Bronze Plaques Illinois

Illinois is one of four states where the law speaks directly to a family buying a marker from someone other than the cemetery. The Cemetery Oversight Act, enforced by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), says consumers may buy merchandise from a third-party vendor of their choice without a penalty or additional charge from the cemetery, as long as the merchandise meets the law and the cemetery’s rules. That right does not change what the rules themselves say about size, material and base, and some large systems allow no bronze on graves at all. This page explains the vendor right, the rest of the consumer bill of rights, the open question about religious cemeteries, and what families outside Chicago should ask. Chicago has its own page. We cast the bronze and ship it anywhere in Illinois with shipping included; the base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery or a local monument dealer.

The vendor right in the Cemetery Oversight Act

The Cemetery Oversight Act (225 ILCS 411) was signed in early 2010, after a tragedy at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, and gave Illinois its first comprehensive cemetery regulation. Article 35 lists consumer rights, and item (2) reads: “Consumers have the right to purchase merchandise or services directly from the cemetery authority when available or through a third-party vendor of the consumer’s choice without incurring a penalty or additional charge by the cemetery authority.” A cemetery that breaks the Article 35 duties can face discipline under Article 25. In practice this means a licensed cemetery may not add a surcharge because your bronze marker came from us, but it may still require the marker to follow its written rules on size, base and installation and charge its normal fees for that work.

The IDFPR consumer bill of rights

IDFPR’s brochure puts the same right plainly: “You have a right to purchase merchandise or services directly from a cemetery or from another vendor of your choice without incurring an additional charge from the cemetery, as long as the merchandise does not violate the law or the cemetery’s rules.” It adds that you should receive a price list for cemetery products and services with effective dates on it, that a licensed cemetery must provide a copy of its rules and regulations for a reasonable copying fee, that no cemetery may require cash only, and that you are owed a receipt. Complaints go to IDFPR at 100 West Randolph Street, 9th Floor, Chicago, or the helpline 1-888-RLOVED1. Before ordering, ask for the dated price list and the rules; both are yours by right at a licensed cemetery.

Religious cemeteries, an open question

Not every cemetery is licensed. IDFPR says a cemetery “may be fully exempt from the law if it is a family or religious burial ground”, has had no burials in 10 years, or is smaller than three acres. A 2010 article by the Township Officials of Illinois, however, says cemeteries that take the partial exemption, including religious ones, “are still required to comply with” Article 35. The two sources do not settle whether the vendor right reaches a Catholic or other church cemetery, and we could not read the current statute to check. So we do not claim it either way: if your cemetery is religious, ask the office whether it treats a marker from an outside vendor any differently, and get the answer in writing.

What the right does not change

The vendor right is about extra charges, not about what the cemetery accepts. Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago, for example, allow “only memorials constructed from granite” on graves (rules of January 1, 2024), so no bronze grave marker of ours goes there; crypt and niche plaques come with the purchase. Chain cemeteries keep their own approval steps: the Dignity Memorial rules at Chapel Hill Gardens South in Oak Lawn (January 15, 2013) require written approval, a description of material, size and manufacturer, contractor insurance of $1,000,000, and an inspection fee “in accordance with the fee schedule on file”. Bills that would have capped the charge for placing a government veteran’s marker at $500 were introduced several times but were never shown as enacted.

Chicago and the rest of Illinois

Chicago: the Catholic system is granite only on graves, while Rosehill, Oak Woods, Memorial Park in Skokie and Elmwood in River Grove are Dignity Memorial properties that publish no marker rules; Graceland and Bohemian National publish none either. The Chicago page goes through each one.

Outside Chicago, no cemetery we researched publishes a bronze marker size or a dated setting fee, so the IDFPR rights are the starting point: ask for the rules and the dated price list. A Diocese of Springfield in Illinois page cites the vendor right and adds that it does not cover merchandise that breaks the cemetery’s rules. The Illinois Veterans Home cemetery says “Erection of private monuments shall not be permitted”, and Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood furnishes and sets government markers, so our plaques are not for graves at either. In a private cemetery a veteran can have the free VA flat bronze marker or a family marker carrying a VA medallion; see veteran bronze grave markers.

What we supply in Illinois

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 standard 24 by 12 inch adult marker is cast to order at $1,697.45, a 20 by 10 inch cremation marker is $1,407.68, and the 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch niche size is $540.98, all with shipping included and none subject to a cemetery surcharge at a licensed Illinois cemetery for being bought from us.

What the plaque itself costs, shipped to Illinois

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 Illinois.

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.

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 an Illinois cemetery charge extra because I bought the marker elsewhere?

A licensed cemetery may not add a penalty or additional charge for that under the Cemetery Oversight Act, provided the marker meets its rules. Its normal fees still apply.

Does the vendor right apply at Catholic cemeteries?

That is unsettled. IDFPR says religious burial grounds may be exempt, while a 2010 summary says partially exempt religious cemeteries must still follow Article 35. Ask the cemetery.

Can I put a bronze grave marker in a Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago grave?

No. Its 2024 rules allow only granite memorials on graves.

Where do I complain about an Illinois cemetery?

To IDFPR, 100 West Randolph Street, 9th Floor, Chicago, or 1-888-RLOVED1.

Do you set the marker?

No. We cast and ship the bronze with studs fitted; the cemetery or a local monument dealer pours the base and sets it.