Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Molly, VP Marketing at Acorn Sales, against 4 M.R.S. Chapter 39 (the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, §§ 1901 to 1933), the Secretary of State rules at 29-250 CMR ch. 700 effective 2 October 2023, the SOS Course of Study and notary FAQ, and 33 M.R.S. ch. 11. The rule’s chapter number and title are firm from the official rule PDF; the CMR numeric prefix 29-250 is worth confirming before it goes to print on 20 September 2026 · Updated 20 September 2026
Maine splits this question in two, and quoting one half gets it wrong. For an in-person paper notarization a stamp is optional: the statute says a notary “may keep an official stamp”. For an electronic record a stamp is mandatory. There is a second split worth knowing before you order: the requirements that your stamp be rectangular or circular and carry the words “Notary Public” and “State of Maine” come from an administrative rule, not from the statute. A stamp built from Title 4 alone is not compliant.
Maine notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Maine rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | No | 4 M.R.S. §§ 1916(1), 1916(2), 1918 |
| Required wording | The notary public’s name as it appears on the commission; The words “Notary Public”; The words “State of Maine” or “Maine”; The commission expiration date; An imprint capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed, attached or logically associated | 4 M.R.S. § 1918 |
| Size and shape | Shape is rectangular or circular, and that requirement exists only in the rule: “the stamp must be a rectangular or circular stamp” (29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7). | 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7 |
| Ink color | Not addressed, and we can be unusually definite about it. | 4 M.R.S. ch. 39 §§ 1901 to 1933 (silent) |
| Embosser | Expressly permitted, with a catch that undoes a traditional embosser. | 4 M.R.S. §§ 1902(8), 1916(2), 1918(2), 1919 |
| Commission term | Terms run seven years, among the longest in the country, and the commission “does not provide the notary public any immunity or benefit conferred by the laws of this State on public officials or employees.” Renewal is governed by rule ch. 700 § 3 and requires you to satisfy § 1922 again, including the examination under § 1923 and the oath before a dedimus justice. | 4 M.R.S. §§ 1918(1), 1919(1), 1922(2), (3), (4), (5), 1923 |
| Name or address change | Thirty calendar days, and the deadline lives in the rule rather than the statute. 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 2(5) requires written notice to the Secretary of State within 30 calendar days of a name change by court order or marriage, a change of residence or mailing address, an email or phone change, a change in employment or business location, a change to your electronic or remote capabilities, a criminal conviction, or a finding of liability involving fraud or dishonesty. | 4 M.R.S. §§ 1918(1), 1919(1), 1922(2), (3), (4), (5), 1923 |
| Lost or stolen stamp | Promptly, with no day count attached. | 4 M.R.S. § 1919(1), (2) |
| Commissioning authority | The Maine Secretary of State, through the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions | 4 M.R.S. Chapter 39 (the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, §§ 1901 to 1933), the Secretary of State rules at 29-250 CMR ch. 700 effective 2 October 2023, the SOS Course of Study |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Maine?
No. Maine does not require a stamp for an in-person paper notarization, and does require one for an electronic record. Anyone quoting § 1918 alone gets this wrong, because § 1918 opens permissively (“A notary public may keep an official stamp”) and is not the whole rule. The stamp requirement lives one section earlier: for a tangible record an official stamp “may be affixed to or embossed on the certificate”, but for an electronic record with the required certificate content, an official stamp “must be attached to or logically associated with the certificate”. The Secretary of State’s Course of Study states both halves: “Use of a notary public stamp is required on all electronic or remote notarizations”, while a paper act does not require one, “However, the Secretary of State strongly suggests that a notary stamp be used on all notarizations, unless the use of the stamp is prohibited.” What is always mandatory on paper is the certificate content under § 1916(1): signed and dated, signed in the same manner as on file with the Secretary of State, the jurisdiction, the title of office, the commission expiration date, and “the legibly printed or typed name of the notarial officer”
The governing text is 4 M.R.S. §§ 1916(1), 1916(2), 1918; Maine SOS Course of Study.
What must appear on a Maine notary stamp?
- The notary public’s name as it appears on the commission
- The words “Notary Public”
- The words “State of Maine” or “Maine”
- The commission expiration date
- An imprint capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed, attached or logically associated
Read that list knowing where each item comes from, because it is not all in the statute. Title 4 § 1918 requires only your “name, jurisdiction, commission expiration date and other information required by the Secretary of State” plus copyability. The literal words “Notary Public” and “State of Maine” or “Maine” come from the administrative rule, 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7, which is how the Secretary operationalizes the statute’s bare word jurisdiction. So does the shape restriction. A notary who builds a stamp from Title 4 alone ends up with a non-compliant one.
