Michigan's power of attorney for a vehicle, and it fits on one page. Titles, applications and related documents have to be signed by each owner; when an owner cannot sign, this appoints somebody to sign in their name. It carries one restriction that catches people out, and it is printed in the instructions rather than hidden in a statute.
Written against TR-128 (Rev 2/26), issued under Public Act 300 of 1949, as amended.
The both-sides restriction is the one that ruins plans. A buyer who offers to take the paperwork to the branch office for you cannot also sign your name as seller on a vehicle that needs an odometer disclosure - which is almost every car built in the 2011 model year or later.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TR-128 from the michigan.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual TR-128, rendered from the PDF the Michigan Department of State publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
One page, two people and one signature. The owner signs; the agent does not sign this form at all, and a photocopy of the owner's licence goes to the branch with it.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Printed name of agent
The person who will sign in your place, at the top of the form.
Watch out: Choose someone who is not on the other side of the sale. The instructions bar a single individual from signing as both seller and buyer where the vehicle needs an odometer disclosure.
2
You fill this in
Agent's driver's licence or state ID card number
The agent's identification number, on the last row of the agent block.
Watch out: The branch matches it against the person standing in front of it. An agent who turns up with different identification from the one named here is not the agent.
3
You fill this in
HIN or VIN
The identification number, beside the year, with make and plate underneath.
Watch out: One form, one unit. An agent appointed for a vehicle is not appointed for the trailer behind it.
4
You fill this in
Printed name of owner
Your name, opening the owner block.
Watch out: As it appears on the title. Every owner named on the certificate who cannot sign needs an appointment of their own.
5
You fill this in
Owner's driver's licence or state ID card number
Your identification number, with a phone number underneath.
Watch out: A photocopy of that licence or ID has to go to the branch with the form. Without it the appointment is not accepted.
6
You fill this in
Signature of owner
Your signature and the date, under the printed appointment paragraph.
Watch out: In ink, with nothing altered anywhere on the page. The paragraph you are signing says you may bear responsibility for what your agent does with it.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Agent information
Printed name of agent, street address, city, state, ZIP code, and the agent's driver's licence or state ID card number.
Vehicle, watercraft, ORV, or mobile home information
Year, HIN or VIN, make, and plate or registration number if any. Four boxes, and only the first two are unavoidable.
Owner information and certification
Printed name of owner, street address, city, state, ZIP, the owner's driver's licence or state ID card number, and a phone number.
The appointment
One printed paragraph. It appoints the named agent to sign the owner's name to legal documents pertaining to the sale, purchase or titling of the unit described, states that the appointment is voluntary, and records that the owner may bear responsibility for any information provided by, or actions taken by, the agent.
Signature of owner and date
The owner signs, not the agent. There is one signature line on this form.
What gets this one rejected
•Pencil, or anything crossed out. The first instruction says all information must be completed in ink, and any alterations void this form.
•Sending it without identification. A photocopy of the owner's valid driver's licence or state ID card must be presented with the completed form at the Secretary of State branch.
•Using it for an instant title. The form cannot be used to apply for one unless the agent is a vehicle dealer licensed in Michigan.
•Appointing one person to sign both halves of a sale. The form says it cannot be used to appoint a single individual to sign as both a seller and a buyer of a vehicle that requires odometer disclosure under MCL 257.233a.
•The agent signing the appointment. The certification is the owner's, and the owner is the only person who signs this page.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•How the agent actually signs afterwards. The Vehicle Dealer Manual sets the format: the agent prints the name of the person being represented on the document being signed, follows it with the designation P/A or Power of Attorney, and then signs their own name underneath.
•It is a crime to lie on it. The last instruction on the form, and the shortest: a false statement in connection with a title transaction is a crime.
Every line here was read off TR-128 (Rev 2/26) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Michigan Department of State pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
