Sec. 13.

(1) Within 90 days before filing an application for a notary public appointment, a person shall file with the county clerk of his or her residence or expected appointment a proper surety bond and an oath taken as prescribed by the constitution.

(2) The bond shall be in the sum of $10,000.00 with good and sufficient surety by a surety licensed to do business in this state. The bond shall be conditioned upon indemnifying or reimbursing a person, financing agency, or governmental agency for monetary loss caused through the official misconduct of the notary public in the performance of a notarial act. The surety is required to indemnify or reimburse only after a judgment based on official misconduct has been entered in a court of competent jurisdiction against the notary public. The aggregate liability of the surety shall not exceed the sum of the bond. The surety on the bond may cancel the bond 60 days after the surety notifies the notary, the secretary, and the county clerk of the cancellation. The surety is not liable for a breach of a condition occurring after the effective date of the cancellation. The county clerk shall not accept the personal assets of an applicant as security for a surety bond under this act.

(3) Each person who files an oath and, if applicable, a bond with a county clerk as required in subsection (1) shall pay a $10.00 filing fee to the county clerk. Upon receipt of the filing fee, the county clerk shall give an oath certificate of filing and a bond, if applicable, to the person as prescribed by the secretary. A charter county with a population of more than 2,000,000 may impose by ordinance a fee for the county clerk's services different than the amount prescribed by this subsection. Two dollars of each fee collected under this subsection shall be deposited into the notary education and training fund established in section 17 on a schedule determined by the secretary.

History: 2003, Act 238, Eff. Apr. 1, 2004 ;-- Am. 2006, Act 426, Imd. Eff. Oct. 5, 2006 ;-- Am. 2006, Act 510, Eff. Apr. 1, 2007