I apologize if I misled anyone by stating that a stamp is required in Michigan. It is not. You can't see it now, but as I'm remembering the encounter that makes up the Planning Commission story, I'm wiping egg off my face. I was told then, it is not required. It is clearly stated in the PA that the required information can be handwritten. I guess my Evelyn Woods speedreading didn't pay off. As many times as I have read that section I glazed over the handwritten-is-OK part and jumped straight to the mechanically-reproduced-part. Either that or the ease of using my stamp in those instances where not all the information is typed has caught up with me.
Now for the Planning story. When an individual wants to have property rezoned, among other actions, there is an application that is included in information presented to the Planning Commission to review that requires notarization. Last summer, while reviewing information for one of the meetings, I noticed that an application for rezoning, notarized with all info handwritten, was not stamped by the notary. I called the Office of the Great Seal (the Division of the SOS that works with notaries) explained the situation and asked: Is a stamp required? The gal on the other end of the phone replied, "If the information as required is completely filled in or written in and legible, a stamp is not required. Now that's not to say it is not a good idea, especially if the documents are going out of state, but not absolutely necessary if the information is written in. " That's it, end of story. I know, it's probably a real let down. Sorry. Hence the previously mentioned egg-on-my-face.
Julie, I had heard of the new law removing the line "Acting in the County of ". In fact, it came up at the last Michigan notaries luncheon. Speaking of which, I hope you can come to the next luncheon. I would really like to hear more of your experiences and perspectives on notaries, both in Michigan and nationwide. |
