Bronze Plaques Houston

Houston has no city marker code to look up. Families here bury in a nonprofit cemetery such as Glenwood, a Dignity Memorial park such as Forest Park, Memorial Oaks or Brookside, a cemetery of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, or Houston National Cemetery, and each writes its own marker rules. This page sets out what each one publishes, what Texas law adds, and where a cast bronze plaque from us fits. We cast the bronze and ship it to you with shipping included; the granite or concrete base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery office or a local monument dealer. Allow six to eight weeks from payment to delivery. Casting, hand finishing and shipping from our foundry take most of that time, and we send a free written proof before anything is cast. If your cemetery sets markers only in certain months, order early enough for its next installation window.

Texas law leaves the marker rules to each Houston cemetery

No Texas statute in force guarantees you the right to set a marker bought elsewhere, and none caps a setting fee. Health and Safety Code 711.031 lets a cemetery organization adopt rules “regulating the placement, uniformity, class, and kind of markers, monuments, and other structures”, and those rules must be printed or typed and kept for inspection at the office. That second point is the useful one: you can ask any Houston cemetery to show you its written rules before you design anything. A 2025 bill, SB 592, would have stopped cemeteries restricting where families buy or install markers, but it was referred to committee on 02/03/2025 and went no further. The Department of Banking’s order and setting deadlines in 7 TAC 26.4 apply only to markers a perpetual care cemetery sells itself, not to one you buy from us.

Glenwood Cemetery: written approval first

Glenwood, the independent nonprofit cemetery, publishes the clearest rules in the city (revised March 2024). Rule 13 says “Plans and specifications covering size, design, material, and finish for all monuments, grave markers, and copings, including foundations, must be submitted to the Cemetery Office and written approval of the same secured before erection.” Its definition of a memorial includes crypt and niche plates, so a bronze niche plate goes through the same approval. Glenwood also reserves the right to refuse any memorial that does not reflect high-grade craftsmanship, will not allow a memorial on property not fully paid for, and does removals itself, paid in advance. It publishes no sizes and no setting fee, so ask the office (713.864.7886) for both and send our free written proof with your application.

Forest Park, Memorial Oaks and Brookside

Forest Park Westheimer (opened 1956), Forest Park Lawndale (about 300 acres), Brookside Memorial Park (established 1931) and Memorial Oaks on the Katy Freeway (since 1955) are all Dignity Memorial parks, and none of their pages publishes marker sizes, an outside marker policy or a setting fee. Dignity Memorial’s national page says markers “can also be purchased elsewhere and installed by your cemetery for a fee” and that “Each cemetery has its own policies” (copyright 2026). The chain’s rules template asks for a description giving “material, size, inscription, name of manufacturer and style number” and an inspection fee paid in advance from the fee schedule on file in the office. So ask the park for three things in writing: the bronze size for your space, whether it must sit on granite, and the setting or inspection fee.

Catholic cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

The archdiocese offers lawn level markers “in pure granite as well as bronze on granite”, and sells “granite foundations for single and companion bronze markers”, so bronze on a granite base is its standard lawn format. Its niche prices “include bronze memorial or engraving”, which means niche fronts are normally supplied through the cemetery. No published policy on outside bronze, sizes or setting fees was found, and Catholic systems often add content rules such as a cross or other Christian symbol. Ask the cemetery office whether it accepts a family supplied bronze for a lawn grave and what it charges to fit the granite foundation, and add the emblem it requires in the designer.

Houston National Cemetery and veterans’ bronze

In a VA national cemetery the cemetery officials order the government headstone or marker and VA staff set it at no cost, so Houston National Cemetery is not a place for a private plaque. Its page (updated September 18, 2026) also bars permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights and breakable objects on graves. For a veteran buried in a private Houston cemetery, the VA furnishes a flat bronze marker 24 inches long and 12 inches wide with a 3/4 inch rise, or a bronze medallion to fix to a privately purchased marker, and placement costs are at private expense. Spouses and dependents are not entitled to a government marker in a private cemetery, which is where a matching family bronze from us fits. See veteran bronze grave markers.

