Blood Lead Testing Requirements for Children

Michigan law (MCL 333.5457d) now requires all children to be tested for lead in the blood at 12 months and 24 months of age and at other intervals based on their risk of lead exposure (a.k.a., universal blood lead testing).

Key Points

• Providers are responsible to test or order the test.
• Children must be tested at 12 months and 24 months of age or by 72 months of age (age 6) if there is no record of a previous test.
• Children must also be tested as follows:
  • Between 48 months and 60 months of age (age 4) if they live in high-risk city/township.
  • At least once between their most recent test and age 72 months if they are at high risk because they live in a home:
    • Built before 1978.   
    • Where other children with elevated blood lead levels live.
  • Within 3 months of when a provider or parent determines they are at high risk. For risk factors, refer to MDHHS Management of Blood Lead Test Results: Guide for Healthcare Providers.
• By law, parents can choose not to have their child’s blood tested for lead. Document objection in the child’s medical record.
• All elevated tests (=>3.5 µg/dL) based on capillary blood must be repeated with a venous test to confirm the elevated level.
• For additional details, refer to MDHHS Univeral Lead Testing Final Rules.

Additional Resources

• MDHHS: Universal Blood Lead Testing: Questions and Answers for Physicians
• MDHHS: Universal Blood Lead Testing: Questions and Answers for Parents and the Public
• MDHHS: MI Lead Safe | For Healthcare Providers
• MDHHS: The MiTracking portal allows users to view childhood blood lead testing data for Michigan, filtered by age of housing, blood lead levels (BLLs), and BLLs by birth year.
• CDC: Recommended Actions Based on Blood Level