Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Molly, VP Marketing at Acorn Sales, against subchapter II of chapter 43 of title 29 of the Delaware Code as adopted effective 1 August 2023, the recording provisions at 9 Del. C. §§ 9605 and 9611, and the Department of State’s notary FAQ and lost seal page on 20 September 2026 · Updated 20 September 2026
Delaware repealed its old seal sections effective 1 August 2023 and adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, so any guidance citing the old section numbers is describing law that no longer exists. The stamp now carries your name as on file, the words “State of Delaware”, the words “My Commission expires on” with the date, and “Notary Public”. The duty to use one moved too: it is now in the certificate section.
Delaware notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Delaware rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes | 29 Del. C. § 4328(b) |
| Required wording | Your name as it appears on file with the Secretary of State; The words “State of Delaware”; The words “My Commission expires on” followed by your commission expiration date; The words “Notary Public”; Any other information required by the Secretary of State | 29 Del. C. § 4330(1) |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. | 29 Del. C. §§ 4315 to 4342 (silent) |
| Ink color | Black, by Department of State guidance rather than by statute. | 29 Del. C. §§ 4330, 4315 to 4342 (silent) |
| Embosser | Permitted as a full alternative, which puts Delaware at the permissive end. | 29 Del. C. §§ 4328(b), 4330(2) |
| Commission term | Your first term runs two years and only two years, and you cannot buy a longer one up front. | 29 Del. C. §§ 4307(a), 4330(1)c |
| Name or address change | Both a name change and an address change are handled by logging into your online Notary Profile. | 29 Del. C. §§ 4307(a), 4330(1)c |
| Lost or stolen stamp | The statute says only promptly, with no number of days. | 29 Del. C. § 4331 |
| Commissioning authority | The Governor, who may delegate the duty, with applications, registrations and records administered in practice by the Delaware Department of State through its Notary Administrator | subchapter II of chapter 43 of title 29 of the Delaware Code as adopted effective 1 August 2023, the recording provisions at 9 Del. C. §§ 9605 |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Delaware?
Yes, on every notarial certificate for a tangible record, and the duty is in the certificate section rather than the section describing the stamp: “If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, an official stamp must be affixed to or embossed on the certificate.” The same subsection is permissive everywhere else. A notarial officer who is not a notary public may stamp a tangible certificate, and any notarial officer may attach a stamp to an electronic record, so by statute an electronic record does not compel a seal at all.
The governing text is 29 Del. C. § 4328(b).
What must appear on a Delaware notary stamp?
- Your name as it appears on file with the Secretary of State
- The words “State of Delaware”
- The words “My Commission expires on” followed by your commission expiration date
- The words “Notary Public”
- Any other information required by the Secretary of State
Two of those come from different places, and the difference matters when you order. Your name, “State of Delaware” and the “My Commission expires on” line are statutory, set out in § 4330(1). The words “Notary Public” are not in the statute at all. They come from the Department of State’s official FAQ, which also fixes the format and the ink: the seal “must be either a metal embossing seal or a black-inked rubber stamp” and must carry your name exactly as commissioned, the expiration wording and date, and the words “Notary Public” and “State of Delaware”. The legal hook is the catch-all at § 4330(1)d and the rulemaking power at § 4301(e). We found no promulgated Delaware administrative regulation for notaries, so the requirement lives in guidance rather than in a rule chapter. A stamp built only from the statute would be missing the words “Notary Public” and would be rejected in practice, so order it with them. Limited Governmental Notaries use “My Commission expires upon office” instead of a date. The stamp must also be capable of being copied together with the record.
What size and shape must a Delaware notary stamp be?
Not addressed. We read §§ 4328, 4329, 4330 and 4331 and the whole of Subchapter II, and the Department of State FAQ and How Do I pages alongside them. There is no dimension, no shape, no diameter and no border requirement anywhere in Delaware law or guidance. The only physical standards are the copyability test in § 4330(2) and, for anything headed to a county recorder, the reproduction standard in the land records title.
Notary public stamps are made to these conventions, and we check your lines against the statutory wording before we make the stamp.
What ink color is required for a Delaware notary stamp?
Black, by Department of State guidance rather than by statute. The distinction is worth holding onto, because the statute is silent: we checked § 4330 and every section of Subchapter II, plus the repealed §§ 4309 and 4310, and none of them mentions ink. The mandate is the FAQ sentence requiring “a black-inked rubber stamp”. A second rule reaches you from outside the notary chapter. Any document presented to a Delaware recorder that carries a notarial certificate must identify the notarial officer “in a legible manner which is suitable for micrographic or electronic reproduction”, and each recorder may issue its own regulations on format, type size, margins and open areas. So black is the answer, and legibility on a scan is the reason.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Delaware?
Permitted as a full alternative, which puts Delaware at the permissive end. The statute says the stamp must be “affixed to or embossed on” the certificate, and the FAQ offers a straight choice between “a metal embossing seal or a black-inked rubber stamp”. There is a practical tension you should weigh before choosing the embosser. Section 4330(2) still requires the stamp to be capable of being copied together with the record, and a dry raised impression generally is not, and 9 Del. C. § 9611(a) wants legible micrographic or electronic reproduction on anything recorded. An embosser is lawful on the face of the statute and a poor choice for recordable work.
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
Delaware repealed its old seal law in 2023, and moved the duty
If you are reading a page that explains the Delaware notary seal by pointing at 29 Del. C. § 4309 or § 4310, close it. Those sections, “Seal and powers” and “Engraving of seal”, were repealed effective 1 August 2023, when Delaware adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts as Subchapter II at §§ 4315 to 4342. Any source still citing the old numbers is describing law that no longer exists, and a surprising number of them do.
