All Michigan Secretary of State visits will be by appointment only

LANSING, Mich. - All in-person transactions at the Michigan Secretary of State will now be carried at by appointment only, the department secretary announced Thursday.

Jocelyn Benson announced the new operations yesterday were partly in response to requests from residents asking to continue operating by appointment. The SOS moved to appointments only last June. 

"The branch office by appointment model is working and yes, it is a new way of doing things," said Benson. "But it’s a better way of doing things."

Part of the reason for the move is that 60% of transactions are already conducted outside of a branch office, according to the release. That's up 30% from last year. 

However, that doesn't mean one won't have to wait a long time to get in. Some people say they haven't been able to schedule an appointment until the summer. "The system still needs to be improved," the release noted.

That's why MDOS will increase the number of appointments available by 10%, which will increase appointment availability by 35,000 a month.

The secretary of state departments went to an appointment-based system last year as a result of the pandemic. Like so many other consequences of COVID-19, obtaining government documents and registering your car is now becoming an increasingly at-home process.

Someone can make an appointment online here.