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A Michigan vehicle power of attorney is Form TR-128, Appointment of Agent. The form lets an owner name an agent to sign sale, purchase or titling papers for the vehicle. Owners use it when another person handles that paperwork for them.
This page gives the official TR-128 PDF, a part-by-part filling guide, the form's own rules and the signing rules of a general Michigan power of attorney. To compare it with other documents, see our page on Michigan POA forms.
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The Michigan appointment of agent is Form TR-128 from the Michigan Department of State, a one-page vehicle power of attorney that lets an owner name an agent to sign title paperwork for one unit. The PDF this page hands out is the Michigan Department of State’s TR-128 Appointment of Agent (Rev. 2/26).[1]
The form covers more than cars. Its unit section is titled Vehicle, watercraft, ORV, or mobile home information, so the same form serves a boat, an off-road vehicle or a mobile home.
The form names two people: the owner, who grants the authority, and the agent, who signs for the owner. In general power of attorney terms, the owner is the principal and the agent is the attorney-in-fact. Each person has a separate part of the form, with a name, an address and a driver’s license or state ID card number.
| Document Name | Michigan Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form |
| State Form Name | TR-128 Appointment of Agent (Rev. 2/26) |
| Relevant Link | Michigan Office of Secretary of State |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 7 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 18 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
Form TR-128 gives the agent signing authority for the sale, purchase or titling of the one unit listed on it. The appointment paragraph is printed on the form. In it, the owner appoints the agent to sign the owner’s name to legal documents for the sale, purchase or titling of the unit.
The appointment is narrow. It names one vehicle, watercraft, ORV or mobile home by year, make and HIN or VIN, and it speaks only to that unit’s sale, purchase or title.
Form TR-128 sets two limits in its instructions.[1]
The form cannot be used to appoint one person to sign as both the seller and the buyer of a vehicle that requires odometer disclosure under MCL 257.233a.
The form cannot be used to apply for an instant title unless the agent is a vehicle dealer licensed in Michigan.
The TR-128 instructions box sets the rules the form needs for acceptance, and it sits at the top of the PDF. Its instructions set rules you need to follow for the form to be accepted:[1]
The only person to grant authority is the direct owner of the car.
All information must be completed in ink, and any alterations void the form.
A false statement in connection with a title transaction is a crime.
Form TR-128 carries no notary section: the owner’s signature and date close the form. The owner signs and dates it.[1] A general power of attorney follows other signing rules, set out further down.
Form TR-128 runs in four parts: the agent, the unit, the owner and the owner’s signature. These steps follow the Michigan Department of State’s TR-128 Appointment of Agent (Rev. 2/26), the official form this page hands out, part by part in the order the PDF runs.[1] Read the Instructions box at the top of the form first, and gather both IDs and the title or registration.
The screenshots under each step show TR-128 Appointment of Agent, the official Michigan form, filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and numbers are examples only.
Agent information
Print the agent’s name on the Printed name of agent line. Then enter the agent’s street address, city, state and ZIP code, and the agent’s driver’s license or state ID card number.
Vehicle, watercraft, ORV, or mobile home information
Enter the year, the HIN or VIN, the make, and the plate or registration number if there is one. Copy the HIN or VIN from the title or registration to avoid typos.
Owner information and certification
Print the owner’s name, street address, city, state and ZIP code, the owner’s driver’s license or state ID card number, and a phone number. Read the printed appointment paragraph below these lines before you sign, because it is the grant of authority.
Signature of owner and Date
Check every entry on the form first. To put a Michigan Vehicle POA in force, the car owner must place their signature at the bottom of Form TR-128.[1] Then write the date on the Date line.
Tip: Write your entries on a scrap sheet first. Then copy them onto the form in ink, so the final copy stays neat and easy to read.
A signed TR-128 goes to the agent with a copy of the owner’s ID, and the agent takes both to the branch. Follow these steps in order once every field is filled in.
Compare the agent’s entries, the unit details and the owner’s entries with both IDs and the title or registration.
Sign and date the form at the bottom, as the owner, in ink.
Photocopy the owner’s driver’s license or state ID card.
Make a copy of the signed form for the owner’s records.
Give the agent the signed original and the ID photocopy together.
A photocopy of the owner’s valid driver’s license or state ID card must be presented with the completed form at a Secretary of State branch.
A general Michigan power of attorney is a broader document than TR-128, with its own signing rules under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.401 sets out a statutory form power of attorney that authorizes an agent to make decisions concerning the principal’s property.
Under Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205, a power of attorney takes effect only if it is signed by the principal, or by another individual the principal directs to sign in the principal’s conscious presence.
A power of attorney the principal signs is durable only if it meets one of the two routes in this table, Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205.
| Route to durability (only one is needed) | What it takes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notary acknowledgment | The principal acknowledges the power before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205 |
| Two witnesses | The principal signs in the presence of 2 witnesses, both of whom also sign the power; a witness may not be an agent nominated in the power. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205 |
When the two-witness route is used, one of the witnesses may be an individual who also acts as the notary public in the principal’s signing, Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205. A signature on a power of attorney is presumed to be genuine if the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments, Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.205.
A power of attorney executed this way is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal, Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.204.
A Michigan power of attorney terminates on set events listed in Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.210, and it ends if any of these occur:
Signing a new power of attorney does not revoke an earlier one unless the new power says the earlier power, or all other powers, are revoked, Mich. Comp. Laws § 556.210.
Most TR-128 errors are small mismatches, such as a mistyped VIN or a name that differs from the ID. Check the list before you hand the form to the agent.
Form TR-128 is on the Michigan Department of State’s forms and publications page, listed as Appointment of Agent for a Vehicle, Watercraft, or Mobile Home. The PDF on this page is the same form, Rev. 2/26.[1]
Form TR-128 has no notary section. The owner signs and dates it. A general power of attorney is a different document, and its signing routes are in the comparison section above.
The details table above lists 18 fillable fields and about 7 minutes. Most of that time goes to the agent, vehicle, and owner entries.
Do not cross out or change an entry on the form you plan to hand over. Form TR-128 says any alterations void it.[1] Print a fresh copy and enter the details again from your scrap sheet.
Form TR-128’s instructions call for ink in every entry, so a hand-filled form uses ink, written slowly and neatly.
The title or registration shows the VIN of a vehicle or the HIN of a watercraft. Copy it character by character and read it back once, because one wrong character causes a mismatch.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
