Notary Signing Agents Professional Liability Insurance in Michigan

Notary Signing Agents in Michigan at a glance

Commissioning Authority

Michigan Secretary of State

Handles all notary appointments and regulatory oversight.

Statutory Bond

ten-thousand-dollar Surety Bond

Must be filed with the county clerk before the commission is issued.

Lender E&O Requirement

Typically twenty-five-thousand-dollar - one-hundred-thousand-dollar

Required by most title companies to receive loan signing assignments.

Commission Term

6 to 7 years

The term expires on the notary's birthday.

Michigan Commissioning and Bond Requirements

To serve as a loan signing agent, an individual must first be commissioned as a notary public by the Michigan Secretary of State. This process involves obtaining a ten-thousand-dollar surety bond from a licensed insurance company and filing it with the county clerk. This bond is a statutory requirement designed to protect the consumer from notary misconduct, but it does not provide any legal defense or financial protection for the notary themselves.

Signing agents should be aware that their commission term in Michigan is unique, typically lasting between six and seven years and ending on their birthday. This longer-than-average term requires diligent tracking of both the state commission status and the underlying insurance policies that lenders require for active loan signing assignments.

Lender-Mandated Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance

While Michigan law does not strictly require notaries to carry Errors and Omissions insurance, the mortgage industry does. Most title companies and signing services will not assign loan packages to a Michigan signing agent who carries only the state-mandated ten-thousand-dollar bond. Lenders view E&O insurance as a critical safeguard against errors in the complex documentation associated with residential and commercial closings.

For Michigan signing agents, a standard twenty-five-thousand-dollar or fifty-thousand-dollar E&O policy is often the entry-level requirement, though many high-volume agents opt for one-hundred-thousand-dollar in coverage to qualify for a wider range of premium signings. This insurance covers legal defense costs and settlement amounts if a signing agent is sued for a mistake that causes a financial loss, such as a missed signature or an improperly executed acknowledgment.

Journal Practices and Title Company Expectations

Michigan does not statutorily require a journal for traditional paper-based notarizations, but it is considered a 'best practice' that is essentially mandatory for signing agents. Title companies operating in Michigan frequently request to see a notary's journal during audits or in the event of a disputed signature to prove that the signer's identity was properly verified at the time of the closing.

For those performing electronic or remote online notarizations (RON) in Michigan, a secure electronic journal is a legal requirement. Regardless of the format, a well-maintained journal serves as the signing agent's primary evidence in a liability claim, documenting the specific steps taken during a mobile appointment at a borrower's home or office.

Notary Signing Agents FAQs for Michigan