ℹ️Find a Grave (findagrave.com) is the world’s largest online cemetery and burial database — over 230 million memorials. It is owned by Ancestry and maintained by volunteers worldwide. Searching is completely free.
Updated April 2026 · 230+ Million Memorials · Free to Search
Find a Grave:
Cemetery & Burial Records Guide
Cemetery & Burial Records Guide
From recently departed loved ones to ancestors buried centuries ago, Find a Grave’s volunteer-maintained database covers cemeteries in virtually every corner of the world. This practical guide shows you how to search, contribute, and connect.
230M+
Memorial Records
FREE
To Search
900K+
Cemeteries
Worldwide
Coverage
Section 01
What Is Find a Grave?
Find a Grave is the world’s largest online burial database with over 230 million memorial records spanning nearly 900,000 cemeteries worldwide. Founded in 1995 and now owned by Ancestry, the site is maintained by millions of volunteers who photograph headstones, transcribe inscriptions, and create digital memorial pages.
What You Can Find
| Record Type | Details Available |
|---|---|
| Memorial Page | Full name, birth/death dates, burial location, headstone photo, bio, obituary link |
| Cemetery Directory | Cemetery name, address, GPS coordinates, total burials, photos, directions |
| Headstone Photos | High-resolution photos uploaded by volunteers — often the only surviving record |
| Family Connections | Links between family members buried in the same or different cemeteries |
| Obituaries | Transcribed obituary text or links to newspaper obituary pages |
| GPS Locations | Exact plot coordinates for GPS-verified graves — navigate directly to the headstone |
ℹ️ Completely Free: Searching and viewing memorial records on Find a Grave is 100% free. No account is needed to search. A free account is only required if you want to create memorials, leave virtual flowers, or manage records.
Section 02
How to Search Find a Grave — Step by Step
Search by Name
- Go to findagrave.com/memorial/search — the official memorial search page.
- Enter the person’s name. Last name is most effective. Add first name to narrow results. Middle name is optional but helpful for common surnames.
- Add location (state, county, or city) if known — dramatically reduces results for common names like Smith or Johnson.
- Add birth/death year range if known — even an approximate decade helps (e.g., death year 1940-1950).
- Click “Search” and review results. Each result shows name, dates, cemetery name, and location.
- Click a name to view the full memorial — headstone photo, obituary, family links, GPS coordinates, and cemetery details.
Search by Cemetery
- Go to findagrave.com/cemetery/search — the cemetery search page.
- Enter the cemetery name or browse by location (country → state → county → city).
- Click the cemetery to see: total memorials, address, GPS coordinates, photos, and a full list of all burials recorded.
- Search within the cemetery using the name search box on the cemetery page — finds specific burials in that cemetery only.
💡 Pro Tips: Try alternate spellings, maiden names, and nicknames. Many older records use abbreviated first names (Wm. for William, Jno. for John). If you don’t find someone, they may not have been added yet — you can request a photo or create the memorial yourself.
Section 03
How to Contribute to Find a Grave
Find a Grave is built by volunteers. Anyone can contribute by photographing headstones, creating memorials, and fulfilling photo requests.
- 📸Photograph headstones: Visit a local cemetery, photograph headstones, and upload them to existing memorials or create new ones. The Find a Grave app makes this easy — snap a photo and GPS-tag it automatically.
- 📝Create memorials: If a person isn’t in the database, create their memorial page with name, dates, cemetery, and any photos or obituary info you have.
- 🔍Fulfill photo requests: Other users request headstone photos for cemeteries near you. Check the photo request page to see what’s needed in your area.
- 👨👩👧👦Link family members: Connect related memorials to build family trees within Find a Grave. This helps genealogy researchers trace family lines across cemeteries.
- 💐Leave virtual flowers: Place digital flowers, notes, or candles on any memorial — a way to honor the deceased and let families know someone remembers.
ℹ️ Free Account Required: Creating and editing memorials requires a free Find a Grave account. You can sign up with email or use your Ancestry account. Searching and viewing records does NOT require an account.
Section 04
Search Tips & Advanced Features
- 💡Use the app for cemetery visits: The Find a Grave mobile app (iOS and Android) uses GPS to show you nearby cemeteries and unfulfilled photo requests.
- 💡“Famous” filter: Search for famous memorials to find notable people buried near you — historical figures, celebrities, veterans, and more.
- 💡Virtual Cemetery feature: Create a themed collection of memorials — family reunion lists, veterans from your town, or historical figures in a specific field.
- 💡Ancestry integration: If you have an Ancestry account, Find a Grave records link directly to your family tree. Census, birth, and death records can be connected.
- 💡Sponsor a memorial: Sponsored memorials appear higher in search results and receive priority attention from volunteers for photo requests.
- 💡Check “New Listings” periodically — volunteers add thousands of new memorials daily. Someone may have recently photographed the headstone you’ve been looking for.
- 💡Search by death date range when you know the approximate year but not the exact name spelling — useful for very old records where names were recorded phonetically.
Section 05
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Searching and viewing memorial records is 100% free. No account needed to search. A free account is only required to create memorials, leave flowers, or edit records.
Go to findagrave.com/memorial/search. Enter the person’s name (last name most effective), add location and date range if known, and click Search. Click any result for the full memorial with photos and details.
Over 230 million memorial records across nearly 900,000 cemeteries worldwide. New records are added daily by volunteers.
Yes. Create a free account, then click “Add a Memorial.” You’ll need the person’s name, birth/death dates, and cemetery name. You can add photos, obituaries, and family links.
Open the memorial page and click “Request Photo.” Local volunteers will be notified and may visit the cemetery to photograph the headstone. Check the photo request page for pending requests.
Yes. Find a Grave was acquired by Ancestry in 2013. You can link Find a Grave memorials to your Ancestry family tree, and Ancestry’s historical records can help identify and verify burials.
Go to findagrave.com/cemetery/search. Enter the cemetery name or browse by location. Each cemetery page shows address, GPS coordinates, total burials, photos, and directions.
Yes — available for iOS and Android. The app uses GPS to show nearby cemeteries, pending photo requests, and lets you photograph and upload headstones directly from your phone.
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only. We are not affiliated with Find a Grave or Ancestry. All memorial data is maintained by volunteers and may contain errors. Please contact Find a Grave support for corrections.