How to File a Complaint Against a Cemetery in Texas
A cemetery buried someone in your family’s plot, opened the wrong grave, or lost track of where your loved one rests. Here’s how to file a complaint with the Texas Department of Banking, what happens to it, and when a complaint should be a lawsuit.
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When a Cemetery Gets the One Thing It Promised Wrong
A cemetery sells one thing: a permanent, known resting place. When a stranger is buried in your plot, a grave is opened by mistake, or remains are moved without telling you, families want answers and want it fixed.
A state complaint can lead to corrective action against a cemetery. It cannot pay your family for what happened. That takes a claim. See how cemetery negligence claims work in Texas.
You can do both. The order matters, and the clock is already running.
⚠ Talk to us before you file: your complaint goes to the cemetery
The Texas Department of Banking sends a copy of every complaint, and every document you attach, to the cemetery you’re complaining about. The cemetery answers you directly, and what you wrote can be used against your family later.
Call us before you file. We’ll help you write a complaint that supports your family’s case instead of hurting it.
How to File a Complaint Against a Cemetery
- Call Malley Law first. A complaint is a statement by you, and it will be used against you. The Department of Banking mails it straight to the cemetery. Talk to us before you file anything, so it helps your family’s case instead of hurting it.
- Make sure it’s a perpetual care cemetery. The Department of Banking regulates only perpetual care cemeteries, not city, county, or church cemeteries. Search the cemetery’s name on the department’s complaint page.
- Write down what happened today. Names, dates, and exactly what cemetery staff told you, while it’s fresh. Note the garden name and the section and space numbers of the plot.
- Keep every document and photograph the grave. The plot deed or certificate of ownership, the contract, receipts, the interment record, letters, texts and emails. Photograph the grave, the marker, and anything disturbed. Send copies, never originals.
- File within two years. Texas generally gives you two years to file a lawsuit, and a complaint to the state does not stop that clock.
Where to send it: Use the Department of Banking’s complaint form or a letter. Email it to [email protected] with “Complaint” in the subject line, or mail it to the Texas Department of Banking, Non-Depository Supervision Division, 2601 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78705-4294. Questions: (877) 276-5554.
How to Write a Cemetery Complaint That Gets Read
Here’s our practical opinion: the Texas Department of Banking does little with cemetery complaints, and the camaraderie between the department and the cemetery industry is strong. A complaint has to be precise to get anywhere.
Banking asks for a complaint that is “specific and as brief as possible.” Most families write it the way they lived it: every relative, every call, every visit to the grave. Those complaints go nowhere, and here the cemetery reads every word.
We don’t cite a law in a complaint. We lay out the facts so clearly that the violation is obvious without a citation.
A strong complaint:
- Starts with the problem, in one or two sentences: what the cemetery did, the date, and the cemetery’s name and address.
- Identifies the plot exactly: garden, section, and space numbers, and who owns the burial right.
- Makes the violation obvious without citing a law. State the facts an examiner needs, such as who owns the plot and who the cemetery buried in it.
- Lists only the facts that prove it, in date order.
- Attaches proof: the deed or certificate, the contract, photos. Copies only.
- Leaves out everything else, however hard it was to live through.
| Hard to act on | Easy to act on |
|---|---|
| “We bought the plots when Mom passed, and my brother visits every Sunday, and last month he noticed something wasn’t right, so he called the office…” | “On May 2, 2026, Example Memorial Park, 100 Main St., Houston, buried a stranger in Garden of Peace, Section 4, Space 12. My family owns that space; the certificate of ownership is attached. No one asked us.” |
Even a precise complaint has limits. Banking can ask the cemetery to fix a violation. It can’t pay your family, and it won’t step in once a lawsuit is filed.
Malley Law knows Texas cemetery law and how to put a complaint in front of the Department of Banking so it can’t be brushed off.
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How to Look Up a Cemetery in Texas
Before you file, check what the state already has on the cemetery. A perpetual care cemetery needs a certificate of authority from the Texas Department of Banking to operate.
- Search the cemetery by name on the Department of Banking’s entity search, with the entity type set to Perpetual Care Cemeteries. The search box is on the department’s complaint page.
