Bronze Plaques Georgia

Georgia is one of the few states that puts a number on what a cemetery may charge when a family brings in a marker bought somewhere else. Under O.C.G.A. 10-14-17 a cemetery may insist that the installer be registered with the Secretary of State and may charge one disclosed inspection and site location fee, capped at $175.00 from July 1, 2026, and nothing more from the installer. The cap does not settle size, alloy or base. Each cemetery’s written rules do, and in Atlanta the most detailed rules belong to Westview Cemetery. This page covers the state law, HB 1254, Westview’s bronze specification, Arlington Memorial Park, Crest Lawn, Greenwood, Oakland and Georgia National Cemetery. We cast the bronze plaque and ship it to any Georgia address with shipping included; the granite or concrete base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery office or a registered local monument dealer.

The $175 inspection and site location fee

Under O.C.G.A. 10-14-17 a cemetery may not attach conditions to installing a marker bought elsewhere beyond requiring that the work be done “by a registrant under this chapter” or as the state’s rules allow. It may charge one disclosed and published fee for siting, supervision, inspection and administration, charged whether or not the installer is affiliated with it, and no other fee to the installer. The Secretary of State lists the ceiling as “Monument Inspection & Site Location Fee: $175.00”, effective July 1, 2026, reviewed each July 1; it has been indexed to the Consumer Price Index since October 1, 2008. A cemetery may charge less, never more.

One fee per installation, and the other limits on the cemetery

Rule 590-3-5-.02, adopted in 2005, ties the fee to “each contemporaneous installation” on a single grave lot or a contiguous group of lots, and says “The number of individual pieces in any monument or group of monuments shall be irrelevant.” So a bronze marker and its vase set in one visit should draw one fee, not one per piece; confirm with the office before the visit is booked. The cemetery’s standards for style, size, foundation and materials must be filed with the Secretary of State, it must report any nonconformity within five business days of a completed application, and it must schedule the work within five business days once approvals are in. It may not refuse to mark the grave or inspect the work, and it may not tie the sale of a grave to the sale of a marker.

HB 1254 and who sets the cap now

HB 1254 (2026) took effect July 1, 2026. It dissolves the State Board of Cemeterians, moves rule making and fee setting to the Secretary of State, and creates a five member advisory group the Secretary “may consult … prior to setting or changing fees”. It changes 10-14-17 only by replacing “cemetery company” with “cemetery”, so the installer protections stand. Documents that name the Board as the fee setter are out of date, the Board rule numbers above may be renumbered, and a disputed charge now goes to the Secretary of State’s Cemeteries Division.

Westview Cemetery and its bronze specification

Westview, a nonprofit and the largest cemetery in the Southeast, allows only flush bronze in its Memorial Park sections (rules last amended January 15, 2015). Design, size and lettering style need written approval before the marker is ordered, and again before delivery. Adult markers “shall not be less than twenty-four (24) inches in length and twelve (12) inches in width”, companions not less than 36 by 13 inches, infants not less than 20 by 10 inches. The bronze needs bosses tapped for 3/8 inch anchor lugs 4 to 6 inches long, a “medium dark statuary bronze color” and no photographs, and “No sulphide finishes or painted or pigmented lacquer finishes will be permitted.” Westview or persons it approves set the marker on a foundation it specifies, at charges it does not publish.

The alloy. Westview wants “an affidavit of analysis from the manufacturer”, and its written specification calls for at least 87 percent copper and 5 percent tin and no more than 2-1/2 percent lead and 5 percent zinc. Our LG2 bronze is 85 percent copper, 5 percent tin, 5 percent zinc and 5 percent lead. We publish that alloy and state it in writing, but it differs from Westview’s written specification on copper and lead, so the family must confirm with the office that Westview will accept our plaque before ordering, and ask in the same call about our hand applied color under a clear coat. If Westview agrees, the 24 by 12 inch adult marker is cast to order at $1,697.45, a 20 by 10 inch infant marker is $1,407.68, and our studs are the 3/8 inch diameter it names. Companions are quoted on request.

Other Atlanta cemeteries

Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, a Dignity Memorial property with a Catholic section blessed in May 2015, publishes no marker rules, sizes or fees. Crest Lawn Memorial Park, established in 1916 on about 145 acres, and Greenwood Cemetery on Cascade Road, privately owned, publish nothing either. Ask each office for its written specifications, the base it wants under bronze and its inspection fee. Oakland Cemetery, a City of Atlanta park, “ran out of lots to sell many years ago”, and in its columbarium “All inscriptions and modifications must be ordered through and installed by the cemetery or its designee”, so an outside niche plate is not an option. The Archdiocese says “There are no Catholic cemeteries in the Atlanta metro area available for burial”; Catholic sections in private cemeteries follow those cemeteries’ rules.

Elsewhere in Georgia, start with the standards the cemetery has filed with the Secretary of State.

Veterans and Georgia National Cemetery

At Georgia National Cemetery in Canton the cemetery orders a government marker and its staff set it at no cost, so a private bronze plaque is not for a grave there. In a private Georgia cemetery the VA furnishes a free 24 by 12 inch flat bronze marker for an eligible veteran, but “all placement costs are at private expense”, and spouses are not entitled to a government marker there. A family that prefers its own bronze can apply on VA Form 40-1330M for a bronze medallion to fix to it. See veteran bronze grave markers.

What we supply for a Georgia cemetery

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.

For niche fronts and garden walls see columbarium niche plaques.

Our bronze plaque prices for Georgia, shipping included

Here is what the plaque costs from us. These are the design tool’s own prices on 21 October 2026 for a plain rectangle with the default border and background, in US dollars, and delivery anywhere in Georgia is already included in each one.

The cemetery fees described above are paid to the cemetery office and are not part of these prices, so the full cost of a finished marker is our plaque price plus the cemetery’s setting, permit or foundation charges. Enter your cemetery’s size in the design tool and it shows the price for that exact size straight away.

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.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Georgia cemetery refuse a bronze marker I bought online?

It can require the marker to meet its filed standards and a registered installer to set it. It cannot refuse to mark or inspect, or charge the installer more than the one capped fee.

How much can a Georgia cemetery charge to inspect an outside marker?

At most $175.00 from July 1, 2026, reviewed each July 1. A marker and vase set in one visit should draw one fee, not one per piece.

Does your plaque meet Westview’s alloy rule?

No. Westview asks for at least 87 percent copper and at most 2-1/2 percent lead; our LG2 bronze is 85 percent copper and 5 percent lead. Confirm acceptance with Westview before ordering.

Who installs the plaque in Georgia?

The cemetery or an installer registered with the Secretary of State. We cast and ship the bronze with studs fitted; we do not pour bases or set markers.

Is there a Catholic cemetery in metro Atlanta?

The Archdiocese says none is available for burial. Some private cemeteries, such as Arlington Memorial Park, have Catholic sections under their own rules.