Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Molly, VP Marketing at Acorn Sales, against O.C.G.A. Title 45 Chapter 17 and the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority on 20 September 2026 · Updated 20 September 2026
Georgia requires a notary seal on every official notarial act. It must carry your name as it appears on your commission, the words “Notary Public”, “Georgia” or “GA”, and your county of appointment. Georgia sets no size and no ink color, expressly makes embossing optional, and states flatly that “a scrawl shall not be a sufficient notary seal”. It is also one of the states where supplying a seal to someone without a commission is a crime.
Georgia notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Georgia rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6(a)(1), § 45-17-8.1 |
| Required wording | Name as it appears on the commission certificate, The words “Notary Public”, “Georgia” or “GA” and The county where you were commissioned | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6(a)(1) |
| Size and shape | Not specified. | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6 |
| Ink color | No color is specified for the seal, and Georgia sets no reproducibility standard for it either. | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6 (silent) |
| Embosser | Either format is fine, and Georgia says so outright: “The embossment of notarial certificates by the notary's seal shall be authorized but not necessary, and the use of a rubber or other type stamp shall be sufficient.” What is not acceptable is a handwritten mark: “A scrawl shall not be a sufficient notary seal.”. | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6(a)(1) |
| Commission term | No statutory requirement for a new seal. | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-13 |
| Name or address change | Written notice to the appointing clerk of superior court, with a copy to the GSCCCA, received within 30 days. | O.C.G.A. § 45-17-13 |
| Lost or stolen stamp | Within 10 days of the loss or theft, send written notice to the appointing clerk of superior court with a copy to the GSCCCA. | O.C.G.A. §§ 45-17-14, 45-17-16, 45-17-17, 45-17-18 |
| Commissioning authority | The clerk of superior court of your county, with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority administering the statewide record | O.C.G.A. Title 45 Chapter 17 |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Georgia?
Yes, for every notarial act: “An official notarial act must be documented by the notary's seal”.
The governing text is O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6(a)(1), § 45-17-8.1.
What must appear on a Georgia notary stamp?
- Name as it appears on the commission certificate
- The words “Notary Public”
- “Georgia” or “GA”
- The county where you were commissioned
The statute also still permits an alternative seal reading only your name and “Notary Public, Georgia, State at Large”, with no county.
What size and shape must a Georgia notary stamp be?
Not specified
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 Georgia notary stamp?
No color is specified for the seal, and Georgia sets no reproducibility standard for it either. There is an ink rule next door, but it governs your signature rather than your stamp: a notary “shall sign on the notarial certification, by hand in ink, only and exactly the name indicated on the notary’s commission”. So the signature must be wet ink, and the seal can be any color that copies cleanly.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Georgia?
Either format is fine, and Georgia says so outright: “The embossment of notarial certificates by the notary's seal shall be authorized but not necessary, and the use of a rubber or other type stamp shall be sufficient.” What is not acceptable is a handwritten mark: “A scrawl shall not be a sufficient notary seal.”
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
County of residence or county of appointment?
The statute reads both ways. The opening clause of § 45-17-6(a)(1) says the seal shows “the county of his residence”, while the sentence governing anyone commissioned after 1 July 1985 says “the county of his appointment”.
Use the county of commissioning. That is how the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority states it, and every Georgia notary commissioned in the last forty years falls under the later sentence. If you moved after being commissioned, the seal still shows the commissioning county.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
No statutory requirement for a new seal. You may reuse the existing one where the information on it matches the new commission exactly; otherwise buy a new one.
Written notice to the appointing clerk of superior court, with a copy to the GSCCCA, received within 30 days. You may only sign the new name once the clerk has the notice, has confirmed the change, and you hold a new seal bearing the confirmed name.
What do I do if my Georgia notary stamp is lost or stolen?
Within 10 days of the loss or theft, send written notice to the appointing clerk of superior court with a copy to the GSCCCA.
How do I dispose of an expired Georgia notary stamp?
You destroy the seal yourself. On expiry without renewal, or on a denied renewal, or on resignation, the statute says destroy it, with no deadline attached. After a revocation the clock is firm: within 10 days send the appointing clerk all papers of appointment and destroy the seal.
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Georgia?
Georgia has no remote online notarization law. House Bill 289 would have created one and died in committee on 2 April 2026, so a Georgia notary has no state authority to notarize for a signer who is not physically present. Electronic notarization is a different matter: Georgia’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act supplies the pathway, providing that a notarization requirement is satisfied when the authorized person’s electronic signature and all other legally required information are attached to or logically associated with the record. The notary statute now contemplates electronic journals too. What Georgia has never adopted is a prescribed electronic seal format, so there is no Georgia e-seal specification to build to.
Who is allowed to sell you a Georgia notary seal?
Georgia makes this a criminal matter on both sides: “It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to supply a notary public seal to any person unless the person has presented the duplicate original of the certificate commissioning the person as a notary public”, and equally unlawful to order one without a commission (§ 45-17-6(b)).
Related Georgia 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 Georgia notary seals
Is a notary seal required in Georgia?
Yes. An official notarial act must be documented by the notary's seal (O.C.G.A. § 45-17-6). Georgia adds that “a scrawl shall not be a sufficient notary seal”, so a handwritten flourish does not satisfy the requirement.
What has to appear on a Georgia notary seal?
Your name as it appears on your commission certificate, the words “Notary Public”, “Georgia” or “GA”, and the county where you were commissioned. Georgia also still permits an alternative form reading only your name and “Notary Public, Georgia, State at Large”, with no county.
Is the county on a Georgia seal my county of residence or of appointment?
Your county of appointment, for anyone commissioned or renewed after 1 July 1985. The older form used the county of residence, which is why you will still see both on seals in circulation.
Do I need an embosser in Georgia?
No. Georgia says so directly: embossment of notarial certificates by the notary's seal is authorized but not necessary, and a rubber or other type stamp is sufficient. An embosser is a supplement, never a requirement.
What ink color is required for a Georgia notary seal?
None for the seal. There is an ink rule next door that governs your signature rather than your stamp: a notary must sign the notarial certification by hand in ink, using only and exactly the name on the commission.
Can I notarize remotely in Georgia?
No. Georgia has no remote online notarization law. House Bill 289 would have created one and died in committee on 2 April 2026, so a Georgia notary has no authority to notarize for a signer who is not physically present.
Who is allowed to sell me a Georgia notary seal?
Only a vendor who has seen your commission. Georgia makes this a criminal matter on both sides: it is unlawful to supply a notary seal to anyone who has not presented the duplicate original of their commission certificate, and equally unlawful to order one without a commission.
What do I do with my Georgia seal when my commission ends?
You destroy it yourself. On expiry without renewal, a denied renewal, or resignation, the statute says destroy it and attaches no deadline. After a revocation the clock is firm: within 10 days send the appointing clerk all papers of appointment and destroy the seal.
