Required Supplies for Michigan Notaries

Just about any adult can take notary classes and become a licensed notary. Along with paying for classes and fees, notaries will also need to have a variety of supplies (which they will also need to pay for themselves). These supplies can vary between states. Below are some of the items a Michigan notary will need, as well as information about why a notary needs these supplies.

Embosser

A notary seal embosser is a tool that crimps a paper in such a way that it leaves a pattern of a seal. Notary seals will be personalized to fit each notary, so they cannot be bought used. Instead, notaries need to contact an official notary embosser company to custom-make the embosser. Notaries should buy at least one extra embosser, as they cannot do their work without one.

Stamps

Stamps work similarly as an embosser. They leave a seal of approval on the documents. Like the embosser, each stamp needs to be personalized to fit the notary. Again, notaries need to order stamps from an official notary company. It does not matter if the stamp is auto-inking or not. The type of ink itself also does not matter. It is impossible to do notary work without a stamp, so notaries would do well to have one extra. 

Journal

Notary journals are not required for in-person notary tasks but are required for any notary tasks done online in the state of Michigan. There is not an official journal that notaries need to use; any notebook will do, so long as it is physical. Notaries need to keep hard copies of all of their records. Notaries can scan and save pages as PDFs, but this is not required. Even though it is also not required for notaries to make notes on in-person actions, it is still a good idea to do this.

These are some of the most common required items a notary in Michigan will need. Outside of these items, notaries will need to pay notary fees and fulfill a notary bond requirement.