Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Molly, VP Marketing at Acorn Sales, against RSMo Chapter 486, 15 CSR 30-110, RSMo § 59.310 and the Secretary of State’s Missouri Notary Handbook on 20 September 2026 · Updated 20 September 2026
Missouri requires a notary seal on every paper notarial act, affixed at the moment you perform it. It carries your name exactly as commissioned, your commission identification number, the words “Notary Public”, “Notary Seal” and “State of Missouri”, all inside a rectangular or circular border. That border is where the most-repeated Missouri error lives: the one sixteenth of an inch in the statute is the thickness of the border, not the size of the seal. Missouri sets no overall dimensions at all.
Missouri notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Missouri rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes | RSMo §§ 486.725.1, 486.730.1, 486.740.1(2) |
| Required wording | The notary’s name exactly as stated on the commission; The identification number of the notary’s commission; The words “Notary Public”, “Notary Seal”, “State of Missouri” and “My commission expires (commission expiration date)”; A border in a rectangular or circular shape surrounding the required words | RSMo § 486.730.1 |
| Size and shape | No overall dimensions at all. | RSMo § 486.730.1(4), § 486.730.2, § 486.730.4 |
| Ink color | Not addressed in the notary act. | RSMo § 486.730 (silent) |
| Embosser | Supplement only, and the statute says so in one line: “An embossed seal impression that is not photographically reproducible may be used in addition to, but not in place of, the official seal described in subsection 1 of this section.” The vendor rules match, allowing one seal per commission plus “only one embossing seal” if you ask for it. | RSMo §§ 486.730.3, 486.735.3 |
| Commission term | Terms run four years. | RSMo §§ 486.605, 486.610.1, 486.610.2, 486.615, 486.625, 486.630, 486.730.1(2), (3), 486.735.2, 486.735.3, 486.780, 486.785, 486.795.1(1) |
| Name or address change | Within ten days of a name change by court order or marriage, send the Secretary a signed notice giving the former and new name, a copy of the official authorization, and a $5 fee. | RSMo §§ 486.605, 486.610.1, 486.610.2, 486.615, 486.625, 486.630, 486.730.1(2), (3), 486.735.2, 486.735.3, 486.780, 486.785, 486.795.1(1) |
| Lost or stolen stamp | A hard ten day deadline, with a police report attached. | RSMo §§ 486.725.2, 486.725.3, 486.725.4, 486.725.5, 486.725.6, 486.795.1(1) |
| Commissioning authority | The Missouri Secretary of State, through the Commissions unit | RSMo Chapter 486, 15 CSR 30-110, RSMo § 59.310 |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Missouri?
Yes, on every paper notarial act, affixed at the moment the act is performed: “In notarizing a paper document, a notary public shall affix an official signature and an official seal on the notarial certificate at the time the notarial act is performed.” Two further sections reinforce it. One requires you to affix “a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal” near your signature, and the certificate-contents section lists “An impression of the official seal of the notary” as a required element.
The governing text is RSMo §§ 486.725.1, 486.730.1, 486.740.1(2).
What must appear on a Missouri notary stamp?
- The notary’s name exactly as stated on the commission
- The identification number of the notary’s commission
- The words “Notary Public”, “Notary Seal”, “State of Missouri” and “My commission expires (commission expiration date)”
- A border in a rectangular or circular shape surrounding the required words
Nothing is added by administrative rule. 15 CSR 30-110 now contains only remote online notarization provisions, and the two rules that once covered electronic signatures and seals, 15 CSR 30-110.010 and .020, were rescinded effective 28 February 2021. What matters far more is what changed in 2020: the seal must carry your commission identification number, and the county is no longer required. That is exactly inverted from the repealed § 486.285, which required the county and not the number. A vendor reusing pre-2020 Missouri artwork produces a non-compliant seal.
What size and shape must a Missouri notary stamp be?
