Maryland Funeral Service Law and Board Regulations
Maryland regulates funeral service in layers, and the exam tests whether you can route a question to the right layer. The State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors licenses individuals and establishments and adopts regulations in COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 29. The Health Occupations Article, Title 7 supplies the statutory framework for licensure and discipline. The Health-General Article governs vital records, death investigation, and disposition of bodies. Cemetery and monument sales fall to the Office of Cemetery Oversight, not the Board.
What the Board actually controls
- Adopts regulations, sets fees, approves apprenticeship registrations and mortuary science curricula, and imposes discipline.
- Sits within the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing in the Maryland Department of Health; contested cases follow the Administrative Procedure Act and are subject to judicial review.
- Requires licensees and establishments to report address changes, criminal convictions, and discipline taken by other states.
Cooperating agencies you must not confuse
- Local health officers and registrars receive death certificates and issue burial-transit permits.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner claims jurisdiction over reportable deaths and reviews cremations.
- The Office of Cemetery Oversight licenses cemeteries and cemetery salespeople.
Worked example
A family complains that their mother was interred in the wrong plot and that the embalming was botched. The plot and contract dispute belongs to the Office of Cemetery Oversight and civil court; the embalming-competency question is a Board matter under Health Occupations Title 7 and COMAR 10.29. Splitting the claim correctly is the tested skill.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming the Board regulates cemeteries, assuming another state's license satisfies Maryland by reciprocity, and citing COMAR alone when the statute creates the duty.