Notaries in libraries
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:cfa70273-b86d-4a47-a2df-942ac9ca7788]
Hi Katrina, we have 3 notaries on staff. At one point we had 2 other staffers (who left) that also became notaries. We charge the same price as our City Hall. It is $5 a resident and $10 a non-resident. Last fiscal year we had 63 patrons use the service and we witnessed 153 documents. We don't charge per document rather per session. Since we also cover a Township for library service we charge those residents the same price as a resident of the city simply because they are our patron. We find lots of people use it because City Hall closes at 4 pm and we are open most days until 8 pm. We do find common issues are people pre-signing the forms or showing up when staff isn't here that can notarize. However, since City Hall is next door and the price is the same we send them over there. Hope that helps. Also, we do keep a log of the name; document type, date, and staffer that did the notarizing. As well as keep a copy of their ID in case they ever say it wasn't them who came in for legal reasons. This was advised to me by City Hall when they trained me on notarizing. I would suggest keeping a record for 1 year of how many used the service so you know if it is worth paying for more staff to become notaries. For us the stats showed we needed more. Feel free to ask anything else and hope you have a great weekend! Jake Rynicki Head of Adult & Support Services Romulus Public Library “ Verba volant, scripta manent .” "Spoken words fly away, written words remain."— Latin Proverb From: "Katrina Rogers via Michlib-l" <michlib-l@liblists.org> To: "michlib-l" <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 11:34:24 AM Subject: [Michlib-l] Notaries in libraries 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 Grayling, Michigan 49738 Phone: 989-348-9214 ext 202 Fax: 989-348-9294 _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
We have notaries in many of our 16 locations and we do not charge a fee for this service. Nancy Nancy Bellaire Director Monroe County Library System 840 S. Roessler St. Monroe, MI 48161 734 241-5770, ext. 216 ________________________________ From: Katrina Rogers via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 11:34 AM To: michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org> Subject: [Michlib-l] Notaries in libraries 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:cfa70273-b86d-4a47-a2df-942ac9ca7788]
We have 4 notaries and we do not charge for this service. Best, *Bryonna Barton* Library Director Eaton Rapids Area District Library 220 S. Main Street Eaton Rapids, MI 48827 517-663-0950 x401 bbarton@eradl.org On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 1:12 PM Nancy Bellaire via Michlib-l < michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
We have notaries in many of our 16 locations and we do not charge a fee for this service.
Nancy
Nancy Bellaire
Director
Monroe County Library System
840 S. Roessler St.
Monroe, MI 48161
734 241-5770, ext. 216 ------------------------------ *From:* Katrina Rogers via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> *Sent:* Thursday, May 14, 2026 11:34 AM *To:* michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org> *Subject:* [Michlib-l] Notaries in libraries
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 Grayling, Michigan 49738 Phone: 989-348-9214 ext 202 Fax: 989-348-9294
_______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
Hello, I am the sole notary in an almost level 4 library. I do about 100 or so a year. I only charge $1 for residents out of county (I think I have had two), as NP are commissioned for a whole county. We aren't county funded, but it just seems right. Perhaps it might be bad business to others, but I have worked on cutting down extra costs to our patrons, and don't find that this service needs to be one where we try to recoup. Printing/copying/laminating means we are out paper, ink, sheets, and equipment use. It seems fair to charge for those services so we can cover/breakeven our supplies. We are not out but pen ink if I notarize. Having it be free distinguishes us from other establishments who charge the state maximum, and has brought SO MANY people in who say "I've never been in, this place is lovely" or generous tips and even once, fancy donuts. If people are willing to travel from the far reaches of our county, then they are likely in need of help. Not charging, for us, pays more than just money and the maybe $3-500 if we were to charge. The only distinction I have made is that I will not do real estate, such as closing documents. Again, I am sure some might call that bad business but we aren't a business. Best, CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipient named above. If you are not the designated recipient, an employee, or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, or copying of it or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you receive this communication in error, please destroy all copies of this communication and any attachments and notify the sender immediately via phone, fax, or electronic mail. Thank you.