The second half of the trap is where the duty went. It is not in § 4330, the section actually titled “Official stamp of a notary public”. That section only says what the stamp has to contain. The sentence that makes a seal mandatory is in § 4328(b), the certificate section: “If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, an official stamp must be affixed to or embossed on the certificate.” Read only the stamp section and you will conclude Delaware never requires a seal at all.
Read the rest of § 4328(b) and a second surprise follows: for an electronic record the statute says a stamp may be attached, not must. Delaware does not compel a seal on electronic records, which runs against what most people assume about remote notarization. Department of State guidance still tells electronic and remote notaries to hold an electronic seal bearing the same wording, so hold one, but know that the requirement is guidance rather than statute.
Two more changes from the same 2023 overhaul. A journal is now mandatory for anyone commissioned on or after 1 August 2023, in one format only. And your first commission is two years, with the four year option available only at reappointment.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
Your first term runs two years and only two years, and you cannot buy a longer one up front. At reappointment you choose a two-year term at $60 or a four-year term at $90. Renewal opens through the online Notary Profile once the commission has expired or is within 30 days of expiring, with an email reminder about a month out. A new stamp is required at every renewal, and the reason is structural rather than a rule about stamps: § 4330(1)c forces the die to carry “My Commission expires on” and the date itself, so a new term puts a new date on the stamp. Limited Governmental Notaries are the exception, since their stamps read “My Commission expires upon office” and their commissions are not renewed.
Both a name change and an address change are handled by logging into your online Notary Profile. A name change carries no fee “other than the cost for the new stamp”, and the Department of State allows you up to 6 weeks to obtain the new stamp. No deadline in days is stated for either change. We checked § 4301, § 4307 and the whole of Subchapter II and found no reporting section, so treat the 6 week window as the operative timeline rather than looking for a 30 day rule borrowed from a neighboring state.
What do I do if my Delaware notary stamp is lost or stolen?
The statute says only promptly, with no number of days. The Department of State supplies the number instead, and it is short: you must contact the Notary Administrator within 10 days of discovering that your seal has been stolen, lost or damaged, and in a case of theft or vandalism you must also inform the appropriate law enforcement agency. Report to notary@delaware.gov with the name under which you are commissioned and the circumstances. Note that the guidance covers a damaged seal, which the statute does not.
How do I dispose of an expired Delaware notary stamp?
Disable the device by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing or securing it against use, on resignation, revocation or expiration. On death or a finding of incompetency the same duty falls on the personal representative, the guardian, or anyone else knowingly in possession of the device.
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Delaware?
Both are authorized, and what you file is a notification rather than a second commission: before your first act on an electronic record you notify the Secretary of State and identify the technology you intend to use, and the parallel duty applies before your first act for a remotely located individual. Delaware then narrows the field, because it publishes an Approved Technology Providers list and requires you to use approved technology, requested through your online Notary Profile. Identity proofing uses at least two different types. You must be physically in Delaware; the signer need not be. Audio-visual recordings are kept at least ten years. The journal rule changed in 2023 and catches people: a journal is now mandatory for every notary commissioned on or after 1 August 2023, you may keep only one at a time and only in one format, either a permanent bound register with numbered pages or a permanent tamper-evident electronic format, and it is retained ten years after the last act.
If you need your seal as an image file for electronic work, see electronic notary seal images.
Related Delaware guides
- How to Choose Your Delaware Notary Stamp Self-Inking
- Types of Individuals Needing Delaware Notary Supplies
Next step
Have your commission details in front of you before you order, because they go on the stamp and a wrong line means a reorder. Then browse notary public stamps, or call 804-359-0505 and we will check your wording against the statute before we make it.
Frequently asked questions about Delaware notary seals
Is a notary seal required in Delaware?
Yes for tangible records. The duty is in the certificate section rather than the section actually titled “Official stamp of a notary public”, which only describes contents. Note the asymmetry: on an electronic record the stamp is only permissive.
Did Delaware change its notary seal law?
Yes. The old sections covering the seal and the engraving of the seal were repealed effective 1 August 2023 when Delaware adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. Any source describing Delaware seal law by those old section numbers is out of date, and there are still plenty of them.
What has to appear on a Delaware notary stamp?
Your name as it appears on file with the Secretary of State, the words “State of Delaware”, the words “My Commission expires on” followed by the date, and the words “Notary Public”, plus anything else the Secretary of State requires.
What ink color does Delaware require?
Black, but by Department of State guidance rather than by statute. The statute is silent on color, and we checked every section of the new subchapter. The distinction matters if someone tells you the code does not mention it: they are right, and black is still what the Department asks for.
How long does a Delaware notary commission last?
Your first term runs two years and only two years, and you cannot buy a longer one up front. At reappointment you choose a two-year or a four-year term.
Do I need a new stamp when my Delaware commission is renewed?
Yes, because your expiration date is on the stamp. Note the term structure: a first-time Delaware notary is buying a two-year stamp whether they like it or not.
What size must a Delaware notary stamp be?
Not addressed. We read the whole subchapter and the Department of State's FAQ and guidance pages and found no size, shape or border requirement.
Can anyone sell me a Delaware notary stamp?
Yes. The Department of State expressly opens the market, pointing notaries to any office supply store, stamp supplier or notary organization, with no proof-of-commission step.