No overall dimensions at all. Missouri prescribes the shape (rectangular or circular) and a border, and that border is where the most common Missouri mistake starts: the one sixteenth of an inch figure is the border thickness, not the size of the seal. The statutory words are “A border in a rectangular or circular shape no larger than one sixteenth of an inch, surrounding the required words.” The impression must be “sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible” and sit “near the notary’s official signature”. One hard placement rule goes with it: “A seal as described in subsection 1 of this section shall not be affixed over printed or written matter.” If part of the impression comes out illegible, you may type or print that information adjacent to the impression, or affix another legible impression nearby, but never inside the first one.
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 Missouri notary stamp?
Not addressed in the notary act. Chapter 486 names no color, and neither does the Secretary of State’s Missouri Notary Handbook or 15 CSR 30-110. We checked §§ 486.725, 486.730, 486.735, 486.740, 486.745, 486.750 through 486.775, 486.930 through 486.940 and 486.1165 through 486.1170. The single appearance of the word ink in the chapter is in a different rule entirely, on correcting a certificate: “The notary legibly corrects the certificate and initials and dates the correction in ink.” No color there either. The color rule that does reach your stamp sits outside the notary act, in the county recorder document standards: print or type “shall be in black or dark ink”, and so shall all signatures. A stamp impression is print on the document, so for anything headed to a Missouri recorder of deeds, black or dark ink is the compliant choice. A non-conforming document may still be recorded, for an extra twenty-five dollar fee. Chapter 486 itself does not mandate black, and we will not tell you it does.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Missouri?
Supplement only, and the statute says so in one line: “An embossed seal impression that is not photographically reproducible may be used in addition to, but not in place of, the official seal described in subsection 1 of this section.” The vendor rules match, allowing one seal per commission plus “only one embossing seal” if you ask for it.
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
The one sixteenth of an inch is the border, not the seal
This is the Missouri detail that gets published wrong more than any other. Read § 486.730.1(4) slowly: “A border in a rectangular or circular shape no larger than one sixteenth of an inch, surrounding the required words.” The measurement attaches to the border. Missouri sets no overall seal dimensions at all, which surprises people who have read a summary claiming Missouri caps the seal at a sixteenth of an inch. No state does that, and a seal that size would hold nothing.
Two more Missouri rules run against the grain. The seal may never be stamped over printed or written matter (§ 486.730.4), so an impression that clips the certificate text is a violation even when it is perfectly legible. And a revoked notary does not destroy the seal: it goes in the mail to the Secretary of State, with a $500 fine for keeping it (§ 486.725.6). Expired and resigned notaries destroy theirs. Same section, opposite instructions.
Finally, the contents flipped in 2020. Your seal must carry the commission identification number and must not carry the county. Pre-2020 Missouri law required the county and never mentioned a number, so any artwork carried over from an older commission is wrong in both directions.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
Terms run four years. Renewal is a fresh application with the exam, fee and bond, not a rubber stamp. A new seal is required every term, and you can see why from the seal contents: it carries your commission identification number and your commission expiration date, and both change with a new commission. The vendor rules close the loop, requiring the vendor to verify a valid commission before making a seal and limiting them to one seal per commission, while a separate section requires the old seal to be destroyed. Commissions, bonds and seals in force before 28 August 2020 were grandfathered for their remaining terms.
Within ten days of a name change by court order or marriage, send the Secretary a signed notice giving the former and new name, a copy of the official authorization, and a $5 fee. Then the part people miss: you must keep using the former name until four things have happened, one of which is that “A new seal bearing the new name exactly as in the confirmation has been obtained.” The other three are delivery of the notice, receipt of the Secretary’s confirmation, and written notice to your surety. An address change is also ten days and $5, with both old and new addresses, and if it is your regular place of work or business address you may not perform any notarial act until the notice is delivered, the confirmation is received, and the surety has been informed.
What do I do if my Missouri notary stamp is lost or stolen?
A hard ten day deadline, with a police report attached. Once you discover the seal is stolen, lost, damaged or otherwise incapable of affixing a legible image, tell law enforcement first if it was theft or vandalism, then notify the Secretary by a means providing a tangible receipt and supply a copy or the number of the police report. The Secretary then issues a new commission, which you present to a registered seal vendor. Note also that the seal is “the exclusive property of the notary”, may not be used by anyone else, and must “Not be surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment.”
