording matter to a buyer. The rule reaches “any part of such land,” not only the graves themselves. And it binds “the owner or occupier,” which after closing means the new owner. Our text of Chapter 72 comes from FindLaw’s copy of the Code, marked current as of March 28, 2024, because Justia’s index did not list these sections.

Descendants’ access: what Georgia DCA says

DCA states that “there is no specific statute that addresses right of entry to cemeteries on private property.” It then explains where the right comes from instead:

Georgia DCA says case law has been interpreted to give heirs of those buried an implied easement to prevent disturbance of graves and to come and go to care for the plots. (Georgia DCA, checked Oct 19, 2026)

So the access right, as DCA describes it, comes from court decisions, not from a recorded document. An easement implied by case law may never appear in the deed index, which is why the ground and the survey matter as much as the title search. How far that easement reaches on a given tract, and along what route, is a question for a Georgia real estate attorney.

How to tell whether land has a burial ground

The survey. Ask the surveyor in writing to look for and plot any observed evidence of burials, as the technical standards require. See surveys and boundaries.
The deeds. Read every deed in the chain for a reservation or mention of a graveyard, burial ground or cemetery, and for any access reserved to reach it. Lumpkin County deed records explains where to look.
The people. Ask the seller, and ask neighbors who have known the land a long time, whether anyone is buried on it.
The ground. Walk the whole tract, not only the house site and the road frontage.

How a cemetery appears in title work

A title commitment’s Schedule B, Part II lists the exceptions the policy will include “unless cleared to the satisfaction of the Company” (2021 ALTA Commitment). A known cemetery, a recorded reservation of one, or a right of access to it can appear there as an exception, which means the policy will not cover it. On the policy side, coverage for matters on the ground depends on Covered Risk 2.c of the 2021 ALTA Owner’s Policy, which applies “only if” an accurate and complete land title survey would have disclosed them. Read more in title commitments explained, or decode exception wording here:

Decision tool · Commitment Decoder

Decode a line from your title commitment

Type a word from the line you are reading, or pick a part of the commitment. Each entry says what the line usually means, who clears it and what to ask, with the source. It is a reading aid, not legal advice.

12 entries

Exceptions (B-II)Exceptions stay in the policy unless cleared

In plain wordsEverything listed in Part II is not covered by the final policy unless it is removed first.

Who usually clears itThe title insurer decides whether an exception is cleared to its satisfaction.

What to askWhich of these exceptions will be removed at closing, and which will stay?

Source: 2021 ALTA Commitment
Exceptions (B-II)Gap exception

In plain wordsCovers anything recorded between the commitment date and the date the requirements are met.

Who usually clears itUsually handled by an updated search before recording.

What to askWill the title be brought down to the day of recording, and will the gap exception be deleted?

Source: 2021 ALTA Commitment
Exceptions (B-II)Survey exception (encroachments, boundary lines)

In plain wordsBoundary and encroachment problems that a survey would show are covered only if an accurate and complete survey would have disclosed them.

Who usually clears itA Georgia licensed surveyor, then the title agent.

What to askIf I order a current survey, can the survey exception be removed or limited to what the survey shows?

Source: 2021 ALTA Owner's Policy
Exceptions (B-II)Matters shown on the survey (gaps, gores, overlaps)

In plain wordsSpecific items the surveyor found, such as overlaps or gores with a neighbor's deed.

Who usually clears itThe surveyor reports them; the attorney decides how to deal with them.

What to askDoes any overlap touch the house, driveway or well, and can it be fixed with a deed from the neighbor?

Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 180-7
Exceptions (B-II)Easements and rights of way of record

In plain wordsRecorded rights others have across the land, such as roads or utility lines. Private ways can also arise by prescription or implication, which may not be recorded.

Who usually clears itUsually stays in the policy; read each one.

What to askWhere is each easement on the survey, and does any of them run under a building site?

Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-9-1
Exceptions (B-II)Rights of parties in possession

In plain wordsClaims of people using or living on the land that the record does not show. Possession that is public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted and peaceable, under a claim of right, can ripen into title by prescription.

Who usually clears itAsk the closing attorney what the insurer needs before it will remove this exception.

What to askIs anyone else using any part of the land, and will this exception be removed?

Source: O.C.G.A. § 44-5-161

See all 12 entries

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Before you buy land with a family cemetery

Get a survey that locates the burial ground and its boundaries.
Read the commitment’s exceptions for any cemetery reservation or access right.
If you plan to develop or change the use of any part of the tract, ask the city or county about the permit before you commit.
Expect that descendants may come to visit and care for the graves, as DCA describes.
Take your plans and the survey to a Georgia real estate attorney.

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Our journal piece on a family cemetery on land you are buying follows the same questions from the buyer’s side, and the mountain land title guide covers the other title issues North Georgia land brings. If a tract you love has graves on it, Gold Peach Realty can help you line up the survey and the questions for your attorney.

Questions people ask

Can you own a cemetery on your property in Georgia?

You can own the land, but Georgia law declares that human remains and burial objects are not property owned by the person or entity that owns the land where they are buried (O.C.G.A. § 36-72-1).

Source: O.C.G.A. § 36-72-1, checked Oct 19, 2026

Can I move or build over a family cemetery on my land in Georgia?

Not without a permit. O.C.G.A. § 36-72-4 bars an owner or occupier from knowingly disturbing a known cemetery or burial ground to develop or change the use of any part of the land unless a permit is first obtained from the city or county governing authority.

Source: O.C.G.A. § 36-72-4, checked Oct 19, 2026

What does a cemetery disturbance permit require in Georgia?

Georgia DCA summarizes the requirements as including evidence of land ownership, an archaeologist's report on the locations of all graves, and a survey by a registered land surveyor showing boundaries, among others.

Source: Georgia DCA, checked Oct 19, 2026

Do descendants have a right to visit a family cemetery on private land in Georgia?

Georgia DCA states there is no specific statute on right of entry to cemeteries on private property. It says case law has been interpreted to give heirs of those buried an implied easement to prevent disturbance of the graves and to come and go to care for the plots.