Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 157 — DISPOSITION OF HUMAN REMAINS
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (2026)

Location and ownership of cemeteries

✓ current as of July 2026
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157.065157.065 Location and ownership of cemeteries.
157.065(1)(1) No cemetery may be used for burials except any of the following:
157.065(1)(a)(a) A cemetery in use on April 4, 1864.
157.065(1)(b)(b) A cemetery organized and operated by any of the following:
157.065(1)(b)1.1. A municipality.
157.065(1)(b)2.2. A religious association.
157.065(1)(b)3.3. A fraternal or benevolent society.
157.065(1)(b)4.4. An incorporated college of a religious order.
157.065(1)(b)5.5. A cemetery association created under s. 157.062.
157.065(1)(b)6.6. A corporation organized under ch. 180 or 181.
157.065(1)(b)7.7. A limited liability company organized under ch. 183.
157.065(2)(2) 
157.065(2)(a)(a) Except as provided in sub. (3), no cemetery may be established:
157.065(2)(a)1.1. Within a recorded plat or recorded addition to a plat of any city or village, if the cemetery is within one mile of a building in the plat;
157.065(2)(a)2.2. Outside a recorded plat or recorded addition to a plat of any city or village if the cemetery is within 3,300 feet of an inhabited dwelling that is located within a recorded plat or addition, unless the city or village consents;
157.065(2)(a)3.3. Within 250 feet of any habitable dwelling, publicly owned building or school, unless the cemetery is establishing an extension on property it has owned continually since June 18, 1929; or
157.065(2)(a)4.4. Within 3,300 feet of any of the following state facilities, without the consent of the state:
157.065(2)(a)4.a.a. Any institution for the deaf or the blind;
157.065(2)(a)4.b.b. Any mental health institute, as defined in s. 51.01;
157.065(2)(a)4.c.c. A Type 1 juvenile correctional facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (19);
157.065(2)(a)4.d.d. Any center for the developmentally disabled; or
157.065(2)(a)4.e.e. Any state reformatory.
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157.065(2)(b)(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to enlargements under sub. (3m) or s. 157.064 (2) or (3).
157.065(3)(3) 
157.065(3)(a)(a) Any incorporated college of a religious order in a 4th class city may establish a private cemetery within the city on land the college owns to bury members of the religious order, if the common council consents and if each person owning a private building within 825 feet of the proposed cemetery consents.
157.065(3)(b)(b) Any private military academy that provides an educational program for grades 7 to 12 in a 4th class city may establish a private cemetery within the city on land that the military academy owns, if the common council consents. No mausoleum within a cemetery established under this paragraph may exceed 3,500 square feet in area.
157.065(3m)(3m) Any of the following cemeteries may enlarge only in the following manner:
157.065(3m)(a)(a) Any cemetery in a village may enlarge with the consent of the village board and of the owners of each building within 250 feet of the addition.
157.065(3m)(b)(b) Any cemetery in a 3rd or 4th class city may enlarge with the consent of the common council.
157.065(3m)(c)(c) Notwithstanding pars. (a) and (d), any cemetery established before April 30, 1887, in a village and located within 100 feet of the village limits may extend to the village limits with the consent of the village board.
157.065(3m)(d)(d) Notwithstanding pars. (a) to (c), any cemetery established before April 30, 1887, may expand as provided in s. 157.064.
157.065(5)(5) Any violation of this section is a public nuisance.
157.065 HistoryHistory: 1975 c. 39, 106; 1975 c. 189 s. 99 (2); 1975 c. 200, 422, 430; 1977 c. 83; 1977 c. 449 s. 497; 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 20; 1985 a. 316 ss. 18, 25; Stats. 1985 s. 157.065; 1987 a. 190; 1989 a. 43, 307; 1993 a. 98, 112; 1995 a. 77; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 103, 107; 2005 a. 344.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2018–2018 · leading case: DeWitt v. Ferries, 921 N.W.2d 188 (Wis. 2018).
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DeWitt v. Ferries, 921 N.W.2d 188 (Wis. 2018). · cites it 10× “¶ 32 For example, Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (1) details what entities can organize a cemetery and provides for the recognition of land that was used as a cemetery prior to 1864.”
Melvin DeWitt v. Earl G. Ferries, 2018 WI 117 (Wis. 2018). · cites it 9× “" Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (1)(a). ¶35 Second, there are no existing facts of record indicating that the parcel has been organized or operated as a cemetery by a cemetery authority.”
— Wis. Stat. § 157.065(1) — 2 cases
DeWitt v. Ferries, 921 N.W.2d 188 (Wis. 2018). “¶ 32 For example, Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (1) details what entities can organize a cemetery and provides for the recognition of land that was used as a cemetery prior to 1864.”
Melvin DeWitt v. Earl G. Ferries, 2018 WI 117 (Wis. 2018). “" Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (1)(a). ¶35 Second, there are no existing facts of record indicating that the parcel has been organized or operated as a cemetery by a cemetery authority.”
— Wis. Stat. § 157.065(1)(b) — 1 case
Melvin DeWitt v. Earl G. Ferries, 2018 WI 117 (Wis. 2018). “" Wis. Stat. § 157.065 (1)(a). ¶35 Second, there are no existing facts of record indicating that the parcel has been organized or operated as a cemetery by a cemetery authority.”
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