I should clarify not tips, but to our donations jar! :) _____________________________________________ From: Rebekah Dobski Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 2:35 PM To: Katrina Rogers <krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org> Cc: michlib-l@liblists.org Subject: RE: Notaries in libraries Hello, I am the sole notary in an almost level 4 library. I do about 100 or so a year. I only charge $1 for residents out of county (I think I have had two), as NP are commissioned for a whole county. We aren't county funded, but it just seems right. Perhaps it might be bad business to others, but I have worked on cutting down extra costs to our patrons, and don't find that this service needs to be one where we try to recoup. Printing/copying/laminating means we are out paper, ink, sheets, and equipment use. It seems fair to charge for those services so we can cover/breakeven our supplies. We are not out but pen ink if I notarize. Having it be free distinguishes us from other establishments who charge the state maximum, and has brought SO MANY people in who say "I've never been in, this place is lovely" or generous tips and even once, fancy donuts. If people are willing to travel from the far reaches of our county, then they are likely in need of help. Not charging, for us, pays more than just money and the maybe $3-500 if we were to charge. The only distinction I have made is that I will not do real estate, such as closing documents. Again, I am sure some might call that bad business but we aren't a business. Best, << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) >> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipient named above. If you are not the designated recipient, an employee, or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, or copying of it or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you receive this communication in error, please destroy all copies of this communication and any attachments and notify the sender immediately via phone, fax, or electronic mail. Thank you.
The Jonesville District Library paid to have me (library director) to be a notary. We charge $5 per service, with the money going back to the library. We don't get a ton of notary requests, but definitely enough to pay the cost of my license, stamp, and seal embosser. The majority of our notary service comes in the evenings or weekends, when no one else in our small town is open for notary service. I hope this info helps, -Laura Orlowski, Library Director Jonesville District Library 517-849-9701 info@jonesvilledistrictlibrary.org On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 2:47 PM Rebekah Dobski via Michlib-l < michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
I should clarify not tips, but to our donations jar! J _____________________________________________ *From:* Rebekah Dobski *Sent:* Thursday, May 14, 2026 2:35 PM *To:* Katrina Rogers <krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org> *Cc:* michlib-l@liblists.org *Subject:* RE: Notaries in libraries
Hello,
I am the sole notary in an almost level 4 library. I do about 100 or so a year. I only charge $1 for residents out of county (I think I have had two), as NP are commissioned for a whole county. We aren’t county funded, but it just seems right. Perhaps it might be bad business to others, but I have worked on cutting down extra costs to our patrons, and don’t find that this service needs to be one where we try to recoup. Printing/copying/laminating means we are out paper, ink, sheets, and equipment use. It seems fair to charge for those services so we can cover/breakeven our supplies. We are not out but pen ink if I notarize. Having it be free distinguishes us from other establishments who charge the state maximum, and has brought SO MANY people in who say “I’ve never been in, this place is lovely” or generous tips and even once, fancy donuts. If people are willing to travel from the far reaches of our county, then they are likely in need of help. Not charging, for us, pays more than just money and the maybe $3-500 if we were to charge. The only distinction I have made is that I will not do real estate, such as closing documents. Again, I am sure some might call that bad business but we aren’t a business.
Best, << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) >>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipient named above. If you are not the designated recipient, an employee, or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, or copying of it or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you receive this communication in error, please destroy all copies of this communication and any attachments and notify the sender immediately via phone, fax, or electronic mail. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
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]
Here in Ann Arbor, the library paid for some of my colleagues to be able to be notaries. We only do them by appointment at this time and you cannot do it the same day. Notary hours are 10-5:30 Monday thru Friday at the Downtown library only. The page on our website lets people know that I-9s are not a notary service and that we cannot do Medallion Signature Guarantees either. We do not charge for the service. ------------------ Valerie Long, MLIS Collections Clerk I Ann Arbor District Library longv@aadl.org / 734-327-4286 From: "Michlib" <michlib-l@liblists.org> To: "Rebekah Dobski" <rdobski@hillsdale-library.org> Cc: "Katrina Rogers" <krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org>, "Michlib" <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 3:13:22 PM Subject: [Michlib-l] Re: Notaries in libraries The Jonesville District Library paid to have me (library director) to be a notary. We charge $5 per service, with the money going back to the library. We don't get a ton of notary requests, but definitely enough to pay the cost of my license, stamp, and seal embosser. The majority of our notary service comes in the evenings or weekends, when no one else in our small town is open for notary service. I hope this info helps, -Laura Orlowski, Library Director Jonesville District Library 517-849-9701 [ mailto:info@jonesvilledistrictlibrary.org | info@jonesvilledistrictlibrary.org ] On Thu, May 14, 2026 at 2:47 PM Rebekah Dobski via Michlib-l < [ mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org | michlib-l@liblists.org ] > wrote: I should clarify not tips, but to our donations jar! J _____________________________________________ From: Rebekah Dobski Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 2:35 PM To: Katrina Rogers < [ mailto:krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org | krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org ] > Cc: [ mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org | michlib-l@liblists.org ] Subject: RE: Notaries in libraries Hello, I am the sole notary in an almost level 4 library. I do about 100 or so a year. I only charge $1 for residents out of county (I think I have had two), as NP are commissioned for a whole county. We aren’t county funded, but it just seems right. Perhaps it might be bad business to others, but I have worked on cutting down extra costs to our patrons, and don’t find that this service needs to be one where we try to recoup. Printing/copying/laminating means we are out paper, ink, sheets, and equipment use. It seems fair to charge for those services so we can cover/breakeven our supplies. We are not out but pen ink if I notarize. Having it be free distinguishes us from other establishments who charge the state maximum, and has brought SO MANY people in who say “I’ve never been in, this place is lovely” or generous tips and even once, fancy donuts. If people are willing to travel from the far reaches of our county, then they are likely in need of help. Not charging, for us, pays more than just money and the maybe $3-500 if we were to charge. The only distinction I have made is that I will not do real estate, such as closing documents. Again, I am sure some might call that bad business but we aren’t a business. Best, << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) >> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipient named above. If you are not the designated recipient, an employee, or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, or copying of it or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you receive this communication in error, please destroy all copies of this communication and any attachments and notify the sender immediately via phone, fax, or electronic mail. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- [ mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org | michlib-l@liblists.org ] To unsubscribe send an email to [ mailto:michlib-l-leave@liblists.org | michlib-l-leave@liblists.org ] _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
We charge $5 per notarization for non-cardholders/residents, with 4 per day limit. For cardholders, we will do up to 4 notarizations per day for free. The city covers the initial cost and renewal fees as well as the bond and EO insurance. I highly recommend checking out the National Notary Association website. They have some helpful books on notary laws in different states. We started out with 4 notaries, one at each branch who volunteered to go through the process. Over the years, most have decided not to renew. I am up next year and am leaning towards not renewing. The reasoning is that even if the library pays for all of your supplies (seal stamp, journal, manuals, insurance, bond, etc.), YOU as the notary are solely responsible and can be personally sued by anyone the notarization affects. People are more easily upset and argumentative over the last few years and it's just not worth the risk anymore in my opinion. Putting my home/bank account at risk is not an acceptable risk to provide a service. Our City Clerk office also does them for free, so people can go to city hall and I believe most banks still do for free for clients. People don't understand we can't just notarize a random note they wrote on a piece of paper without a notarization certificate or that their signature needs to match the one on their ID, and there are many items that MI law does not allow us to notarize. It's crazy. Don't forget, if a person leaves/quits the library, the notary stuff stays with them no matter who paid for it as they are the notary and are required to keep seal/stamp/journal locked up when not in use and stored for at least 5 years and turned in to the local county clerk office should anything happen to you. Numbers vary at different times of the year and per branch. If someone calls about the service, we do recommend they call ahead to make sure a notary is available (lunches, days off, running a program can affect availability) and we do not do during the last 15 minute of the day as sometimes it gets complicated and we can't go past closing time. I signed up in 2014 and have changed branches a few times. 2014: 36 2015: 82 2016: 53 2017: 49 2018: 62 2019: 82 2020: 14 2021: 56 2022: 88 2023: 162 (not sure why that year was so busy) 2024: 6 ( this is over 3 months) 2025: 25 2026: 18 as of today 5/15). Andrea Mucha Library Technician Warren Public Library Arthur J. Miller Branch 5460 Arden, Suite 303 Warren MI 48092 (586) 751-5377 (586) 751-5902 Fax http://www.warrenlibrary.net/ ________________________________ From: Membiela, Clare (MDE) via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2026 3:31 PM To: Katrina Rogers <krogers@crawfordcolibrary.org>; michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org> Subject: [Michlib-l] Re: Notaries in libraries 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, 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://urldefense.com/v3/__https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/__;!!EC1703MNmna-qQ!bBvUxBA179GPhS32HtjHs_eCqhIGKyZNzgX3JaGr26KXRKPCYuLrm8rA96xIHN04pM5NcyYe0pK1GAeA_hp18j23$> Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/__;!!EC1703MNmna-qQ!bBvUxBA179GPhS32HtjHs_eCqhIGKyZNzgX3JaGr26KXRKPCYuLrm8rA96xIHN04pM5NcyYe0pK1GAeA_hp18j23$>. 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]
participants (10)
-
Amber Hughey -
Andrea Mucha -
Bryonna Barton -
Jake Rynicki -
Katrina Rogers -
Laura Orlowski -
Membiela, Clare (MDE) -
Nancy Bellaire -
Rebekah Dobski -
Valerie Long