DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS  
DIRECTOR’S OFFICE  
MORTUARY SCIENCE  
(By authority conferred on the department of licensing and regulatory affairs by  
sections 205 and 308 of 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.205 and 339.308, and Executive  
Reorganization Order Nos. 1996-2, 2003-1, 2008-4, and 2011-4, MCL 445.2001,  
445.2011, 445.2025, and 445.2030.)  
PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS  
R 339.18901 Definitions.  
Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:  
(a) "Establishment working hours" means 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.  
(b) "Full-time" means not less than 40 hours per week.  
(c) "Sponsor" means a mortuary science licensee who has held a mortuary  
science license for not less than 5 years, who has agreed to supervise and instruct a  
resident trainee as required by R 339.18925, and who has not had any disciplinary  
action taken against him or her within the last 5 years.  
(2) The terms defined in articles 1 and 18 of the act have the same meanings when  
used in these rules.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2001 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
R 339.18905 Rescinded.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2001 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
R 339.18919 Rescission.  
Rule 19. R 338.863 to R 338.869 and R 338.881 of  
Administrative Code, appearing on pages 2453 to 2459 of the 1979  
Administrative Code, are rescinded.  
the  
Michigan  
Michigan  
History: 1991 AACS.  
PART 2. LICENSING  
R 339.18921 Licensure education requirements.  
Page 1  
Rule 21. (1) As required by section 1806 of the act, for education completed  
after January 1, 1 2002, the 3-year course in mortuary science shall consist of both  
of the following:  
(a) Completion, with not less than a 2.00 average, of not less than 60 semester  
or 90 quarter hours of non-remedial college level courses at an accredited college or  
university, which shall include all of the following:  
Subject  
Minimum Hours  
(i) Public speaking/communications.......... 3 semester or 3 quarter hours.  
(ii) Psychology/death and dying/gerontology. 6 semester or 8 quarter hours.  
(iii) Comparative religion or ethnic/multi-cultural studies...............................3  
semester or 4 quarter hours.  
(b) Completion, with not less than a 2.00 average, of 1 academic year of  
instruction in an accredited mortuary science program or a program deemed by the  
department to be equivalent to an accredited program. The department adopts by  
reference the accreditation standards contained in the American Board of Funeral  
Service Education manual on accreditation, revised October, 2000, for mortuary science  
instruction completed after January 1, 2002.Copies of the manual are available from  
the American Board of Funeral Service Education, 38 Florida Avenue, Portland Maine  
04103, or from the Department of Consumer and Industry Services, P.O. Box 30018,  
Lansing, Michigan 48909-7518,at a cost as of the time of the adoption of these rules  
of $50.00. The department shall distribute, without cost, a list of the programs  
accredited in accordance with the manual.  
(2) The department may waive not more than 6 months of an applicant's  
resident training upon the receipt of proof that an applicant possesses a baccalaureate  
degree from an accredited college or university. A resident trainee who has received a  
waiver under this subrule is not exempt from fulfilling the requirements of R  
339.18923, R 339.18925, and R 339.18927.  
(3) For education completed before January 1, 2002, the 3-year course in  
mortuary science education shall consist of both of the following:  
(a) Completion, with not less than a 2.00 average, of not less than 60 semester  
or 90 quarter hours of nonremedial college level courses at an accredited college or  
university, which shall include the following subjects:  
Subject  
Credit Hours  
(i) Public speaking/communications.......3 semester or 3 quarter hours.  
(ii) Accounting......................... 6 semester or 8 quarter hours.  
(iii) Psychology/gerontology/death and dying......................... 6 semester or 8 quarter  
hours.  
(iv) Chemistry lecture and lab.......... 8 semester or 10 quarter hours.  
(v) Biological science (biology/zoology/anatomy)........... 6 semester or 8 quarter  
hours.  
(vi) English composition/business writing............................ 6 semester or 8 quarter  
hours.  
(vii) Computer science.................. 3 semester or 4 quarter hours.  