- Check that it’s licensed. An open perpetual care cemetery should be listed.
- Check the department’s enforcement orders for orders against the cemetery.
If the cemetery isn’t listed, it may be a city, county, church, or other cemetery the department doesn’t regulate.
When a Cemetery Complaint Is More Than a Complaint
Many cemetery complaints are about upkeep, prices, or a contract the cemetery won’t cancel. Those belong with the state, and some aren’t regulated at all. But when a cemetery buries someone in the wrong place, disturbs a grave, or loses track of remains, Texas law lets the family recover for the harm, including mental anguish.
If one of these happened, report it, and talk to a lawyer. See how cemetery negligence claims work in Texas.
Cemetery Complaints We Handle
These are the cemetery problems Malley Law handles, both at the courthouse and in complaints to the state. They aren’t the only things you can report to the Department of Banking.
Someone Else Buried in Your Plot
The cemetery buried a stranger in a space your family owns.
A Plot Sold Twice
The cemetery sold the same burial space to two families.
The Wrong Grave Opened
A grave dug or opened by mistake.
Burial in the Wrong Place
Your loved one buried in a space other than the one you bought.
Remains Disturbed or Moved
A grave disturbed or remains moved without the family’s consent. See grave disturbance claims.
Remains That Can't Be Found
The cemetery can’t say where your loved one is buried.
The Wrong Marker
A headstone or marker set on the wrong grave, or damaged by cemetery work.
Prepaid Cemetery Services
Opening and closing the grave or an outer burial container paid for in advance and not provided.
What Families Need to Know About Cemetery Complaints
- Who do I complain to about a cemetery in Texas?
The Texas Department of Banking regulates perpetual care cemeteries. Email [email protected], call (877) 276-5554, or mail the complaint to the Non-Depository Supervision Division in Austin. - Does the funeral commission handle cemetery complaints?
No. The Texas Funeral Service Commission handles funeral homes, funeral directors, and crematories. Cemeteries go to the Department of Banking. If a funeral home or crematory caused the problem, see how to file a complaint against a funeral home in Texas. - Will the cemetery see my complaint?
Yes. The department sends the cemetery a copy of your complaint and your documents, and the cemetery responds to you directly. That’s why we ask families to call us first. - How long do I have to sue a cemetery in Texas?
Generally two years from the date of the incident, and a complaint to the state does not stop that clock. But when what happened was hidden from you, the clock may not start until you knew, or reasonably should have known, about it. That is called the discovery rule. For example, if a cemetery buried your loved one in the wrong plot and concealed it, and you did not find out until five years later, you would still have two years from that discovery to file your lawsuit, seven years in all. Don’t wait to find out whether the rule applies to you. Call us as soon as you suspect something is wrong. - Do I need to cite a law in my complaint?
No, and we don’t. We state the facts so clearly that the violation is obvious, and attach copies of the proof. - Will a complaint get my family compensation?
No. The department can ask a cemetery to correct a violation, not pay your family. Compensation comes from a claim against the cemetery. - Can I recover for mental anguish?
Yes. A Texas family can recover both past and future mental anguish. Texas courts define mental anguish as a high degree of mental pain and distress that goes far beyond mere worry, anger, frustration or embarrassment. To recover, a family must show that high degree of pain and distress, or a substantial disruption in daily routine, and courts look at its nature, duration and severity (as in Parkway Co. v. Woodruff and Saenz v. Fidelity & Guaranty Insurance Underwriters). It often shows up as severe depression, chronic anxiety, panic attacks or post-traumatic stress disorder. Complicated grief, now called prolonged grief disorder, is a form of mental anguish too: grieving that gets stuck, stays intense and debilitating, and lasts far longer than expected. Texas usually ties mental anguish to a physical injury and does not allow a stand-alone claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress, but it makes exceptions, and mishandling a loved one’s remains is one of them. - What if I’ve already filed a lawsuit?
The department says it won’t step in on a matter that is in litigation or that a court has ruled on.
Cemetery Negligence Case Results
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