How much does it cost to add a date or name to a headstone?

The short answer

Adding a final date to an existing granite headstone, engraved on-site by a monument company, typically costs $275–$350, within a published range of about $150–$400. Adding a full name and dates usually runs $300–$800. Some cemeteries add their own permit or access fee of roughly $50–$200.

These figures come from 2025–2026 price lists and FAQs published by US monument companies (sources are linked under each chart). They are ranges, not quotes: your price depends on how many characters are cut, how far the engraver travels, and your cemetery’s rules.

How monument shops price it

Most shops quote a base charge that covers the trip to the cemetery and matching the existing lettering, plus a per-character charge. Published examples:

Per-character prices in published lists range from about $7 to $35, so a long epitaph can cost more than the name and dates together.

What moves the price

• Number of characters

  Raises cost

  Nearly every shop prices by the letter after a base charge.

• Matching the existing lettering

  Raises cost

  Tracing and drawing a matching font is skilled work, usually built into the base charge.

• Travel to the cemetery

  Varies

  Most work is done on-site; distance and extra trips raise the base charge.

• Stone type and color

  Varies

  Some granites and color treatments take longer to cut and finish.

• Cemetery permit or access fee

  Raises cost

  Some cemeteries charge for any work on a stone; others don’t.

• Hand-cut lettering or artwork

  Raises cost

  Hand cutting and new artwork can cost far more than sandblasted text.

Cemetery fees

Many cemeteries regulate work on their grounds. Some charge a permit or access fee for adding an inscription, and published guides put it around $50–$200. Ask the cemetery office before you order. The Funeral Consumers Alliance notes that, unlike funeral homes, cemeteries are not required to give you a printed price list, so it pays to ask in writing.

How long it takes

Bronze markers

Bronze can’t be sandblasted like granite. A new date is usually added with a cast date plate or scroll attached to the marker, which published guides put at roughly $150–$350 (Memorials.com).

Questions to ask for an accurate quote

• Is travel, setup and letter matching included in the price, or separate?
• How many characters are included, and what does each extra character cost?
• Will I see a proof of the new lettering, at full size, before it’s cut?
• Does the cemetery charge a permit or access fee, and who pays it?
• How long will it take, and what happens if weather delays the work?

Check every letter of the name and date on the proof. A mistake cut into granite is the most expensive outcome there is.

For monument shops

Matching the existing lettering and laying out the new line is where the hidden time goes in an add-a-date job. Monumize turns a phone photo of the stone into to-scale cut files for the new date, suggests the closest matching lettering style, and lets you check the new line on the photo before you cut. It costs $49 per job plus tax, paid by the shop. See how it works or talk to us.

Families: for a rough estimate for your stone, try the inscription cost calculator, or read how adding a date to a headstone works.