(b) Completion, with not less than a 2.00 average, of 1 academic year of  
instruction in an accredited mortuary science program or a program deemed by the  
department to be equivalent to an accredited program. The department adopts by  
Page 2  
reference the accreditation standards contained in the American Board of Funeral  
Service Education manual on accreditation revised September, 1990 for mortuary  
science instruction completed after January 1, 1993 Copies of the manual are  
available from the American Board of Funeral Service  
Education, 38 Florida Avenue, Portland Maine 04103, or from the Department of  
Consumer and Industry Services, P. O. Box 30018, Lansing Michigan 48909-  
7518, at a cost as of the time of the adoption of these rules of $50.00.  
(4) An applicant who possesses a baccalaureate or higher degree from an  
accredited college or university is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of  
subrule (1)(a) and (3)(a) of this rule.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2001 AACS.  
R 339.18923 Resident training; resident training time credit; notice of change  
of sponsor or location; supervision; license renewal; sponsor limitation;  
attending college or university during training.  
Rule 23. (1) To receive credit for resident training time, a resident trainee shall  
be employed on a full-time basis during establishment working hours and shall be under  
the supervision of his or her sponsor.  
(2) A resident trainee shall notify the department, in writing, of a change of  
sponsor before beginning training under the new sponsor. A resident trainee shall  
also notify the department of any change in training location.  
(3) A resident trainee who has completed 1 year of resident training, but who  
continues to perform duties requiring a license, shall continue to work under the  
supervision of a mortuary science licensee and shall maintain an active resident  
trainee license.  
(4) A resident trainee license shall not be renewed more than 2 times.  
(5) Except as authorized by the department, a mortuary science licensee shall  
sponsor only 1 resident trainee at a time.  
(6) A resident trainee may attend a college or university while serving his or her  
resident training, if both of the following conditions are met:  
(a) The college or university is within reasonable commuting time from the  
trainee's home or training establishment.  
(b) The sponsor notifies the department, in writing, that the resident trainee is  
attending a college or university and that the course schedule will not interfere with the  
resident training program established by the sponsor.  
History: 1991 AACS; 1998-2000 AACS.  
R 339.18925 Minimum practical experience requirements.  
Rule 25. A resident trainee shall perform, under the supervision of his or her  
sponsor, all of the following minimum services during resident training:  
(a) Not less than 25 embalmings.  
(b) All of the following services not less than 20 times each:  
(i) Removing remains from the place of death.  
Page 3  
(ii) Securing information for a death certificate and newspapers.  
(iii) Completing and filing a death certificate and obtaining the burial transit  
permit.  
(iv) Contacting newspapers for placement of a death notice.  
(v) Arranging for clergy.  
(vi) Checking in and placing flowers.  
(vii) Receiving visitors.  
(viii) Assisting in selling funeral merchandise.  
(ix) Assisting in making funeral arrangements.  
(x) Arranging cemetery details.  
(xi) Assisting at the funeral.  
(xii) Applying cosmetics to, and arranging the hair of, a deceased person.  
(c) All of the following services not less than 3 times each:  
(i) Arranging for or providing music.  
(ii) Completing and filing social security forms.  
(iii) Completing and filing veterans' forms.  
(iv) Performing restorative work.  
(v) Arranging the receiving or transferring of human remains by common carrier.  
(vi) Contacting the deceased's lodge, club, or place of employment concerning the  
death.  
History: 1991 AACS.  
R 339.18927 Resident training reports.  
Rule 27. (1) To receive credit for resident training, each resident trainee shall  
file with the department an embalming report which verifies that a minimum of 5  
embalmings were performed by the trainee during the previous 6-month reporting  
period.  
(2) The department may reject an embalming report that is filed by a resident  
trainee if the report is inaccurate, incomplete, or is filed after the due dates of January  
15 and July 15. The rejection of an embalming report may also result in the loss of  
training time for the period  
covered by the rejected reports. Failure to notify the department of a change in  
sponsor as required by R 339.18923 may result in the loss of training time and the  
rejection of embalmings performed under the new sponsor.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2001 AACS.  
