Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Molly, VP Marketing at Acorn Sales, against chapter 240 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 240 of the Nevada Administrative Code, and NRS 247.110 for county recording format on 20 September 2026 · Updated 20 September 2026
Nevada is specific in a way few states are. Your stamp must be a rectangle, no larger than 1 inch by 2.5 inches, imprinted in indelible, photographically reproducible ink with a serrated or milled border. A round Nevada stamp is never compliant. It carries your name, the phrase “Notary Public, State of Nevada”, your appointment expiry and your certificate of appointment number. Because Nevada assigns a new number each term, you will need a new stamp at every renewal.
Nevada notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Nevada rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes | NRS 240.1655(1)(a) to (d), (7) |
| Required wording | Your name, The phrase “Notary Public, State of Nevada”, in exactly that form, The date on which your appointment expires and The number of your certificate of appointment | NRS 240.040 |
| Size and shape | Rectangular only, no larger than 1 inch by 2.5 inches. | NRS 240.040 |
| Ink color | No color is mandated in the notary act, but the ink’s properties are: the stamp must “be imprinted in indelible, photographically reproducible ink with a rubber or other mechanical stamp”, and your signature must be in ink as well. | NRS 240.040 |
| Embosser | Supplement only, never a substitute. | NRS 240.040 |
| Commission term | Terms run four years, and the appointment begins on the effective date of your bond or, if none, when the Secretary of State signs the certificate. | NRS 240.010 |
| Name or address change | Notify the Secretary of State within 30 days, with a $10 fee, of a change of name, and the same 30 days applies to a change of mailing address, county of residence, signature, or, for a resident of an adjoining state, place of business or employment. | NRS 240.010 |
| Lost or stolen stamp | A hard 10-day deadline, which is the tightest of these four jurisdictions. | NRS 240.045(1), (2) |
| Commissioning authority | The Nevada Secretary of State | chapter 240 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 240 of the Nevada Administrative Code, |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Nevada?
Yes, on every notarial certificate, and the command sits in the certificate section rather than the seal section: the certificate must “include the statement imprinted with the stamp of the notary public, as described in NRS 240.040.” The same section wants three more things on the certificate: the venue in substantially the form “State of Nevada / County of…”, the name of the person whose signature is being notarized, and that the certificate be “signed and dated in ink by the notarial officer performing the notarial act.” Executing the certificate certifies that you complied with all of it. Before you order, read the vendor note below, because Nevada is the one jurisdiction here where the law reaches the manufacturer.
The governing text is NRS 240.1655(1)(a) to (d), (7); NRS 240.040.
What must appear on a Nevada notary stamp?
- Your name
- The phrase “Notary Public, State of Nevada”, in exactly that form
- The date on which your appointment expires
- The number of your certificate of appointment
Two elements are optional and one is conditional. You may add the Great Seal of the State of Nevada if you want it, a border design is allowed, and if you are a resident of an adjoining state the stamp must carry the word “nonresident.” The form of your name is constrained outside the seal statute, in the administrative code: you may use a given name, a shortened form, or initials followed by your surname, but the name on your bond must match the form on your application, and your official signature has to stay consistent with the signature on the original application. An electronic seal must carry the same information as the mechanical stamp and “must generally conform to the size and other requirements set forth in NRS 240.040.”
What size and shape must a Nevada notary stamp be?
Rectangular only, no larger than 1 inch by 2.5 inches. Nevada is strict and specific here: the stamp must “(a) Be a rectangle, not larger than 1 inch by 2 1/2 inches, and may contain a border design; and (b) Produce a legible imprint.” That is a maximum rather than a fixed size, so a smaller rectangle is fine. A round Nevada notary stamp is non-compliant, which catches notaries moving in from states where a circle is the norm. The statute also makes clear that a mechanical stamp “includes an imprint made by a computer or other similar technology.”
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 Nevada notary stamp?
