Current as of 2026-07-01
The short answer
Michigan does not require a journal for general, in-person notarization. Every mention of a journal in the state's Law on Notarial Acts appears in one section, MCL 55.286b, which governs the remote electronic notarization platform. If you notarize in person and never use a RON platform, no statute requires you to keep a journal at all.
A related rule worth knowing
A separate section, MCL 55.313, says that if a notary performs an act and also creates a record of it, whether or not the law required that record, the notary or their personal representative must keep that record for at least 5 years. This does not create a journal requirement. It only sets a retention floor for records a Michigan notary chooses to keep on their own.
If you use a remote electronic notarization platform
MCL 55.286b requires a notary to maintain one journal for the platform's notarial acts, kept either as a tangible, permanently bound register or in a tamper-evident, permanent electronic format. Each entry needs the date, time, and nature of the act; a description of the record, if any; the full name and address of each individual for whom the act was performed; either a personal-knowledge statement or a description of the identification method and credential used, including issuance and expiration dates; and the fee charged, if any. Nothing in the Act mentions a thumbprint requirement.
How long you keep it, and where it goes
The RON journal is retained for at least 10 years after the last notarial act recorded in it. If a notary is not reappointed or their commission is revoked, they must inform the Secretary of State where the journal is kept, or forward it if directed to do so. The statute does not spell out a separate procedure for the notary's death.
Where Notary Journal stands for Michigan
Notary Journal does not have a Michigan-specific entry form yet. The state picker currently covers California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arkansas, and Georgia, with more states in progress. If you notarize in Michigan, whether general in-person work or through a RON platform, the app is not the right tool for a state-matched form today.
Every entry the app does support is numbered, append-only, and exports to a PDF that carries a hash chain so the record can be re-verified. The whole thing runs on your device, offline, with no account and no server. If Michigan support ships, this page will be updated to say so.
A note on what this is
This page is a general reference, not legal advice. Michigan notary law can change. Confirm the current requirements with the Michigan Department of State before you rely on anything here.