The official instructions for preparing petitions is within this document on the Secretary of State's website, which addresses petition drives in general. The instructions are based on Section 482 of Act 116 of 1954, Michigan Election Law.

168.482 Petitions; size; form; contents.

Sec. 482.

(1) Each petition under this section shall be 8-1/2 inches by 14 inches in size.

(2) If the measure to be submitted proposes a constitutional amendment, initiation of legislation, or referendum of legislation, the heading of each part of the petition shall be prepared in the following form and printed in capital letters in 14-point boldfaced type:

INITIATIVE PETITION
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
OR
INITIATION OF LEGISLATION
OR
REFERENDUM OF LEGISLATION
PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION

(3) The full text of the amendment so proposed shall follow and be printed in 8-point type. If the proposal would alter or abrogate an existing provision of the constitution, the petition shall so state and the provisions to be altered or abrogated shall be inserted, preceded by the words:

"Provisions of existing constitution altered or abrogated by the proposal if adopted."

(4) The following statement shall appear beneath the petition heading:

"We, the undersigned qualified and registered electors,
residents in the
city
township (strike 1) of .......... in the county of ..........,
state of Michigan, respectively petition for (amendment to
constitution) (initiation of legislation) (referendum of
legislation) (other appropriate description).".

(5) The following warning shall be printed in 12-point type immediately above the place for signatures, on each part of the petition:

WARNING

A person who knowingly signs this petition more than once, signs a name other than his or her own, signs when not a qualified and registered elector, or sets opposite his or her signature on a petition, a date other than the actual date the signature was affixed, is violating the provisions of the Michigan election law.

(6) The remainder of the petition form shall be as provided following the warning to electors signing the petition in section 544c(1). In addition, the petition shall comply with the requirements of section 544c(2).

Here is the portion of section 544c(1) referred to above - the portion that follows the warning to electors:

Printed Street Address
Name and or Date of Signing
Signature Rural Route Zip Code Mo. Day Year

1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________
numbered lines as above
CERTIFICATE OF CIRCULATOR

The undersigned circulator of the above petition asserts that he or she is qualified to circulate this petition and that each signature on the petition was signed in his or her presence; and that, to his or her best knowledge and belief, each signature is the genuine signature of the person purporting to sign the petition, the person signing the petition was at the time of signing a qualified registered elector of the city or township listed in the heading of the petition, and the elector was qualified to sign the petition.

Circulator—Do not sign or date certificate until after circulating petition.

And here is section 544c(2), also referred to above:

2) The petition shall be in a form providing a space for the circulator and each elector who signs the petition to print his or her name. The secretary of state shall prescribe the location of the space for the printed name. The failure of the circulator or an elector who signs the petition to print his or her name, to print his or her name in the location prescribed by the secretary of state, or to enter a zip code or his or her correct zip code does not affect the validity of the signature of the circulator or the elector who signs the petition. A printed name located in the space prescribed for printed names does not constitute the signature of the circulator or elector.