No color is mandated in the notary act, but the ink’s properties are: the stamp must “be imprinted in indelible, photographically reproducible ink with a rubber or other mechanical stamp”, and your signature must be in ink as well. The color rule lives in the recording statute instead, and it is worth reading closely. A county recorder shall not record a document containing “Text that is smaller than a 10-point Times New Roman font and is printed in any ink other than black.” That test is conjunctive, so it bites only when text is both small and non-black. Notary stamp text is routinely well under 10 point, which puts a blue, red or purple stamp squarely inside the prohibition on anything headed for a Nevada county recorder. The recorder has discretion to accept a non-conforming document anyway, so it is a rejection risk rather than an automatic nullity. Nevada does not require black ink for notarizations generally, but black is the only safe color for recordable documents. Buy black.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Nevada?
Supplement only, never a substitute. The statute requires the imprint to be made “with a rubber or other mechanical stamp” and settles the history in one line: “After July 1, 1965, an embossed notarial seal is not required on notarized documents.” An embosser can sit alongside your required ink stamp as decoration, but it cannot satisfy the certificate requirement. Do not treat a Nevada embosser as a compliant seal. Note a separate placement rule that applies whichever device you use: “A notary public shall not affix his or her stamp over printed material.” The recording statute bars an overlapping stamp too, so the no-overlap rule binds you twice over, and the notary-act version has no recorder-discretion escape.
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
Nevada guarantees you a new stamp every four years, and a round one is never compliant
Nevada is the strictest of these four jurisdictions on the stamp itself, and the rules interlock in a way that has a predictable consequence.
Every renewal means a new stamp, with no way around it. Nevada requires your expiration date and your certificate of appointment number on the die, and both change every term, because the administrative code assigns a new number to a notary who applies for a subsequent period of appointment. Kansas lets you dodge this with a write-in date line and Rhode Island lets you dodge it by leaving the date off. Nevada does not: both data points are mandatory elements of the stamp.
A move across a county line also means a new stamp. A change of mailing address or county of residence triggers an amended certificate of appointment within 30 days, and the same section then requires you to destroy the old stamp, obtain a new one and notify your surety company. Notaries expect a name change to force a reseal. Almost nobody expects a house move to.
And the shape is fixed. Nevada requires a rectangle no larger than 1 inch by 2.5 inches, with an optional border. A round Nevada notary stamp is non-compliant, full stop, which is the single most common mistake made by notaries arriving from a circular-seal state.
Three more Nevada rules worth carrying. An embosser is not a lawful seal here and has not been required or sufficient since 1965. Your stamp may not overlap printed text or a signature, barred both by the notary act and by the recording statute. And if you lose the stamp you have 10 days to file for an amended certificate, or, if it is merely broken, no grace period at all.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
Terms run four years, and the appointment begins on the effective date of your bond or, if none, when the Secretary of State signs the certificate. A new stamp is mandatory at every Nevada renewal, for two independent reasons. First, the stamp has to set forth “The date on which the appointment of the notary public expires”, which changes every term. Second, it has to set forth “The number of the certificate of appointment”, and the administrative code is explicit: “If a notary public applies for a subsequent period of appointment, he or she must be assigned a new number.” Both mandatory data elements change. There is no blank-line workaround in Nevada the way there is in Kansas.
Notify the Secretary of State within 30 days, with a $10 fee, of a change of name, and the same 30 days applies to a change of mailing address, county of residence, signature, or, for a resident of an adjoining state, place of business or employment. The Secretary may suspend a notary who fails to give notice, then issues an amended certificate of appointment. Here is the trap: an amended certificate means you must destroy the old stamp, obtain a new one, and notify your surety company. A Nevada notary who simply moves across a county line needs a new stamp. Electronic notary registrants have 10 days, not 30.
What do I do if my Nevada notary stamp is lost or stolen?
A hard 10-day deadline, which is the tightest of these four jurisdictions. If the stamp is lost, “the notary public shall, within 10 days after the stamp is lost, submit to the Secretary of State a request for an amended certificate of appointment… and obtain a new stamp”, with a $10 fee. If the stamp is instead “destroyed, broken, damaged or otherwise rendered inoperable”, you must immediately notify the Secretary of State and obtain a new one, with no grace period at all. Either way you are buying a replacement, not repairing one.
How do I dispose of an expired Nevada notary stamp?
