You go through a monument mason, who cuts the name and dates either at the cemetery or in the workshop. Most cemeteries want to approve a new inscription before any work is done on a headstone, and the mason usually takes care of that request. When there is no room left on the stone, the new name goes on another face of the monument, on a separate plaque or on a granite book, in the same lettering and finish as the original.
Who adds the inscription?
A monument mason (also called a memorial mason or monument company), ideally the one who made the headstone: they know the stone, and they often kept the lettering style and layout of the first inscription. If they have closed or are far away, any mason can do it; bring them a sharp photo of the existing inscription, taken straight on.
There are three techniques: sandblasting, the most common today, through a stencil that reproduces the lettering; hand-cut lettering, with a chisel, for an old stone or a typeface a stencil cannot match; and raised letters in bronze or brass, fixed to the stone when the original inscription was made that way. Allow a few weeks, as a rule, between the quote and the inscription: time for the approval and for the mason's visit.
Two ways of working, chosen by the mason depending on the stone and the access:
- at the cemetery, when the inscription is simple and the stone easy to reach;
- in the workshop, when the headstone has to come down, the stone is thick, or gilding has to be redone. The grave is then without its headstone for a few days or weeks: ask how long before you sign.
Inscriptions are usually priced per letter, plus any gilding. Ask for a written quote, two if you can.
Do you need permission?
In most cemeteries, yes. The cemetery, the parish or the local authority that runs it usually wants to see the exact wording before any new inscription is cut, and many also ask to be told before any work on a monument. The rules are local, and they are written down: they are in the cemetery rules, and the cemetery office can send them to you.
In practice, the mason sends the request with the exact text to be cut, and knows what the local cemetery expects. If you are adding a small plaque yourself, the same approval applies: ask before fixing anything.
Do you have to add the name?
Usually not by law. A grave with no name, or one where the name is only added years later, is common and generally allowed. Some cemeteries do set their own requirements for markers and inscriptions; if there is one, it will be in the cemetery rules.
Who decides what goes on the stone is another matter. The person who holds the rights to the grave, which is not always the closest relative, usually has to agree to any new inscription. The cemetery office can tell you who that is.
When can it be done?
No general rule says you must wait, or that it must be done by a given date. The constraints are practical: after a burial, the ground needs time to settle, and when a headstone has been moved for a second burial, the mason often waits until it is back in place and stable before working on it. They will tell you how long. Many families have the name added within a few months, sometimes in time for an anniversary.
A name that arrives a year later is not something forgotten.
And when there is no room left?
This is the usual situation with family graves: the headstone was cut for two names, sometimes for one. Four options, from the most discreet to the most visible:
- Use another face of the monument: the side, the base, the ledger on top. Often the cheapest, since the stone is already there.
- A separate plaque, cut in the same granite and fixed to the headstone or the ledger. The solution for monuments that are already full.
- A granite book set on the grave, whose pages take several names over the years.
- Recut the whole headstone, with every name set by one hand. More expensive, but the only way to get a truly even layout when the original inscription is worn.
If there is still space in the grave, plan now where the names to come will go.
Matching the original inscription
Three things to reproduce exactly, and to point out to the mason:
- The lettering, and its size. A name in Roman capitals under a name in script shows from thirty feet away.
- The finish: plain cut, gold leaf, painted. New gilding next to gilding twenty years old will never match perfectly; some masons offer to redo both.
- The date style: years only or full dates, with or without a dash, as in "1932 – 2026".
For any words that go with the name, see what to put on a headstone: the same approval applies.
The moment the monument is opened up
Adding a name is often the only time in twenty or thirty years that a family has a mason work on the grave. Some families use the occasion to add a QR code to the headstone, which leads to photos and memories the stone cannot hold. Engraved or stuck on: both have their case, and the comparison is here. On forevr, the simplest plan starts at €19 and includes three identical QR stickers to fix yourself.
The rest of a grave's life, from cleaning to flowers to repairs, is in how to clean a headstone.
Plan price checked in the site's code on October 18, 2026. Each cemetery's own rules apply: the cemetery office is the place to ask.
