Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against chapter 42.45 RCW, chapter 308-30 WAC, RCW 65.04.045 and the Department of Licensing Notary Public Guide on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Washington's dimensions are the thing most summaries get backwards: they are minimums, not maximums. A circular stamp must be at least one and five-eighths inches across; a rectangular one at least one inch by one and five-eighths inches. Both shapes are allowed and there is no upper limit. The stamp carries “notary public”, “state of Washington”, your name as commissioned, your expiration date and your commission number. That last element comes from the rules rather than the statute.
Washington notary stamp requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Washington rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes | RCW 42.45.130(2), (3) |
| Required wording | The words “notary public”, The words “state of Washington”, Your name as commissioned, Your commission expiration date and Your commission number | RCW 42.45.150(1) |
| Size and shape | Minimum one and five-eighths inches in diameter if circular, or one inch wide by one and five-eighths inches long if rectangular. | WAC 308-30-070(3)(a) |
| Ink color | No color is specified. | RCW ch. 42.45 and WAC ch. 308-30 (silent on color) |
| Embosser | Contemplated by statute, but a supplement in practice. | RCW 42.45.130(2), 42.45.150(3) |
| Commission term | Terms run four years, or end when the assurance expires if that comes first, since the director issues a commission “for a term of four years or for a term that expires on the date of expiration of the assurance, whichever comes first.” A new stamp is required at renewal, for two reasons rather than one: your expiration date is a mandatory face element by statute, and your commission number is a mandatory face element by rule, and Washington issues a new number with the new commission. | RCW 42.45.150(1)(d), (4), 42.45.200 |
| Name or address change | Both go to the Department of Licensing on its forms, and no numeric deadline exists in either the statute or the rules. | RCW 42.45.150(1)(d), (4), 42.45.200 |
| Lost or stolen stamp | The statute says notify the Department promptly, and then the rule supplies the hard number: within ten business days, in writing, of discovering the seal was lost or stolen. | RCW 42.45.160(1), (2) |
| Commissioning authority | The Washington State Department of Licensing, which took over from the Secretary of State when Washington adopted the revised uniform act effective 1 July 2018 | chapter 42.45 RCW, chapter 308-30 WAC, RCW 65.04.045 |
Rules for other states are on notary stamp requirements by state.
Is a notary stamp required in Washington?
Yes, on every notarial act on a tangible record, and the mandate sits in the certificate section rather than the section describing the stamp: “If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, an official stamp must be affixed to or embossed on the certificate.” The permissive version of that sentence, which says a stamp “may” be affixed, applies to notarial officers who are not notaries public, such as judges and clerks. For an electronic records notary public acting on an electronic record, a stamp “must” be attached or logically associated too.
The governing text is RCW 42.45.130(2), (3).
What must appear on a Washington notary stamp?
- The words “notary public”
- The words “state of Washington”
- Your name as commissioned
- Your commission expiration date
- Your commission number
Keep the statutory and regulatory sources straight, because they split cleanly and the split matters when you compare vendor templates. The first four items are statutory, in RCW 42.45.150(1)(a) through (d). The commission number is regulatory only: it appears nowhere in RCW 42.45.150, and exists solely because subsection (1)(e) requires “Any other information required by the director” and the director exercised that delegation at WAC 308-30-070(1)(e). It is still mandatory, and it is the element a vendor working from the statute alone leaves off. The rule adds three more requirements of form: the type must be “a minimum of 8 point type”, the face of the seal “shall be permanently affixed”, and a stamp used on a tangible record “shall be applied in permanent ink and shall be capable of being photocopied.” One outright prohibition, also regulatory: the seal “shall not contain the Washington state seal.” Statute adds that the stamp must be “capable of being copied together with the record”. There is no border requirement; the word border appears nowhere in chapter 42.45 RCW or chapter 308-30 WAC.
What size and shape must a Washington notary stamp be?
Minimum one and five-eighths inches in diameter if circular, or one inch wide by one and five-eighths inches long if rectangular. Both shapes are permitted, and the word that decides everything is minimum. These are floors, not ceilings and not exact specifications, and Washington sets no maximum size at all. That is the opposite of West Virginia’s rule, and it is very commonly misreported as a required size. Note also where the numbers live: RCW 42.45.150(2) says only that “The size and form or forms of the seal or stamp shall be prescribed by the director in rule”, so the dimensions are regulatory rather than statutory. The practical ceiling comes from the recording statute’s margin rule, not from chapter 308-30. The Department’s Notary Public Guide restates the same minimums.
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 Washington notary stamp?
No color is specified. Searching chapter 42.45 RCW and chapter 308-30 WAC for black and for color returns nothing in either. The only ink requirement in either body is “permanent ink” at WAC 308-30-070(3)(c), which governs permanence and photocopiability rather than color. Sections read and found silent on color: RCW 42.45.130,.150,.160,.180,.190,.200,.230 and.280, and WAC 308-30-070, -080, -090, -100, -110, -170, -180, -190 and -200. The operative rule is functional and comes from the recording statute, which requires documents “prepared in ink color capable of being imaged” and requires that they “have all seals legible and capable of being imaged.” Any color that images is lawful. Black is the safe default because county recording in Washington is image-based.
More on the trade-off in stamp ink color rules.
