Hello! If you decide to implement a notary service, please consult your attorney on a policy for what types of documents you will and will not notarize. Even though a notary designation permits a notary to legally witness all sorts of documents, that doesn't mean that every notary is trained or knowledgeable with every type of document. Some types of documents are just not worth the risk and are better verified by an attorney or professional in the field. Wills, Real Estate documents, Immigration documents, power of attorney documents are some of the types of documents that may present a notary with additional risks of liability from parties (or their families) who either disagree with the document or who did not completely understand the document, or where complex procedural steps were not properly executed. There are cases in the state where general notaries - including in libraries - have been sued. I hope this is helpful! Sincerely, Clare Clare D. Membiela, MLS, J.D. Library Law Consultant Library of Michigan MembielaC@michigan.gov<mailto:MembielaC@michigan.gov> 517-335-8132 The research and resources above are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. "the State may not, consistently with the spirit of the First Amendment, contract the spectrum of available knowledge." Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 482 (1965). [Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan] [Michigan.gov/Vote logo Description automatically generated]<https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/> Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote<https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/>. From: Katrina Rogers via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 11:34 AM To: michlib-l@liblists.org Subject: [Michlib-l] Notaries in libraries CAUTION: This is an External email. Please report suspicious emails via the "Report to Abuse" button in Outlook Hi all, We're considering having some of our employees become notaries, but before we invested the money and time into that, I wanted to see if it was worth it. If your library offers notarizing: -how many staff do you have who offer it? -how many patrons typically use the service? -do you charge for it? If so, how much? Katrina Rogers Pronouns: she/her Director Devereaux Memorial Library 201 Plum Street[http://www.crawfordco.lib.mi.us/dnn/portals/0/devsm.jpg] Grayling, Michigan 49738 Phone: 989-348-9214 ext 202 Fax: 989-348-9294 [cid:image003.png@01DCE3B4.FF0AF980]
