AffectsAmends MCL 55.265, 55.271, 55.273, 55.275, 55.277, 55.279, 55.281, 55.285, 55.291, 55.295, 55.311, and 55.313
AnalysisHouse Bill 6197 enacts technical changes, along with a couple of substantive changes affecting how Notaries carry out their duties. The removal of the prohibition against notarizing a document with blank spaces is unfortunate, and it is similarly unwise to allow a Notary to notarize a document for the Notary’s domestic partner. While Michigan Notaries are not required to keep a Notary journal, this bill clarifies that Notaries who keep journals should make their journals accessible to the Secretary of State and should archive them for at least 5 years after the date of the notarial act.
Read the bill text.