Houston cemeteries at a glance

No Houston area city publishes a marker fee schedule. Dignity Memorial’s national range for installing an outside marker, $200 to $2,000 depending on size and cemetery (copyright 2026), is not a Houston quote; only the office can give you that.

What we supply for a Houston grave

Most Houston lawn sections call for bronze bolted to granite, and that is the product we make.

We supply the bronze. Every plaque is cast in solid LG2 statuary bronze (85 percent copper, 5 percent tin, 5 percent zinc, 5 percent lead) with raised polished lettering on a textured background, a hand applied color and a clear protective coating. Cemetery markers are cast with lugs and fitted with 3/8 inch brass all thread studs, nuts and washers for bolting to a granite or concrete base; columbarium plates use 1/4 inch fittings. We publish the alloy openly and can supply a certificate of authenticity stating it, so a cemetery that has its own alloy rule can check our figures against it before you order; a few cemeteries specify a higher copper or lower lead content than LG2, and where a page knows of one it says so. The granite or concrete base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery office or a local monument dealer; we do not pour bases or install.

The 24 by 12 inch single adult marker is $1,697.45 cast to order, a 20 by 10 inch cremation marker is $1,407.68, and an 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch niche plate is $540.98, each with shipping included. Other sizes are on the bronze plaque sizes page, and plaques for a home or garden are under bronze memorial plaques. For other Texas cities see Dallas and Fort Worth and San Antonio and Austin.

What the plaque itself costs, shipped to Houston

The table below is our price for the cast bronze plaque itself, read from the design tool on this website on 21 October 2026 for a standard rectangle with the default border and background. Every figure is in US dollars and includes shipping to any address in Houston.

Any cemetery charge quoted higher on this page, such as a setting fee, a permit, a foundation or an endowment care charge, is paid to the cemetery and is separate from our price. Add the two together for the full installed cost. Open the design tool, type in the size your cemetery allows, and the exact price for that size appears before you order.

How to order

1. Ask the cemetery office for its written marker rules: the size it allows for your space, the base it requires, who may set the marker and the fee. Most offices email the sheet the same day, and several states require the cemetery to keep it in print for you.
2. Open the free design tool, pick the shape and type the width and height in inches. The price in US dollars updates as you go, shipping to any address in the continental United States included.
3. Add the names, dates and wording, choose a border and background, and add an emblem, motif or photo if you want one. Choose lugs with studs if the plaque will be bolted to a granite or concrete base, or a flat back for adhesive mounting on a wall or niche.
4. Save the design and order it from My Account. We send a written proof you can forward to the cemetery for approval, and nothing is cast until you approve it. Need the full 24 by 12 inch marker size? Tell us when you order; it is cast to order at the same price as the 22 1/16 by 12 inch size in the tool.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Houston cemetery refuse a bronze marker I bought elsewhere?

Texas law lets each cemetery set its own marker rules, and no statute in force guarantees an outside marker. SB 592 (2025) would have changed that but stayed in committee. In practice most parks accept an outside bronze that meets their written specifications, for a fee.

What does Glenwood need before a marker is set?

Written approval of plans and specifications covering size, design, material and finish, including the foundation, under Rule 13 of its rules revised March 2024. Niche plates count as memorials too.

How much does Forest Park or Memorial Oaks charge to set a bronze marker?

Neither publishes a figure. Dignity Memorial says installation of an outside marker is for a fee set by each cemetery, so ask the office for its fee schedule in writing.

Do the Catholic cemeteries in Houston use bronze?

Yes. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston sells lawn level markers in granite and in bronze on granite, plus granite foundations for single and companion bronze markers. Ask whether it accepts family supplied bronze.

Can I put a private bronze plaque at Houston National Cemetery?

No. In a national cemetery VA orders and sets the government marker. A private bronze from us is for private cemeteries, a spouse’s grave or a home memorial.

Do you install the marker in Houston?

No. We cast and ship the bronze with lugs and studs. The base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery office or a local monument dealer.