How do I dispose of an expired Missouri notary stamp?
Two different rules in the same section, and they point opposite ways. On resignation, expiration or death, the seal is destroyed: “As soon as reasonably practicable after resignation, or expiration of a notary commission, or death of the notary, the seal shall be destroyed or defaced so that it may not be misused.” On revocation you do not destroy it, you mail it: “For a commission that has been revoked, the notary shall forward their seal to the secretary’s office for disposal.” Failing to do so may draw a $500 fine at the Secretary’s discretion.
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Missouri?
Both authorized, and each needs a separate registration on top of your commission. For electronic notarization you must already hold a Missouri commission, register the capability with the Secretary before notarizing electronically, and take an approved course and examination beyond the commissioning course. The registration runs with the commission, and “Upon recommissioning, a notary shall again register.” The electronic seal carries different wording from your paper seal: your name exactly as spelled on the commissioning document, the commissioning jurisdiction, the title “Electronic Notary Public”, the commission or registration number, and the expiration date. Remote online notarization is its own registration and course, and you must be physically located within Missouri when you perform one. On journals, note the doubling up: electronic and remote notaries keep the electronic journal entry at least ten years “and shall also keep a record of electronic notarial acts in a permanently bound journal”, so the paper journal does not go away. Remote audio and video recordings are held at least ten years as well. If an electronic seal is compromised, notify the Secretary immediately, stop producing seals, and re-register within thirty days or your electronic status terminates.
If you need your seal as an image file for electronic work, see electronic notary seal images.
Who is allowed to sell you a Missouri notary seal?
Missouri runs the strictest seal-vendor regime in the country, and it is worth knowing before you order. A vendor or manufacturer must register with the Secretary of State before selling or making notary seals. No seal may be provided unless you present a valid commission: in person the vendor identifies you by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of identity, and for a mail or delivery order the vendor confirms your status on the Secretary’s website. You get one seal per commission, plus one embossing seal on request, so a spare is not available to you. Within seven business days of providing a seal the vendor must send an image of it to the Secretary on a prescribed form and keep copies for five years. Violations carry a $1,000 fine each, and repeat violations can cost the vendor the right to sell at all.
Related Missouri guides
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 Missouri notary seals
Is a notary seal required in Missouri?
Yes. In notarizing a paper document a notary public shall affix an official signature and an official seal on the notarial certificate at the time the notarial act is performed. Two further sections repeat the requirement.
What has to appear on a Missouri notary seal?
Your name exactly as stated on your commission, your commission identification number, and the words “Notary Public”, “Notary Seal” and “State of Missouri”, surrounded by a rectangular or circular border.
Does a Missouri notary seal show the county?
No, not since the 2020 rewrite. Missouri flipped this: the commission identification number is now required and the county is not. Older Missouri seals carry a county, which is why you will see both in circulation.
What size must a Missouri notary seal be?
No overall size is prescribed. This is the most-published-wrong fact about Missouri: the “one sixteenth of an inch” in the statute describes the thickness of the border surrounding the required wording, not the dimensions of the seal. Missouri prescribes the shape and the border and nothing else.
What ink color does Missouri require?
None. Chapter 486 names no color, and neither does the Missouri Notary Handbook or the administrative rules. What the statute does require is an impression that is sharp, legible, permanent and photographically reproducible, so choose a color that meets that standard.
What do I do with my Missouri seal when my commission ends?
It depends how it ended. If your commission expires or you resign, you destroy the seal. If it is revoked, you must mail it to the Secretary of State, and failing to do so carries a $500 fine. Missouri is one of the few states that distinguishes between the two.
Can anyone sell me a Missouri notary seal?
No. Missouri runs the strictest seal-vendor regime in the country: vendors must be registered, must check identification, may supply only one seal per commission, and face penalties of $1,000 per violation. Expect to provide your commission details when you order.
Do I need a new seal when my Missouri commission is renewed?
Yes, if your commission identification number changes at renewal, since the number is a required element. Your name and the fixed wording do not change, so confirm your new number before ordering.
