Wyoming County Zoning Burial

Wyoming state law does not prohibit home burial on private land — but county zoning regulations decide whether your specific property qualifies. Before you break ground on a family cemetery, you need approval from the local zoning authority, and you need to meet environmental setback requirements that protect the water supply and neighboring properties.

Check Your Zoning District First

The single most important step is verifying that your property sits in a zoning district that permits cemetery use. The general rule: rural, unincorporated county land is usually eligible. Municipalities and incorporated city limits almost universally prohibit home burials due to density and sanitation concerns.

Contact the county zoning board or planning office for the jurisdiction where the property is located. Ask specifically whether cemetery use is permitted on your parcel. Some counties allow it by right in agricultural or rural-residential zones. Others may require a conditional use permit or special exception. A few may prohibit it entirely even in rural areas.

Do not assume that owning rural acreage automatically qualifies you. County ordinances vary significantly across Wyoming's 23 counties, and local regulations override the general permissiveness of state law.

Environmental Setback Requirements

Wyoming guidelines establish minimum distances between burial sites and water sources, utilities, and property boundaries to protect public health:

• 150 feet minimum from any surface water supply (streams, rivers, lakes, ponds)
• 500 feet minimum from any well used to supply potable drinking water
• 25 feet minimum from power lines and property boundaries with neighboring parcels
• Burial depth: Remains must be covered by a minimum of two to three feet of compressed earth

These setbacks exist to prevent contamination of the water table and groundwater. In Wyoming's arid climate, water sources are particularly sensitive, and county health departments take these requirements seriously.

If your property has a creek, irrigation ditch, or stock pond, measure the 150-foot setback from the ordinary high water mark. For wells, the 500-foot buffer applies to both your own wells and neighboring properties' wells.

Filing the Cemetery Map with the County Clerk

To formally establish a home burial site and protect the graves during future property transfers, Wyoming Statute § 18-3-402 requires the family to file a map with the County Clerk.

The process works as follows:

1. Survey or draw a map that delineates the exact metes and bounds coordinates of the burial ground. A professional survey is ideal but not always required — some counties accept a detailed hand-drawn map with measurements referenced to permanent landmarks or property corners.

2. File the map with the County Clerk in the county where the property is located. The statutory recording fee for a map containing a metes and bounds description is typically $5.00, plus any standard per-page recording fees.

3. Attach to the property deed. The filed map becomes part of the official property record, permanently notifying future buyers that a burial site exists on the parcel.

This filing step is critical. Without it, a future buyer of the property may have no notice that graves exist on the land. The recording protects the burial site from accidental disinterment during future development and gives the family a legal basis to maintain access to the graves even after the property changes hands.

Practical Considerations

Beyond the legal requirements, families establishing a home cemetery should consider:

• Drainage: Avoid low-lying areas that collect standing water during spring runoff or heavy rain. Waterlogged soil can cause graves to shift or surface.
• Access: Ensure the burial site is accessible year-round, including during winter when Wyoming roads and driveways may be impassable.
• Future property plans: A recorded cemetery on the deed can affect property value and may restrict development on the parcel. Consider whether the location allows for future expansion if additional family members wish to be buried there.
• Markers: Wyoming does not regulate grave markers on private land, but durable markers help future property owners identify the burial site.

The Wyoming Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide covers the complete home burial process — from securing the burial-transit permit through the County Clerk filing — alongside every other disposition option available to Wyoming families.

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