Cemeteries

Cemeteries Administration Office

750 Fountain St. N, Cambridge, ON 
Parklawn Cemetery
519-740-4681 ext. 4299
Fax: 855-306-1174

Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - By Appointment only

The Cemeteries Administration Office for all City of Cambridge cemeteries is located at the Parklawn Cemetery, 750 Fountain Street North.  There is no mail delivery service at this location. Mail must be sent to City Hall at 50 Dickson St. Cambridge, ON PO Box 669, N1R 5W8 with attention to the Cemeteries Department.

The City of Cambridge is a licensed municipal cemetery operator (License # 3307633) under the provincial Bereavement Authority of Ontario. 

Visitors are reminded that the speed limit within the cemeteries is 20 km/h and that there may be funeral processions taking place involving significant vehicle or pedestrian traffic.   

Contact the Cemetery Administration Office to:

• Make an Appointment
• Arrange a Burial
• Purchase full burial lots, cremation lots, columbarium niches or mausoleum crypts

To speak with a Cemetery Services Clerk, please contact our office directly at 519-740-4681 Ext. 4299 or email cemeteries@cambridge.ca. 

Please let us know how we can help. 

Parklawn Cemetery Road Reconstruction Project

Please be aware that a Road Reconstruction project is scheduled at Parklawn Cemetery to begin on June 09, 2025.

During the construction, the cemetery will maintain as much public access as possible for funeral processions. Visitors are encouraged to avoid the cemetery during working hours. Information regarding access will be available through our Cemetery Administration Office located at the entrance of the cemetery. Inner roadways may be closed throughout the project to allow for paving and curb work.  

For any concerns or accessibility requests during this time, please contact the Cemeteries Administration Office. 

Seasonal Maintenance

Cemetery grounds may be uneven and wet and there may be areas of sinking.  Our staff regularly restore grave conditions as weather and grounds conditions permit.  

To ensure safety, decorations that are ceramic, glass or breakable are not permitted at any time.  Stone mulch and raised borders around gardens are also not permitted; however, soil, plantings, wood mulch and borders that are flush with the ground surface are permitted.

To preserve the integrity and respect of the columbarium niches, decorations are not permitted to be attached to or wedged in between the niches.  To respect others and for safety, potted plants, plant material and decorations are not permitted at the base of or around columbariums.  

For more information about lot decoration rules and the types of plantings permitted in your gardens, please refer to the Cemetery By-Laws, the Lot Decoration Rules posted on the signs in the cemetery and on this website or contact our office.

Decorations that do not comply with the cemetery by-laws or that are unsafe will be removed by staff.  Please contact the office to arrange to pick up decorations that have been removed.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to protect and preserve the dignity, respect, beauty and safety of Cambridge’s historic cemeteries.

Burial Permits:

The Vital Statistics Act requires that a funeral director (or person responsible) register deaths through the City of Cambridge Clerk's Division. The Clerk's Division reviews and accepts the appropriate documents and issues a Form 19: Burial Permit and a Form 18: Acknowledgement of Registration of Death. They also forward this information to the Office of the Registrar General or the appropriate Division Registrar, depending on where the death occurred.

Burial Permit Forms Submission and Service Timeframes

Completed Forms 15 and 16 should be scanned and forwarded to clerks@cambridge.ca.  Staff will review the Forms and issue the Burial Permit providing there are no errors on the Forms.  All original Forms must be forwarded to City Hall. 

2026 fees:

• In Town Death Registration - $47.00
• Out of Town Death Registration - $57.00
• Burial Permits' Call out after hours - $91.00

The Timelines for Burial Permit Issuance are as follows:

Non-Urgent Burial Permits

• Same day or next day service will be provided during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.).

Urgent Burial Permits

• Completed Forms 15 and 16 should be forwarded to clerks@cambridge.ca per the normal process.
• Requests for urgent permits After Hours, Weekends and Statutory Holidays are subject to an additional charge of $80.

Online Payment Options

Looking for information about how to pay for services provided by Cemeteries at the City of Cambridge? You can now make a Cemeteries Invoice Payment online.

You will need to have your invoice / sales reference number to make a payment online. View our Online Cemeteries Invoice Payments Instructions for more information.

Please note that your credit card may have a per-transaction and/or daily dollar limit. The online payment option allows you to pay a partial amount towards the invoice, in case the invoice total exceeds this limit. Please contact your credit card provider for more information on your limit.

Pets

Under the city’s Cemetery By-Laws, dogs are not permitted in cemeteries.  Wildlife, such as foxes and coyotes have been found throughout city parks, urban areas, trails and cemeteries and may pose a threat to pets.

Support dogs are permitted, but must be leashed.  Owners are required to clean up after support dogs and ensure they remain leashed and away from burials.  

Wildlife

Coyotes and foxes are found in urban areas throughout North America, including Cambridge.  Coyotes and foxes, and other wildlife have been spotted throughout city parks, urban areas, trails and cemeteries.

For more information on coyotes, please click on the following link. 

Please do not feed wildlife.  Feeding wild animals may do more harm than good. 

Consequences of feeding wildlife include:

Threats to wildlife:

• animals can become dependent on artificial food sources
• animals can lose their natural fear of humans and pets, becoming more prone to conflict
• artificial feed is not healthy for wildlife
• wild animals may gather in large numbers when they are being fed — this concentration of animals in one area can spread parasites and disease and cause destruction of natural habitat
• feeding animals near roads increases their risk of being hit by vehicles

Threats to people:

• feeding wildlife may attract "unwanted" animals to your property
• animals will learn to associate humans with food, and can become a problem to neighbours
• habituated animals can become aggressive
• feeding animals near roads increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents, resulting in property damage, injury or death
• Foxes and other wildlife may carry and transfer rabies 

Lot Decorations

Lot decorations shall not be placed on a lot if payment of any fees relating to the lot is outstanding.

Any lot decorations that do not comply with the cemetery by-laws, that are placed in the scattering gardens, that encroach upon adjacent lots or that are deemed to be unsafe may be removed by the City without notice.

No decorations are permitted to be attached to or wedged in between columbarium niches.  Potted plants, plant material and decorations are not permitted at the base of or around public columbaria.    

The cemetery by-laws do not permit stone mulch, raised borders around gardens or breakable items, such as those made from glass or ceramics.  Borders around gardens must be flushed with the ground. 

No decorations of any kind may be placed on a memorial bench or on or around a memorial tree. Any decorations may be removed by the City without notice.

The City shall is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage to decorations on a grave except for damage that has been shown to have been caused by the City.

Decorations that do not comply with the cemetery by-laws or are unsafe will be removed by staff.  Please contact the office to arrange to pick up of decorations that have been removed. Decorations that do not comply with the by-laws, that are deemed unsafe or damaged, or plant material that has died or becomes unsightly may be thrown out by cemetery staff. 

Resources

2026 Tariff of Changes - Cemeteries City of Cambridge

A Guide to Death Care in Ontario - Bereavement Authority of Ontario 

Cemetery locations

Learn about the municipally-owned cemeteries located in the city of Cambridge: