A document needs to be notarized for a mailbox on Form 1583. The remote online notary comparison lines up video, a house call, and a store counter.
This page is a notary scorecard. It is not a mailbox directory. Form 1583 is the Postal Service form you sign so a mailbox store can receive your mail. It appears here because mailbox signup is a common reason a Michigan owner needs a notary this week. The form is the use-case. The mailbox store is someone else’s product.
Legal
This page is not legal advice. An in-state commission is a notary license from Michigan. A Michigan-commissioned notary may perform remote online notarization after choosing a Secretary of State approved vendor and notifying the Office of the Great Seal so that vendor is on the notary’s profile before the first electronic or remote act. Michigan does not issue a separate remote commission. Electronic notarization (e-Notarization) is a different Michigan product: the signer is still in the room. A regular Michigan notary who never filed that vendor notice still has to be in the room. A bank, a commercial mailbox (CMRA), or the Postal Service still decides whether this packet may be remote.
Not legal advice.
The Michigan grade that is not a company letter
We grade the state rule first. Remote online notarization (RON) is a video session with a notary. A company cannot turn a regular Michigan notary into a remote notary. It also cannot erase the remote path Michigan has taken since the 2018 amendments to the Michigan Law on Notarial Acts (MiLONA).
Michigan (the state rule)
State rule · September 2026- In-state RON
- A
- Signer RON access
- A
- Walk-in / mobile backup
- C
Primary sources: Michigan Department of State, Notary services; Vendors Authorized to Perform Electronic and Remote Notarizations (March 2026); E-Notary and Remote Notary Guide. Country context: NASS and NNA. Secondary vendor map: Proof, July 8, 2026, not the country authority.
No extra card, two extra labels
Michigan adds two statuses to one commission and does not mail a second card.
- Remote notarization is an electronic notarization on live audio and visual equipment when the signer is not in the room. Only a state-approved platform may be used. Under MCL 55.286b, the Secretary of State and the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget approve the platforms. A compliant act is presumed to meet the “in the presence of a notary” rule. The notary must be in Michigan. The signer may be in another state or country and must stay on the feed.
- Electronic notarization is an electronic seal and signature on a digital file while the signer is in the room. That is not a $25 video checkout. MCL 55.286 requires notice that names the approved system before the first electronic act.
The vendor is added to the current commission. The name and signature stay the same. Ink-signed work stays available. The Secretary of State issues the commission. Apostilles are a different office product.
Use the Michigan Department of State list before the first electronic or remote act. The March 2026 revision is titled Vendors Authorized to Perform Electronic and Remote Notarizations in Michigan. Mail the Electronic and Remote Notary Request for Change form, revision 02/26, with proof of enrollment, to the Office of the Great Seal, 7064 Crowner Drive, Lansing, MI 48918. There is no fee. The vendor must already be on the notary’s profile. Doing the act first “invalidates the notarization,” even with a regular commission. NNA’s June 21, 2023 how-to finds no extra remote training, exam, or Secretary of State fee.
That March 2026 list puts Proof (formerly Notarize), Notarylive, BlueNotary, and One Notary, Inc. among the remote and electronic approvals, with other platforms on the PDF. Electronic-only approvals are CSCGlobal, Inc.; EscrowTab, Inc.; E-Mortgage Law; and Nationwide Title Clearing. An electronic-only vendor is not a remote session. A 2023 NNA catalog is not this list.
MCL 55.285 allows personal knowledge, a credible witness the notary already knows, or a current government photo ID with a signature. For a remote act under section 26b, the platform may add identity proofing and credential analysis. MCL 55.286b requires disclosure of the recording, how it will be kept, and consent. If the person objects, the notary may refuse, and a mobile notary or a walk-in can finish the job.
MCL 55.286b requires one journal, bound and written or tamper-evident and electronic, for at least 10 years after the last remote act, and the audio or visual recording for at least 10 years. The journal points to the recording. It does not hold the video. No journal is required for an ink document or for same-room electronic notarization. Extra electronic records, if kept, stay five years, separate from the ten-year remote period. MCL 55.286c applied from April 30, 2020, until before July 1, 2021. Do not treat that window as open. It used a printed document, wet ink on the call, then mail or fax.
Statute notes
The Secretary of State is blunt. Michigan’s Law on Notarial Acts lets a commissioned notary add two statuses to the same commission. Mixing them into one “is video legal in Michigan?” question is how documents get sent back.
- Remote notarization is an electronic notarization over live audio and visual equipment when the signer is not in the physical presence of the notary. The SOS Notary services page: only a state-approved remote vendor platform may be used. MCL 55.286b: the Secretary of State and the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget approve those platforms. A remote act that meets the statute is presumed to satisfy the “in the presence of a notary” rule. The E-Notary and Remote Notary Guide we retrieved: the notary must be physically in Michigan. The signer may be in another state or country, but must be on the live feed.
- Electronic notarization (e-Notarization) is an electronic seal and electronic signature on a digital file while the signer is still in the room. The SOS page’s example is a stylus and pad at a bank or a doctor’s office. That is not a $25 video checkout. MCL 55.286: before the first electronic act, the notary notifies the secretary and names the approved electronic system.
Michigan does not mail a second commission card. The E-Notary and Remote Notary Guide: the vendor is added to the current commission. The name and signature stay the same. Traditional ink-signed work stays available to every commissioned notary. The extra statuses are optional. Do not assume every Michigan notary on a checkout screen already filed the vendor notice.
The two steps before the first electronic or remote act are not a blog shortcut. They are the live SOS path.
- Choose a platform from the Michigan Department of State approved-vendor list. The March 2026 revision we retrieved is titled Vendors Authorized to Perform Electronic and Remote Notarizations in Michigan. It is the primary list. A company blog is not.
- Notify the Office of the Great Seal with the Electronic and Remote Notary Request for Change form, revision 02/26 on the PDF we retrieved. There is no fee. Mail it to Office of the Great Seal, 7064 Crowner Drive, Lansing, MI 48918. Attach proof that you enrolled with the vendor. The guide: the vendor must be on the notary’s profile before the first electronic or remote act. Doing the act first “invalidates the notarization,” even if the person already holds a regular commission.
The March 2026 list splits vendors into two buckets. Remote and electronic approvals include Proof (formerly Notarize), Notarylive, BlueNotary, and One Notary. Inc, plus other platforms named on that PDF. Electronic-only approvals on the same PDF are CSCGlobal, Inc.; EscrowTab, Inc.; E-Mortgage Law; and Nationwide Title Clearing. An electronic-only vendor is not a remote checkout. We reprint those names from the SOS list. We do not treat a 2023 NNA how-to catalog as today’s list.
The ID check is not a courtesy box. MCL 55.285: personal knowledge, a credible witness the notary already knows, or a current government photo ID with a signature. For a remote act under section 26b, the same section also lets the approved platform run identity proofing plus credential analysis of that government ID. The E-Notary guide: the platform supplies that extra check. MCL 55.286b: disclose that an audio or visual recording is being made and how it will be kept, and get consent. If the person objects, the notary may refuse the remote act. That is when a mobile notary or a walk-in becomes the product that can finish.
The session file is part of the remote act. MCL 55.286b: keep one journal, either a bound written logbook or a tamper-evident electronic file, for at least 10 years after the last remote act in it. Keep the audio or visual recording at least 10 years. The journal points to the recording. It does not hold the video itself. A journal is required for remote work. The SOS page and the guide: a journal is not required for an ink-signed document or for same-room electronic notarization. If a notary still keeps those extra records, the guide says keep electronic-notarization records five years. We leave that number next to the ten-year remote floor. We do not blend them.
A later temporary video path is not live tonight. MCL 55.286c let a notary use two-way real-time audiovisual technology from April 30, 2020, and before July 1, 2021. The compiled section we retrieved still prints that window. Do not buy a “Michigan 26c remote ink-signature” session that pretends the 2020–2021 rule is open. In that method you sign a printed document in wet ink on a live video call, then mail or fax it.
The Secretary of State issues the commission. Apostilles are a different office product. The approved-vendor list, the Request for Change form, and the profile update all go to the Office of the Great Seal.
NNA’s Michigan how-to (updated June 21, 2023) matches the same three steps and says there is no extra remote training, exam, or SOS fee. It also printed an older vendor catalog and an older form name. We re-checked the live SOS pages, the March 2026 vendor PDF, the February 2026 change form, and MCL 55.286 / 55.286b. The Secretary of State is primary. NNA is secondary for process.
What actually needs a notary on a Michigan LLC / bank stack
A Michigan LLC is formed by filing Articles of Organization with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division. Michigan does not use the label Certificate of Formation on the live form we retrieved. That form is CSCL/CD 700, revised July 2025. The instructions we retrieved: organizers must sign and print their names; the nonrefundable fee is $50; file online at michigan.gov/corpfileonline, in person, or by mail. MCL 450.4103: organizers sign. We did not read a notarization requirement on that form or that statute. People still show up asking for a notary because a bank, a processor, a landlord, or a mailbox asked for a sworn statement on a different printed document that sits next to the LLC.
| Document | Typical notary question | Video vs an ink signature |
|---|---|---|
| MI LLC Articles of Organization (CSCL/CD 700 / MCL 450.4103) | Usually none for the LARA filing itself. Live form we retrieved: organizers sign; $50 fee. We did not read a notarization requirement on that form or on MCL 450.4103. | Do not buy a video session because a blog said “LLCs need a notary.” Confirm the live form. |
| Bank signup documents (resolutions, signature cards, sworn statements) | The bank’s current checklist. Some desks accept a Michigan remote notary or an out-of-state video notary. Some want a printed document signed in ink. | Ask the desk before you pay $25. The bank sets its own notary rule. |
| Operating agreement or power of attorney the bank requested | The notarization type printed on the form. | A Michigan remote notary is often enough if the desk accepts a remote act. If they printed “in person” or “wet ink,” that is a mobile notary or a walk-in. An e-Notarization seal still needs the signer in the room. |
| PS Form 1583 (mailbox signup) | Yes, a notary public licensed in a U.S. state, territory, possession, or DC, or the mailbox store employee in person. June 2024 form. | The form’s own note allows a live video call. A Michigan remote notary or an out-of-state video notary can both fit that sentence. Using a random picture pasted on the PDF is a common reject. See the 1583 page. |
| Vehicle title, motor-vehicle power of attorney, real-estate closing | The Secretary of State vehicle desk, the title company, the lender, or the closing desk, not this site, decides whether a remote act is enough. | We have not read a current statewide motor-vehicle or title-company rule that we can quote as a video policy. If the desk wants ink, do not buy a video session to argue with them. |
| Will or estate document | We did not read a clean statewide sentence that every Michigan will may be a remote-online checkout. The receiving desk or the estate statute in front of you is the authority. | No current official page we can cite says the desk will take a remote electronic will today. When the desk wants a printed document signed in ink, that is a mobile notary or a walk-in. |
We do not publish a bank-by-bank or county-by-county “accepts video” list we have not read on that desk’s page this month. If you need the operating address so a bank will open the account, that is a different product. It is not this site’s directory.
Open all night versus booked, in this state
Because in-state remote notarization is live, all-night service is a real option for many Michigan documents, if the receiving desk will take a remote act, and if the notary actually has an approved remote vendor on the Great Seal profile. A Michigan remote notary or a notary licensed in another video-notary state can both close that session. Company availability letters live on the directory, once.
If the desk wants a regular Michigan notarization of a printed document, the identity check fails, the signer will not agree to the recording, or the person you hired never filed the vendor notice, you are shopping store hours or a booked house call. That is the C on walk-in / mobile showing up as a calendar. It is not a failure of the state rule.
The statute prints a legal maximum for the notarial act itself. MCL 55.285(7): a notary may charge no more than $10 for any individual transaction or notarial act. The SOS Notary services page and the E-Notary guide reprint that cap for every method: an ink signature, an electronic notarization, or a remote notarization. That is a state fee cap for a Michigan-commissioned notary. It is not a company sticker and not a UPS price. Travel fees may be added for an in-person trip if both people agree before the trip starts. The guide: a remote session with no travel cannot add a travel fee. The consumer starting prices we cite on company cards, about $25 a session, are still the official pages retrieved August 2026. Those company stickers can sit above Michigan’s $10 act cap because the checkout is the company’s product, not the statutory notary fee.
Company letters live on the directory
Availability, identity check, and session-record letters for Proof/Notarize, NotaryLive, OneNotary, BlueNotary, mobile, and walk-in are on the directory, once. This page keeps the Michigan rule and the document table. Official starting prices we cite: NotaryLive about $25 per session; Proof/Notarize about $25 for the first notarization and $15 for each extra notarization; OneNotary online about $25 and mobile from about $80. BlueNotary does not publish a session price. Independent Michigan mobiles are not that OneNotary sticker. Counters set their own prices.
Related guide: how to notarize a power of attorney. A Michigan durable power of attorney created on or after July 1, 2024, can be acknowledged before a notary or signed in front of two witnesses.
Form 1583 as a Michigan use-case, without becoming a mailbox review
USPS will not let a commercial mailbox (CMRA) hand you mail until PS Form 1583 (June 2024) is complete. Form 1583 is the Postal Service form you sign so that store can receive your mail. You sign in person with the store (or an authorized employee) or with a notary public. The form’s note allows a live video call. A Michigan signer can use a Michigan remote notary or an out-of-state remote notary.
