Funeral Establishment Licensure, Facilities, and Sanitation Requirements
An establishment license is location-specific. Every funeral home that maintains a preparation room, and every location where mortuary services are offered to the public, needs its own license, and the license does not travel with a sale, a move, or a name change. The Board licenses on application, inspection, and designation of a licensee responsible for day-to-day compliance.
Physical plant expectations
- A preparation room with non-absorbent, washable floors and wall surfaces, a sink with hot and cold running water, embalming table and instruments, locked storage for chemicals, and exhaust ventilation.
- Refrigeration capable of holding unembalmed remains at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below when embalming is delayed.
- Handwashing supplies, disinfectants, and a sanitation schedule; pest control and general cleanliness in public areas.
- Regulated medical waste segregated and disposed of under Maryland Department of the Environment rules, never in ordinary trash.
- No food preparation, eating, or living quarters in the preparation area.
Administrative duties
Post the establishment and individual licenses, keep a current general price list available, file notice of ownership, name, or address changes, and submit to inspection on complaint.
Worked example
The owner sells the funeral home, and the buyer keeps the old license certificate displayed. The license did not transfer; the buyer must apply, be inspected, and be licensed before serving families. Operating in the gap is unlicensed practice and also voids insurance coverage.
Traps that cost marks
Treating a remodel as exempt from re-inspection, forgetting that a new address requires a new license, and assuming a chapel without a preparation room may embalm for another location.