Acorn Sales Blog - Notary Public

Six states do not require a notary seal at all: Kentucky, New York, Louisiana, Connecticut, Michigan and Vermont. Three require black ink and Tennessee prohibits it, and this index links every state's full rules with the statute citation and the date last checked.

Every paper record you notarize in North Carolina needs the seal, placed near your signature on the same page as the certificate. The four required elements, the size and border rules, and why you surrender an expired seal rather than destroy it.

Illinois requires a rubber stamp seal on every notarial act and requires it in black ink, inside a serrated border no larger than 1 by 2.5 inches. The exact wording, and the two requirements that sit outside the section titled Official Seal.

Kentucky does not require a notary stamp at all, and the statute says so plainly. What the stamp must carry if you use one, why every receiving party expects it anyway, and the rules on renewal, name changes and a lost stamp.

New York does not require a notary seal at all, and what it requires instead is printed or stamped information beneath your signature in black ink on every instrument. The four items that must appear, and why most notaries use a stamp anyway.

California sets exact notary seal dimensions: circular no more than 2 inches across, or rectangular no more than 1 by 2.5 inches. The six elements it carries, the 30-day deadlines on name changes, and the ink color the law never specifies.

Georgia requires a notary seal on every official act, sets no size and no ink color, and states flatly that a scrawl is not sufficient. It is also one of the states where supplying a seal to someone without a commission is a crime.

Indiana requires a notary seal on every notarization, and the 2024 amendment did not change that. The wording your stamp must carry, the one narrow thing that did change in July 2024, and why no size or ink color is set.

New Jersey requires every notarial act to be evidenced by a certificate and stamped, but sets no size, shape or ink color. The required wording, where the stamp goes on the certificate, the embosser rule, and what to do if one goes missing.

Massachusetts requires a new notary seal at every renewal, which no neighboring state does. The exact wording including the facsimile of the seal of the commonwealth, the black ink rule, and what to do when a seal is lost or your name changes.

Ohio builds the notary seal around the state coat of arms, inside a circle 3/4 to 1 inch across, which very few states do. The required wording, why an embosser is permitted outright, and the ink rule that is not in the notary law.

Florida requires a rubber stamp seal in photographically reproducible black ink, and an impression seal may be used alongside but never substituted. Plus the timing rule most notaries miss: do not use a new seal before the first day of the new commission.