Michigan Laws 55.285 – Performance of notarial acts; scope; verification
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 55.285
- Acknowledgment: means a declaration by an individual in the presence of a notary public that he or she has signed a record for the purposes stated in the record and, if the record is signed in a representative capacity, that he or she signed the record with the proper authority and signed it as the act of the person identified in the record. See Michigan Laws 55.263
- Credential analysis: means a process or service by which a third party affirms the validity of an identity document described in section 25(6)(c) through a review of public and proprietary data sources conducted remotely. See Michigan Laws 55.263
- Electronic: means relating to technology that has electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Michigan Laws 55.263
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Identity proofing: means a process or service by which a third party provides a notary public with a reasonable means to verify the identity of an individual through a review of personal information from public or proprietary data sources conducted remotely. See Michigan Laws 55.263
- In the presence of: means either of the following:
(i) In the same physical location with and close enough to see, hear, communicate with, and exchange tangible identification credentials with another individual. See Michigan Laws 55.263Jurat: means a certification by a notary public that a signer, whose identity is personally known to the notary public or proven on the basis of satisfactory evidence, has made in the presence of the notary public a voluntary signature and taken an oath or affirmation vouching for the truthfulness of the signed record. See Michigan Laws 55.265 Notarial act: means any of the following:
(i) An act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic record, that a notary public commissioned in this state is authorized to perform including, but not limited to, taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, or witnessing or attesting a signature performed in compliance with this act. See Michigan Laws 55.265Oath: A promise to tell the truth. oath: shall be construed to include the word "affirmation" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath; and in like cases the word "sworn" shall be construed to include the word "affirmed". See Michigan Laws 8.3k Person: means an individual or a corporation, business trust, statutory trust, estate, partnership, trust, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Michigan Laws 55.265 Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Michigan Laws 55.265 Remote electronic notarization platform: means any combination of technology that enables a notary public to perform a notarial act remotely; that allows the notary public to communicate by sight and sound with the individual for whom he or she is performing the notarial act, and witnesses, if applicable, by means of audio and visual communication; and that includes features to conduct credential analysis and identity proofing. See Michigan Laws 55.265 Secretary: means the secretary of state or his or her designee. See Michigan Laws 55.267 Signature: means an individual's written or printed name, electronic signature, or mark, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed, adopted, or made by the individual with the intent to sign the record. See Michigan Laws 55.267 State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Michigan Laws 55.267 Verification upon oath or affirmation: means a declaration, made by an individual on oath or affirmation before a notary public, that a statement in a record is true. See Michigan Laws 55.267
(1) A notary public may perform notarial acts that include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Taking acknowledgments.
(b) Administering oaths and affirmations.
(c) Witnessing or attesting to a signature.
(2) In taking an acknowledgment, the notary public shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the individual in the presence of the notary public and making the acknowledgment is the individual whose signature is on the record.
(3) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the notary public shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the individual in the presence of the notary public and making the verification is the individual whose signature is on the record being verified.
(4) In witnessing or attesting to a signature, the notary public shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the individual in the presence of the notary public and is the individual named in the record.
(5) In all matters where the notary public takes a verification upon oath or affirmation, or witnesses or attests to a signature, the notary public shall require that the individual sign the record being verified, witnessed, or attested in the presence of the notary public.
(6) A notary public has satisfactory evidence that an individual is the individual whose signature is on a record if that individual is any of the following:
(a) Personally known to the notary public.
(b) Identified upon the oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known by the notary public and who personally knows the individual.
(c) Identified on the basis of a current license, identification card, or record issued by a federal or state government that contains the individual’s photograph and signature.
(d) With regard to a notarial act performed under section 26b, identified and verified through an identity proofing process or service that is part of a remote electronic notarization platform approved under section 26b(1), and the person presents an identity document described in subdivision (c) that is verified through a credential analysis process or service that is part of a remote electronic notarization platform approved under section 26b(1).
(7) The fee charged by a notary public for performing a notarial act shall not be more than $10.00 for any individual transaction or notarial act. A notary public shall either conspicuously display a sign or expressly advise an individual concerning the fee amount to be charged for a notarial act before the notary public performs the act. Before the notary public commences to travel in order to perform a notarial act, the notary public and client may agree concerning a separate travel fee to be charged by the notary public for traveling to perform the notarial act.
(8) A notary public may refuse to perform a notarial act.
(9) The secretary shall prescribe the form that a notary public shall use for a jurat, the taking of an acknowledgment, the administering of an oath or affirmation, the taking of a verification upon an oath or affirmation, the witnessing or attesting to a signature, or any other act that a notary public is authorized to perform in this state.
(10) A county clerk may collect a processing fee of $10.00 for certifying a notarial act of a notary public.