You destroy it. On resignation or death, the notary or the executor of the estate notifies the Secretary of State and destroys the stamp, and the Secretary cancels the appointment on notice. A name or address change triggers the same destruction. In between, storage is regulated: “A notary public shall keep his or her stamp in a secure location during any period in which the notary public is not using the stamp to perform a notarial act”, which the administrative code reads as sole possession or a locked location under your sole control. Ownership is settled by statute and it favors you: the stamp, journal and certificate of appointment are your personal property, and it is unlawful for anyone to withhold them from you regardless of who paid for them. An employer who bought your stamp does not get to keep it.
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Nevada?
Authorized under the Electronic Notarization Enabling Act, with separate registration. You must already be a Nevada notarial officer who has taken the oath and filed the bond, then submit proof of electronic-notarization coursework, “A description of the technology or device that the registrant intends to use to create his or her electronic signature”, the electronic signature itself, and a $50 fee on top of the ordinary application fee. Registration runs coterminous with your notary term and renews with the appointment, and it is automatically suspended if you stop being a Nevada notary. Watch the asymmetry in the deadlines: a change of email, county of residence, name, electronic signature or signature technology must be reported within 10 days with a $10 fee, against 30 days for the paper commission. Journals are required either way, the paper one bound with preprinted numbered pages and kept until “7 years after the date on which he or she ceases to be a notary public”. Audio-video recordings are kept “for a period of not less than 7 years, regardless of whether the electronic notarial act was actually completed”, so an abandoned session still has to be retained.
If you need your seal as an image file for electronic work, see electronic notary seal images.
Who is allowed to sell you a Nevada notary seal?
Nevada is the one jurisdiction here that regulates the manufacturer, and the rule is hidden in an unexpected place. It reads: “A person or governmental entity shall not make, manufacture or otherwise produce a notary’s stamp unless the notary public presents his or her original or amended certificate of appointment or a certified copy of his or her original or amended certificate of appointment to that person or governmental entity.” Note where it lives: NRS 240.045, the lost or inoperable stamp section, not NRS 240.040, the section actually titled for the stamp. Anyone reading only the seal section will miss it entirely. What it means for you: have your original or amended certificate of appointment, or a certified copy, ready to send when you order a Nevada stamp. We cannot lawfully produce one without it. Two related prohibitions bind you rather than us: you may not let anyone else use your stamp, and you may not affix it to a document that contains no notarial certificate.
Related Nevada guides
- The Benefits of Using a Nevada Notary Stamp Self-Inking
- Make Sure You Have The Right Nevada 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 Nevada notary seals
Is a notary stamp required in Nevada?
Yes. The command sits in the certificate section rather than the seal section: the certificate must include the statement imprinted with the stamp of the notary.
What has to appear on a Nevada notary stamp?
Your name, the phrase “Notary Public, State of Nevada”, the date your appointment expires, and the number of your certificate of appointment.
Can a Nevada notary stamp be round?
No. Nevada requires a rectangle, not larger than 1 inch by 2.5 inches. A circular stamp does not comply, whatever it says on it.
What ink does Nevada require?
No color is mandated, but the ink's properties are. The stamp must be imprinted in indelible, photographically reproducible ink. That rules out anything that fades, smudges or fails to copy, regardless of hue.
Do I need a new stamp when my Nevada appointment is renewed?
Yes, every time. Your stamp carries both your expiration date and your certificate of appointment number, and Nevada assigns a new certificate number each term. Both change, so a four-year appointment means a four-year stamp cycle.
Do I need a new stamp if I move within Nevada?
Yes, if you move to a different county of residence. That triggers a reseal even though your appointment has not otherwise changed, which surprises people who assume only a name change matters.
Do I need to show my appointment certificate to buy a Nevada stamp?
Yes, and the duty is on the manufacturer. Nevada law makes it unlawful to produce a Nevada notary stamp unless the notary presents an original or amended certificate of appointment, or a certified copy. The rule is tucked into the lost-or-inoperable-stamp section rather than the seal section, which is why so few people know about it.
What do I do if my Nevada stamp is lost or inoperable?
Nevada has a dedicated provision for this, which is also where the manufacturer rule lives. Report it and obtain a replacement through the certificate-of-appointment process rather than simply reordering.