What size and shape must a Maine notary stamp be?
Shape is rectangular or circular, and that requirement exists only in the rule: “the stamp must be a rectangular or circular stamp” (29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7). It is absent from 4 M.R.S. § 1918. Dimensions are not addressed, anywhere. Border is not addressed, anywhere. We checked 4 M.R.S. §§ 1902(8), 1916, 1918 and 1919, and 29-250 CMR ch. 700 §§ 1 through 9. The only quality requirement in Maine law is § 1918(2) copyability: the stamp must “be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with which it is logically associated.”
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 Maine notary stamp?
Not addressed, and we can be unusually definite about it. The words ink and color do not appear anywhere in 4 M.R.S. ch. 39, §§ 1901 through 1933, confirmed by sweeping the complete official Legislature chapter PDF. Neither does photograph or photographic. The chapter’s only related terms are “legibly” in the certificate rule, “embossed” in the definition and certificate sections, and the § 1918(2) copyability standard. The rules are equally silent: 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7 contains no ink or color term and simply cross-references § 1918(2). So are the Course of Study and the Secretary of State’s notary FAQ. We also checked outside the notary act, and Maine has no ink color rule there either. Title 33 chapter 11, governing registers of deeds, specifies no color at all. What it does impose is a legibility and archival standard, “The register of deeds may return documents that are not legible for recording and archival purposes”, plus a typed or printed name beneath the signature of the grantor, the grantee and “the person taking the acknowledgement”. The sealing standards in § 652 apply to recorded plans and the seals of architects, engineers and surveyors, not to notary stamps. Pick a color that copies cleanly and you have met every requirement Maine sets.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Maine?
Expressly permitted, with a catch that undoes a traditional embosser. Maine defines an official stamp as a physical image “affixed to or embossed on” a tangible record, and the certificate section repeats that a stamp “may be affixed to or embossed on the certificate”. But § 1918(2) still requires the stamp to “be capable of being copied together with the record”, and a blind uninked emboss will not copy. Embossing is a lawful form of the Maine official stamp; an embosser that does not reproduce is not. Use an inked embosser that copies, or pair the embosser with an inked stamp. Either way § 1919 applies its security and disabling duties to the stamping device, embossers included.
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
Maine’s stamp rules are split between the statute and a rule most notaries never open
If you build a Maine stamp from Title 4, you will build the wrong one. The statute at § 1918 asks only for your name, your jurisdiction, your commission expiration date, “and other information required by the Secretary of State”. That last clause is doing the work. The Secretary’s rule at 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 7 turns the bare word jurisdiction into the literal words “Notary Public” and “State of Maine” or “Maine”, and adds a requirement the statute never mentions: the stamp must be rectangular or circular. Neither appears in Title 4. This is the single most important Maine point for anyone ordering a stamp.
The second split is about whether you need a stamp at all. § 1918 says a notary “may keep an official stamp”, which reads like a clean answer and is not one. § 1916(2) makes a stamp mandatory for electronic records, and the Secretary’s Course of Study puts it in one line: “Use of a notary public stamp is required on all electronic or remote notarizations.” Paper in person, optional. Electronic or remote, required.
A third catches notaries at renewal. § 1919(1) makes you disable the stamping device “on the expiration of the date set forth in the stamping device”, which means a Maine notary may not hold on to an expired die even while holding a current commission. The date on the rubber is its own deadline. And a name change bars you from using the new name until the device itself has been changed (ch. 700 § 2(5)(B)(3)), a rule-level requirement that catches people who assumed the database update was enough.
One last thing that is easy to miss on a paper notarization: the element Maine actually mandates is not the stamp, it is § 1916(1)(F), “Contain the legibly printed or typed name of the notarial officer,” together with the jurisdiction, the title of office, the expiration date, and a signature “signed in the same manner as on file with the Secretary of State.” A compliant stamp is simply the fastest way to put all of it on the page at once.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
Terms run seven years, among the longest in the country, and the commission “does not provide the notary public any immunity or benefit conferred by the laws of this State on public officials or employees.” Renewal is governed by rule ch. 700 § 3 and requires you to satisfy § 1922 again, including the examination under § 1923 and the oath before a dedimus justice. A new stamp is required, for two independent reasons. The stamp carries the commission expiration date, which changes at renewal. And § 1919(1) requires you to disable the device “on the expiration of the date set forth in the stamping device”, so the old device has to be destroyed rather than kept and re-dated.