What we will not do here: grade mailbox brands, pick a Detroit storefront, or explain store flags. Those are mailbox questions. The notary question is: did the session match the form (U.S.-licensed notary, two IDs, home address matching the address ID), and will the store accept that session? Details live on Form 1583 notarization.
A sequence that usually wastes less money
- Read the receiving desk’s current instruction. If they printed “in person” or “wet ink,” do not buy a video session to argue with them. If they will take an electronic seal only with both people in the room, that is Michigan e-Notarization, not remote notarization.
- If they accept a remote act, you may use a Michigan remote notary or a notary licensed in another video-notary state. The Michigan Department of State is the authority for the approved-vendor list and the Great Seal profile. NASS and NNA are the country sources. The company’s live notary pool is the day-of fact. Do not assume every Michigan notary on a checkout screen already has the vendor on the profile.
- Budget the extras from the official page, extra notarization, extra signer, witness, before you upload a six-signature packet at the $25 sticker. The $10 in MCL 55.285(7) is the act cap for a Michigan-commissioned notary, not a promise that the company’s checkout stops there.
- If the identity check fails, or the signer will not agree to the recording, stop treating “try again after midnight” as a plan. Switch to a mobile notary or a walk-in. NotaryLive’s FAQ describes a Personal Verifier path. That is their product, not a universal escape hatch.
- Keep the session confirmation. The value of a Michigan remote session in a later dispute is the recording MCL 55.286b already requires the notary to keep for at least 10 years. The value of a walk-in is the ink the desk already said it wanted.
Sources
- Michigan Department of State, Notary services, which lists three methods: a traditional ink signature, electronic notarization (e-Notarization) with the signer physically present, and remote notarization over audio and visual equipment; only state-approved vendor systems; remote journal and recording at least 10 years; fee up to $10 per act; Office of the Great Seal, 7064 Crowner Drive, Lansing, MI 48918.
- Michigan Bureau of Elections, Vendors Authorized to Perform Electronic and Remote Notarizations in Michigan (revision date March 2026): only approved vendor systems may be used; remote and electronic approvals include Proof (formerly Notarize), Notarylive, BlueNotary, and One Notary. Inc; electronic-only approvals include CSCGlobal, Inc., EscrowTab, Inc., E-Mortgage Law, and Nationwide Title Clearing.
- Michigan Department of State, Electronic and Remote Notarial Acts General Information Guide: no separate commission; pick an approved vendor; file the Electronic and Remote Notary Request for Change form with proof of enrollment; vendor must be on the profile before the first electronic or remote act or the notarization is invalid; no extra SOS fee; $10 fee cap for every method; notary physically in Michigan; signer may be elsewhere; remote journal and recording 10 years; recording consent required.
- Electronic and Remote Notary Request for Change (Rev. 02/26): information change, no fee; mail Office of the Great Seal, 7064 Crowner Drive, Lansing, MI 48918; identify the approved system and provide proof.
- MCL 55.286: notify the secretary and identify the approved electronic notarization system before the first electronic act.
- MCL 55.286b: approved remote electronic notarization platforms; journal for remote acts; audiovisual recording retained at least ten years; disclose the recording and obtain consent; remote act presumed to satisfy presence.
- MCL 55.285: identification, including remote identity proofing and credential analysis on an approved platform; fee not more than $10 per notarial act; travel fee only if agreed before travel.
- MCL 55.286c: temporary two-way audiovisual path from April 30, 2020, and before July 1, 2021. We do not treat it as live tonight.
- LARA CSCL/CD 700, Articles of Organization (Rev. 07/25): organizers sign; $50 nonrefundable fee; file at michigan.gov/corpfileonline. MCL 450.4103: organizers sign. We did not read a notarization requirement.
- NNA, How to Become a Remote Online Notary in Michigan (updated June 21, 2023): active traditional commission; approved vendor; notify SOS; no extra remote training, exam, or SOS fee. NNA’s 2023 platform names and older form title are a snapshot, not today’s SOS list.
- NASS, Remote Electronic Notarization: country-level enacted-law count.
- NNA, What is a Remote Online Notary?: notary-side status, including states that have not authorized RON.
- Proof RON map (July 8, 2026), labeled secondary vendor map. Proof is also a listed vendor on this site.
- Notarize consumer pricing: $25 / $15 / $15 / $10.
- NotaryLive pricing: $25/session; extras; 10-year storage.
- OneNotary individuals pricing: $25 online; mobile from $80.
- PS Form 1583, June 2024.