How to Fill Out and Submit Michigan Form 151: Six Parts and Filing

Michigan Form 151, the Authorized Representative Declaration, lets you give another person or a firm authority to talk with the Michigan Department of Treasury about your taxes, debts, or fees. You complete the six parts of the form, choose what your representative is allowed to do, sign it, and send it to the Treasury address that fits your situation.¹ There is no filing fee, and the authorization stays in place until you revoke it or the expiration date you set arrives.

Who You Can Name

Michigan is unusually flexible on this point. Any person can represent you before the Department of Treasury, including an accountant, attorney, bookkeeper, tax preparer, or another third party you choose.² The representative does not need a license, so a family member, business partner, or trusted friend qualifies once you name them on the form.

You can also name an entity rather than a specific individual. If you designate a firm, any individual within that firm is authorized to act for you. If you name only a specific person, then only that person can communicate with Treasury.³ The distinction matters if you hire a CPA firm and want any staff member to be able to call on your behalf; in that case, list the firm name and give an individual contact person.

Filling Out the Six Parts

Every field marked “Required” must be completed. If one is blank, the authorization is invalid and Treasury will notify you by letter that the form was rejected.³

Part 1: Taxpayer or Debtor Information

Enter your legal name, address, and a daytime phone number. Businesses provide a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), Michigan Employer (ME) number, or Treasury (TR) number. Individuals without a business account number provide their Social Security Number.¹ The name and identification number have to match what Treasury already has on file; a transposed digit will stall the whole thing.

Part 2: Revoke Previous Authorization

Use this section only if you want to cancel a representative you previously authorized. You can revoke all prior authorizations and represent yourself, or revoke prior authorizations for specific matters you list.¹ Skip Part 2 if you are simply adding a new representative and want your existing one to remain active.

Part 3: Representative Appointment

Give your representative’s full name, address, and phone number. When naming an entity, also list an individual contact person within that organization.³

Part 4: Type of Authority

This is the heart of the form. Check one or more of the four boxes to define what your representative can do:

Box 1 lets the representative receive and inspect confidential tax information from Treasury, in oral or written form. This alone does not send them copies of your future correspondence; that requires Part 5.
Box 2 lets them make oral or written presentations of fact or argument on your behalf during audits, hearings, or other proceedings.
Box 3 lets them sign your Michigan tax returns.
Box 4 lets them enter into agreements with Treasury, including payment plans and settlements.

You can also limit any of these powers to specific tax types, debt types, fees, and tax years or periods.¹ Narrowing the scope is sensible if you only need help with one audit or one tax year. Anything a representative does under boxes 3 and 4 is legally binding on you, so grant those powers only to someone you fully trust.

Part 5: Request Copies of Letters and Notices

Check this box if you want your representative to receive copies of future letters and notices tied to a tax dispute. You have to specify the tax type and year or period, and a separate Form 151 is needed for each dispute.³ Part 5 does not apply to City Income Tax disputes.

Part 6: Taxpayer or Debtor Authorization

Sign and date the form. Business filers print their name and title. If a spouse also needs to authorize, include the spouse’s signature on the designated line.³ With no start date entered, the authorization takes effect on the day you sign. With no expiration date, it stays in effect until you revoke it.

Where to Send the Form

The correct address depends on your situation. Sending the form to the wrong office delays processing.

Individual taxpayers: Michigan Department of Treasury, Customer Contact Center, Individual Correspondence Section, P.O. Box 30058, Lansing, MI 48909. Fax: 517-636-4488.
Treasury Collections requests, when a Collections representative asked you for the form: Michigan Department of Treasury – Coll, P.O. Box 30149, Lansing, MI 48909. Fax: 517-272-5562.
Field office requests: send it wherever that office directs you.
Everyone else: Michigan Department of Treasury, Customer Contact Center, Registration Section, P.O. Box 30778, Lansing, MI 48909.

⁴

Businesses can also complete and submit the form electronically through Michigan Treasury Online at mto.treasury.michigan.gov.¹ Individual taxpayers do not have that option and must mail or fax the form.

Changing or Revoking a Representative Later

To revoke an existing representative, complete Part 2 on a new Form 151 and submit it to Treasury. You can revoke all prior authorizations at once or revoke only the authorization for a specific tax type or period.⁵ A separate written document that clearly revokes the prior representative’s authority also works.

Here’s the rule that catches people out: filing a new Form 151 that names a different representative does not automatically revoke the old one. You have to complete the revocation section on the same form.⁵ Skip Part 2 and both representatives will have active authority on your account. That’s fine if you intended it. If you meant to replace one with another, you didn’t.

When Form 151 Isn’t the Right Tool

Do not use Form 151 for a deceased taxpayer. File a Claim for Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer (Form MI-1310) along with a death certificate or a letter of authority issued by the probate court for the personal representative.³

Treasury will also accept other written documents that contain the same required information: taxpayer name, address, identification number, representative details, the type of authority granted, and any restrictions. A court-approved guardianship, conservatorship, or similar court order granting legal authority to act for the taxpayer qualifies as well.⁵ Using the official form is simpler because Treasury staff can process it faster than a custom document.

Errors That Get the Form Rejected

Most rejections come from a small set of avoidable mistakes. A blank in any “Required” field invalidates the form, and Treasury will mail it back. Identification numbers that don’t match Treasury’s records will suspend processing until you resubmit. Missing signatures in Part 6 are common, as is a business filer forgetting to add a title next to the signature. If a spouse belongs on the authorization, both signatures are needed.

The revocation issue is worth repeating because it is genuinely counterintuitive: naming a new representative without completing Part 2 leaves the old representative active. If you no longer want the previous representative to have access, revoke that authority explicitly on the same form or in a separate written notice.⁵ And check the address list before you mail. The wrong P.O. Box slows everything down.

1
Michigan Department of Treasury. Authorized Representative Declaration (Power of Attorney)
2
Department of Treasury. Michigan Admin Code R 205.1005 – Taxpayer Representative
3
Michigan Department of Treasury. Instructions for Completing Form 151
4
Michigan Department of Treasury. Authorized Representative Declaration (Power of Attorney Form)
5
Cornell Law Institute. Michigan Admin Code R 205.1006b – Written Authorization by Taxpayer for Representative