Decorations & Prohibited Items Policy
At Arlington Cemetery, our priorities are:
- Safety for visitors and staff.
- Cleanliness and dignity of the cemetery grounds.
- Clarity that decorations are placed at your own risk. The cemetery is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged decorations. Please remember that leaving items on a grave is similar to leaving belongings in a public park; we cannot control visitors who may remove them, nor damage caused by weather or wildlife.
Annual Cleanup
Acceptable Decorations
The cemetery reserves the right to remove, without prior notice, any item that poses a safety hazard to staff, visitors, or cemetery property, including monuments and maintenance equipment. Safety hazards include but are not limited to glass, metal, oversized, sharp, unstable, or flammable objects.
The cemetery is not responsible for any removed, lost, or damaged items.
- A cemetery-wide cleanup takes place around January 15 each year (weather permitting).
- Please remove any decorations you wish to keep before this date.
- All items left after this date will be removed by cemetery staff.
- New decorations may be placed beginning one month after start of cleanup (approximately February 13th).
- Holiday decorations should be removed by families before the next holiday.
- Older holiday items left behind may be removed by cemetery staff without notice in order to maintain a clean and respectful environment.
Acceptable Decorations
- Fresh or artificial flowers are permitted only in cemetery-approved cones.
- Flowers may not be pushed directly into the ground.
- Decorations must be placed within 12 inches of the monument.
- Please be aware that wildlife such as deer and groundhogs often disturb or eat fresh flowers, which may result in missing or damaged arrangements.
The cemetery reserves the right to remove, without prior notice, any item that poses a safety hazard to staff, visitors, or cemetery property, including monuments and maintenance equipment. Safety hazards include but are not limited to glass, metal, oversized, sharp, unstable, or flammable objects.
The cemetery is not responsible for any removed, lost, or damaged items.
Prohibited Items:
For safety and maintenance reasons, the following are not permitted:
- Fencing, borders, rocks, or gravel (including covering graves with stones or fabric memorials).
- Statues, figurines, or stuffed animals.
- Glass or ceramic items, vases, or containers.
- Metal items such as stakes, shepherd’s hooks, solar lights, or garden decorations.
- Eternal lights, solar light, candles, or lanterns.
- Permanent plantings (trees, shrubs, flowers, or other vegetation).
- Permanent structures other than an approved monument purchased and set through a licensed monument dealer.
- Oversized decorations such as large crosses, plaques, wreath stands, or other items that interfere with maintenance or neighboring graves.
- Any object creating a safety hazard for visitors, staff, or equipment.
Temporary Grave Markers
Temporary grave markers may remain in place for up to one year after the date of death or until a permanent monument is installed, whichever comes first.
- Only standard markers, typically provided by funeral homes, are permitted.
- Families wishing to keep the temporary marker must remove it before the one-year period ends.
- The cemetery does not sell temporary markers and is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged markers.
We reserve the right to remove any items that pose a hazard or violate our rules and regulations, without prior notice. The cemetery is not responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged items.
Please note, we do not accept complaints regarding lost, stolen, or damaged items.
Please note, we do not accept complaints regarding lost, stolen, or damaged items.
