Michigan Funeral Service Laws and Rules: Mortuary Science Code and Occupational Regulation
Statutory frame
The Michigan Mortuary Science Code, MCL 338.1801 et seq., is the occupational statute governing funeral service. It is administered by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) through the Bureau of Professional Licensing (BPL), with the Board of Mortuary Science providing advisory review. The Code defines funeral directing, embalming, and the funeral establishment, and it authorizes separate credentials rather than one generic “funeral license.”
Core rules and concepts
- A funeral establishment must be licensed and must have a licensed funeral director in charge of the premises.
- Individual practice is licensed: a funeral director license and an embalmer license are distinct credentials.
- The department may inspect establishments, require records, set fees, and adopt rules on sanitation, preparation rooms, refrigeration, and license display.
- Unlicensed practice, aiding unlicensed practice, false statements on applications, and unprofessional conduct are grounds for discipline.
- Local health department requirements, such as burial-transit permits, can add obligations but do not replace state licensure.
Worked example
An unlicensed clerk at a licensed funeral home meets with a family, selects a casket, and signs the statement of funeral goods and services. The clerk is practicing funeral directing without a license. The establishment also faces exposure because its licensee permitted or failed to supervise the activity. The owner’s license does not cure the problem: the person arranging and contracting must hold the appropriate license.
Traps that cost marks
Do not assume a corporate funeral home license authorizes every employee to arrange funerals. Do not confuse the Board’s advisory role with final licensing authority. Do not treat the federal FTC Funeral Rule as a substitute for Michigan licensure; federal and state requirements can both apply.