Michigan Notary 2024 | Why Do I Need A Notary?

What is a Notary

The official name for a notary is a notary public. A notary is most often a person who is honest and has integrity, which is very important. Michigan notaries swear an Oath of Office with the county clerk to perform their duties with reasonable care and are background checked by the state to assist the public, this is called a commission. Part of the oath a Michigan notary takes is to uphold the constitution and to serve the public as an unbiased and impartial witness on documents. The documents vary, but here are some examples:

• Power of Attorneys
• Living Trusts
• Mortgage Loan Documents
• Affidavits
• Bill of Sale
• Contracts
• Parental Consent for Travel

Notaries can serve anywhere in Michigan to perform notarial acts. A notary can witness the signing and dating of documents. Sometimes these documents may need an oath spoken by the signer, which the notary administers. And, if just an oath is needed, Michigan notaries can do that too. But one of the most important duties of a notary, is to help prevent fraud by identifying the signer and verifying the signer is indeed who they say they are.

So when a notary stamps your document with their seal and signs their name, your document is notarized. The notary will have certified that the signer whose name appears on the document, was identified, and that person actually appeared before the notary and signed said document in the presence of the notary.

If your document has notarial certificate wording, then you need a notary! What if the document doesn’t have certificate wording, but the lawyer, insurance company, hospital, hospice, or Secretary of State says, your document needs to be notarized? No worries, notaries can supply you with a certificate and assist you with your notarization. Although, it is illegal for a notary to recommend which type of certificate you should use, we have a variety of blank certificates available.

Well who decides what the Notary should do?

Not the notary! All documents presented to the notary must be completed by the signer, their lawyer, or the representative who helped the signer draft the document will decide. The document will determine what type of notarial act needs to be performed by the notary. And most documents will include certificate wording, telling the notary exactly what to do and what is required to notarize the document.

Notary Pricing – how much is it to notarize?

If you would like more information on our services and our pricing, please click here!