Is your plumber, dentist or kids’ summer camp licensed? Been disciplined? Let's check.

Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read

About to hire someone to do a job for you?

Whether it's to repair a leaky pipe or keep your kids occupied for the summer, there’s important information online that’s easily accessible and could make you a better educated consumer.

It is important to be an educated consumer and check to see whether the license of an individual or business is active and whether they've been disciplined by state regulators.
It is important to be an educated consumer and check to see whether the license of an individual or business is active and whether they've been disciplined by state regulators.

The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators.

The searches are maintained by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which is also the agency that helps establish rules for many professions and holds those who break the rules accountable.

The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators. The searches are maintained by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, this is the homepage.
The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators. The searches are maintained by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, this is the homepage.

There's a long master list of dozens of state license types, which include child care centers, health professionals, such as doctors and dentists, skilled trades, such as plumbers and builders, and occupational professions, such as architects and barbers.

What kind of information can I get online?

You can search by someone's name or their license number. Or you could just choose a specific profession and get a list of all those with current or inactive licenses.

Let's say you want to find a marriage and family therapist in Oakland County. Plug that information into the search and you get more than 400 entries. Sort through the active licenses, click on the license number and then you'll have their name, the date their license was issued and when it expires.

The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators. The searches are maintained by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, where licensing information will be broken down by category. (Credit: Provided by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs )

There generally isn't a phone number or email on the state site to contact the individual. But a quick Google search on their name likely will help you find more contact details.

There are separate, more detailed, lookups for other providers, such as adult foster care and nursing homes and specific ones for children's summer camps and child care centers and in-home care.

With those, you also don't have to have a facility's name to search. Instead you could just search by county to see what's available near you.

Can I see disciplinary records?

In many cases, you can see whether a licensed individual or a business was disciplined.

When searching individual licenses, if there has been discipline, typically an exclamation point pops up on the page above their name directing you to click on the prompt for more information.

The state of Michigan runs public databases, also called lookups, that allow anyone to check whether the license of an individual or business is active and can include whether they've been disciplined by state regulators. The searches are maintained by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, where licensing information will be broken down by category.

Then there is a brief summary of the discipline history, which can include whether the person paid fines. Also at the bottom of the page, look for "Click to view Public Documents".

That often includes pdfs that summarize violations. It's important to note that the licensee can challenge the allegations at an administrative hearing, which is similar to criminal or civil proceedings.

Businesses like adult foster care, nursing homes and child care centers have more information online, such as inspection reports that could detail violations state inspectors found and a plan the business has agreed to follow to maintain their license.

LARA also publishes "Disciplinary Action Reports" that summarize actions it has taken, like this one for health professions, this one for construction related licenses and this one for other licenses, like cemetaries.

How can I make a complaint if something goes wrong?

LARA takes complaints regarding the businesses and professionals it licenses, mostly online. And they have a guide to walk consumers through filing licensing complaints.

For example, you can file a complaint regarding nursing homes, adult foster care and children's camps through an online complaint form.

To file a complaint involving many skilled trade licenses, the state requires you to create an account through the state's Michigan Professional Licensing User System (MiPLUS). There is a tutorial online on how to create an account and file a complaint.

Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to check license of a kids camp, plumber or other service provider