R 339.18929 Rescinded.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2001 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
PART 3. STANDARDS OF OPERATIONS  
Page 4  
R 339.18930 Relicensure.  
Rule 30. (1) A person who has a lapsed or expired license and who seeks  
relicensure at a time that is more than 3 years from the date of lapse or expiration  
shall meet current educational requirements for relicensure and pass the current  
written examination on the law and rules of Michigan.  
(2) A person who is seeking relicensure and who has previously passed a  
national examination equivalent to the examination  
required  
in  
Rule  
339.18929(1)(a) does not have to repeat the national examination.  
History: 2001 AACS.  
R 339.18931 Establishment requirements.  
Rule 31. (1) Each licensed establishment shall have a room which is suitable for  
conducting funerals and which meets the requirements of the applicable local building  
code for holding 50 or more persons, an area for the display of a casket and flowers, and  
a lectern area.  
(2) Each licensed establishment shall have an embalming room. The embalming  
room shall not have a direct connection to any living quarters located on the same floor or  
to the chapel or any other area accessible by the public. For the purposes of this rule, a  
direct connection has not been made if an area that is not less than 9 square feet in floor  
area has been provided between the entrance to the embalming room and the entrance to  
an area accessible by the public.  
(3) The embalming room shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.  
Instruments shall be cleaned and sterilized after each use.  
(4) An embalming room shall have all of the following:  
(a) A linoleum or tile floor.  
(b) Walls and ceilings made of or covered by washable and waterproof material.  
(c) Hot and cold running water.  
(d) A plumbing system as required by the provisions of R 325.11401 through R  
325.11407.  
(e) A fan that is capable of moving 250 cubic feet of air per minute.  
(5) An embalming room shall be equipped with a porcelain or stainless steel  
embalming table, the instruments necessary to embalm a body, and a means of sterilizing  
equipment, such as an autoclave, a gas sterilizer, or an instrument solution sterilizer that  
is large enough to accommodate a normal, adult-sized trocar.  
(6) An embalming room shall not be used as a storage area.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
R 339.18933 Establishment inspections.  
Rule 33. (1) A representative of the department shall be permitted to inspect a  
funeral establishment to ascertain that the establishment is in compliance with the law  
and these rules.  
Page 5  
(2) A funeral establishment shall be inspected during establishment working  
hours as follows:  
(a) On a routine basis.  
(b) Any time the establishment undergoes structural changes.  
(c) When there is a change in ownership.  
(d) When an establishment is first opened.  
(3) A funeral establishment may be inspected at any time when the inspection is  
part of the investigation of a complaint.  
History: 1991 AACS.  
R 339.18937 Licensed manager required.  
Rule 37. (1) Each funeral establishment shall have in its direct employment a  
mortuary science licensee who is designated as the establishment's manager.  
(2) A manager shall be employed on a full-time basis and shall be available at  
all times for funeral-related purposes.  
(3) A manager shall reside within 1 hour's normal commuting time from the  
funeral establishment.  
(4) A mortuary science licensee shall not manage more than  
establishment.  
1
funeral  
History: 1991 AACS.  
PART 4. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT  
R 339.18941 Advertising.  
Rule 41. (1) A mortuary science licensee or funeral establishment shall not use false,  
misleading, or deceptive advertising. As used in this rule, "false, misleading, or deceptive  
advertising" includes using any name other than the name under which the funeral  
establishment is licensed.  
(2) A funeral establishment shall not do business in a location which is not licensed  
as a funeral establishment and shall not advertise a service as available from an  
unlicensed location.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
R 339.18943 Posting of licenses.  
Rule 43. The current funeral establishment license and the mortuary science or  
resident trainee license of each individual affiliated with that establishment shall be  
conspicuously displayed in the funeral establishment in a place accessible to the public.  
History: 1991 AACS.  
Page 6  
R 339.18945 Change of address.  
Rule 45. A licensee shall report a change of address to the department within 30  
days of the change.  
History: 1991 AACS.  
R 339.18947 Rescinded.  
History: 1991 AACS; 2014 AACS.  
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;