Thirty calendar days, and the deadline lives in the rule rather than the statute. 29-250 CMR ch. 700 § 2(5) requires written notice to the Secretary of State within 30 calendar days of a name change by court order or marriage, a change of residence or mailing address, an email or phone change, a change in employment or business location, a change to your electronic or remote capabilities, a criminal conviction, or a finding of liability involving fraud or dishonesty. Then the part almost no Maine notary has read: you may use the new name only after the notice is delivered, the new name is updated in the Secretary’s database, and “The notary, if using a stamping device or official stamp, has made the change to their device bearing the new name.” Title 4 chapter 39 sets no change-reporting deadline at all, so cite the rule, not the statute.
What do I do if my Maine notary stamp is lost or stolen?
Promptly, with no day count attached. The notary, personal representative or guardian shall “promptly notify the Secretary of State on discovering that the device is lost or stolen.” That is the whole standard. Maine publishes no deadline here, which is unusual among states that adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, so do not go looking for a number and do not assume ten days.
How do I dispose of an expired Maine notary stamp?
You disable the device yourself, and the trigger list is broader than most states. “On resignation from, or the revocation or expiration of, the notary public’s commission or on the expiration of the date set forth in the stamping device, if any, the notary public shall disable the stamping device by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing or securing it against use in a manner that renders it unusable.” Note the fourth trigger: the date printed on the device itself. The same duty falls on the personal representative, the guardian, or any other person knowingly in possession of the device after the notary dies or is adjudicated incompetent. You are also responsible for the device’s security and “may not allow another individual to use the device to perform a notarial act.”
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Maine?
Both authorized, and each needs separate authorization from the Secretary of State. You select your own tamper-evident technology and may not be required to use one you did not select, and “Before performing the notary public’s initial notarial act with respect to an electronic record, the notary public shall notify the Secretary of State and identify the technology the notary public intends to use.” The rules go further than the statute: the technology provider must first be approved by the Secretary, and your written notice must name the approved providers, include certification of training from each, include your own certification that you understand the applicable laws and rules, and include “an example of their electronic signature and official stamp.” The authority automatically expires when your commission expires or is revoked, suspended or resigned, and for remote work it also expires if the provider’s approval is revoked. Remote acts run on two-way real-time audio and video, with identity established by personal knowledge, a credible witness under oath, or at least two identity-proofing methods, and the audiovisual recording is mandatory and kept at least ten years. Remote notarization is prohibited for absentee ballots, candidate oaths, petition-circulator oaths and solemnizing marriage. The electronic seal carries the same contents as the physical one. On journals: “A notarial officer shall maintain a journal for all electronic and remote notarizations”, kept ten years following the last recorded act, optional for tangible acts, and if you keep a tangible journal you may keep only one at a time. Tell the Secretary promptly if the journal is lost or stolen.
If you need your seal as an image file for electronic work, see electronic notary seal images.
Related Maine guides
- The Best Maine Notary Kit for Every New Notary
- Requirements To Perform Weddings By Notary Publics In Maine
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 Maine notary seals
Is a notary stamp required in Maine?
It depends on the record. For an in-person paper notarization, no: the statute says a notary may keep an official stamp. For an electronic record, yes: a stamp is required. Anyone quoting the permissive section alone has missed half the rule.
What has to appear on a Maine notary stamp?
Your name as it appears on your commission, the words “Notary Public”, the words “State of Maine” or “Maine”, and your commission expiration date. The imprint must also be capable of being copied together with the record.
What shape must a Maine notary stamp be?
Rectangular or circular. Note where that comes from: the shape requirement and the required wording exist only in the administrative rule, not in the statute. If you build a Maine stamp from the statute alone you will get the shape and the wording wrong.
What ink color does Maine require?
None, and we can be unusually definite about this. The words ink and color do not appear anywhere in the Maine notary chapter. The recording statutes impose a legibility standard rather than a color rule. Choose something that copies cleanly.
Do I need a new stamp when my Maine commission is renewed?
Yes, because the expiration date is a required element. Maine also requires you to disable the device on the date printed on it, which makes the expiration date a hard stop rather than a soft one.
What if my Maine notary stamp is lost or stolen?
Notify promptly. No day count is specified, unlike Arizona's ten days or Illinois's next business day.
Can a Maine notary perform a marriage?
Yes. Maine is one of a small number of states where a notary public may solemnize a marriage, which is a real and separate part of the office here, and nothing to do with your seal.
What do I do with my Maine stamp when my commission ends?
Disable it on the date shown on the device. Maine ties the duty to the printed expiration date itself rather than to the administrative end of your commission, which is a subtle but useful distinction.
