The Notary Certification Process

The application process is a joint process between the Michigan Department of State and the County Clerk's Office.

Renewing your Notary Certification follows the identical process described below.

1. Complete the Application

You have two options for filling out your application.

If you would like to fill out the application online, please go to the State of Michigan Online Services.
If you would like to fill out the Application by paper, please fill out this Application completely and legibly.

2. Choose your Notary Package to Obtain a Surety Bond

Notaries public are required to obtain a $10,000.00 surety bond and file it at the office of the county clerk in the county where the notary will be appointed. Choose your Notary bond package.

Important - Be sure to forward a copy of your application to Michigan Notary to ensure the name on the bond matches your application.

3. File the Surety Bond with the County Clerk

Present the surety bond and the completed application to the County Clerk's office.

Swear an Oath of Office with the County Clerk:

The oath of office is an oral or written statement taken at your County Clerk's office when you file your bond. (If you are a Michigan resident, this must be your county of residence.) The oath is a pledge that you will uphold the constitution and perform your duties with reasonable care. After an oath is administered, a verification is completed by the clerk (or clerk designee) attesting that you swore to the statement.

An Attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan is not required to obtain and file a surety bond with the County Clerk's office. An Attorney is required to go to the County Clerk's office in their county of residence to take the Constitutional Oath and obtain the County Seal and Certification.

Submit a filing fee payment to the County Clerk: To complete the County Clerk process, the County Clerk will collect a fee. The fee is usually $10.00, but some counties can charge more. Submit the completed application and an additional $10.00 fee to the Department of State.

4. Submit the Approved Application to the State of Michigan

Once you have fulfilled the filing requirements at the county level you will need to submit your application by one of the following methods:

If application was done on e-Services, you may upload the completed application and pay the $10.00 non-refundable processing fee online.
As an alternative to uploading the completed application and paying the non-refundable processing fee online, you may mail-in the completed application with the $10.00 non-refundable processing fee (check or money order payable to the "State of Michigan") to the following address.

Michigan Department of State
Office of the Great Seal
7064 Crowner Blvd.
Lansing, MI 48918

5. Supply your expiration date to Michigan Notary Service

Once you have received your approval from the State of Michigan with your expiration date. Please contact Michigan Notary Service and we can finalize your stamp order. Our contact information is orders@michnotary.com or give us a call at (248) 813-8400 (links below).

Notary Packages

Mail

Phone

Qualifications to become a Notary

To meet the qualifications of a Michigan Notary Public, all the following must be met by the applicant.

Be at least 18 years old
Be a Michigan resident or maintain a place of business in Michigan
Be a U.S. citizen or possess proof of legal presence
Be a resident of the county in which you request appointment (if you do not reside in Michigan, maintain a principal place of business in the county you request appointment)
Read and write in the English language
Be free of any felony convictions within the past 10 years (if previously convicted of a felony, the 10-year period includes completion of the sentence for that crime, any term of imprisonment, parole, or probation, and payment of all fines, costs, and assessments)
Have not been convicted of 2 or more misdemeanor offenses involving a violation of the Michigan Notary Public Act within a 12-month period while commissioned, or 3 or more misdemeanor offenses involving a violation of this Act within a 5-year period regardless of being commissioned
Have filed with the appropriate county clerk a proper surety bond in the amount of $10,000 and taken the oath of office as prescribed by the State Constitution (Michigan licensed attorneys are exempt
Sign a declaration that all information on your application for Michigan Notary Public Commission is correct, that you have read the Michigan Notary Public Act, and that you will perform all notarial acts faithfully
Are not currently serving a term of imprisonment in any state, county or federal correctional facility is prohibited from being appointed or serving as a notary public

Length of Notary Bond

Each notary public commission is for a 6 to 7-year period ending on the notary's birthday. The term is not less than 6 or more than 7 years from the date of appointment.

If your commission date is before your birthday in that calendar year the term will be 6 years from your birthday.

If your commission date is after your birthday in that calendar year the term will be 7 years from your birthday.

Note: The Secretary of State issues the official commission expiration date as shown on your Notary Public commission card and certificate as well as your official commissioned name and county of commission. Please do not use the commission expiration date shown on the surety bond, as it is not the official State issued expiration date. It is recommended that supplies such as stamps are not purchased until you have confirmed the issued by this office.