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.
How Notary Journal handles all of this
Notary Journal builds the Michigan entry to match your situation. If your state selection reflects general in-person work, the app makes clear there is no state mandate while still giving you a clean, sequential record if you choose to keep one, consistent with the 5-year floor under MCL 55.313. If you use a RON platform, the form shows the fields MCL 55.286b asks for. Every entry is numbered and append-only, so the sequence holds up under review either way.
When you need a copy, it exports a PDF or CSV. The whole thing runs on your device, offline, with no account and no server. Your record stays yours.
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.