Is a notary embosser required or optional in Washington?
Contemplated by statute, but a supplement in practice. RCW 42.45.130(2) says the stamp must be affixed “or embossed on” the certificate, so embossing is not forbidden. The problem is everything downstream of that sentence. A stamp used on a tangible record must be “applied in permanent ink” and “capable of being photocopied”, the statute requires it to be copyable together with the record, and the recording statute requires all seals to be legible and capable of being imaged. A dry embossed impression satisfies none of those. The Department’s Notary Public Guide discusses only ink stamps and never presents an embosser as an option. Treat an inked stamp as the compliant instrument and an embosser as an extra.
Notary embossing seal kits and inked stamp kits cover both formats. See also notary stamp vs. embosser.
Washington sets a floor, not a ceiling, and the commission number is a rule
Two Washington facts get published backwards more often than they get published right, and both change what you should order.
The dimensions are minimums. WAC 308-30-070(3)(a) requires a seal “minimum one and five-eighths inches diameter if circular, or one inch wide by one and five-eighths inches long if rectangular”. Read that as a floor, because that is what it says. Washington sets no maximum size, and both shapes are allowed. A notary told that one inch by one and five-eighths is the required Washington size has been told a floor and sold it as a specification. The only practical ceiling is the county margin rule, and even that is forgiving: RCW 65.04.045 expressly allows recording where “a minor portion of a notary seal… extends beyond the margins”, a rare statutory grace note aimed at notaries by name.
The commission number is a Department rule, not a statute. RCW 42.45.150(1) lists four things and then delegates, requiring “Any other information required by the director”. The number comes from the director’s exercise of that delegation at WAC 308-30-070(1)(e). It binds you exactly as much as the statutory items do, but because it is not in the RCW it is the element a vendor drafting from the statute leaves off, and a Washington stamp without it fails.
Two more that catch Washington notaries. The seal may not contain the Washington state seal, an affirmative prohibition most states do not have. And at renewal you will hold two valid stamps at once, because RCW 42.45.150(4) requires the act to be stamped with the commission in effect at that moment even if the next commission’s stamp is already on your desk. Keep the new one in a drawer until the day it starts.
Do I need a new stamp when my commission is renewed or my name changes?
Terms run four years, or end when the assurance expires if that comes first, since the director issues a commission “for a term of four years or for a term that expires on the date of expiration of the assurance, whichever comes first.” A new stamp is required at renewal, for two reasons rather than one: your expiration date is a mandatory face element by statute, and your commission number is a mandatory face element by rule, and Washington issues a new number with the new commission. The Department says it plainly, instructing renewing notaries to purchase a new stamp because seals carry the expiration date. Then there is the timing rule unique to Washington, and it is a violation waiting to happen: the stamp “used at the time that a notarial act is performed must be the seal or stamp evidencing the notary public’s commission in effect as of such time, even if the notary public has received the seal or stamp evidencing his or her next commission.” You will legitimately hold two stamps at once. Reach for the new one a day early and you have breached the statute.
Both go to the Department of Licensing on its forms, and no numeric deadline exists in either the statute or the rules. A name change must be accompanied by a “bond rider from the bonding company amending the notary bond” and the prescribed fee, and produces a duplicate certificate showing the new name. An address change is free and no new certificate is issued. The seal rule during a name change is explicit and it is the part people get wrong: you “shall continue to use their original notary stamp or seal and their original name and signature until they receive a new commission certificate and seal or stamp with the new information.”
What do I do if my Washington notary stamp is lost or stolen?
The statute says notify the Department promptly, and then the rule supplies the hard number: within ten business days, in writing, of discovering the seal was lost or stolen. Three consequences follow, and they are the tightest of the three states here. You “may not obtain a replacement” seal until you have properly notified the Department. The replacement “must contain some variance from the original”, so it is not a like-for-like reorder. And if the original turns up after you have the replacement, “the original seal or stamp shall be destroyed.”
How do I dispose of an expired Washington notary stamp?
On resignation, revocation, expiration of the commission, or “the expiration of the date set forth in the stamping device”, you must “disable the stamping device by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing, or securing it against use in a manner that renders it unusable.” On death or adjudication of incompetency the personal representative, guardian or “any other person knowingly in possession” does the same. Between times, the statute says the stamp “should be kept in a locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the notary public.” One rule worth knowing if you notarize at work: the stamp is “the exclusive property of the notary public, and shall not be surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment, regardless of whether the employer paid for the seal”. The same applies to your journal.
More on retiring an old device in how to dispose of an expired notary stamp.
Can I notarize electronically or remotely in Washington?
Electronic records notary public is a separate commission, which the director may issue as an endorsement on your existing one, and you must already hold a notary commission to apply. The electronic stamp is not a different design: by rule it “shall conform to RCW 42.45.150 and WAC 308-30-070” and must be “a digital image that appears in the likeness or representation of a traditional physical notary public official stamp”, commission number included. For remote acts you must hold the electronic records commission, be located in Washington, notify the director before your first act and identify the technologies, and the certificate must indicate that “This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.” Recordings are kept at least ten years. Washington is also a full journal state, unlike Nebraska and West Virginia: you must “maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts”, keep it ten years after the last entry, tell the Department where it is if you resign or are revoked, report a lost or stolen journal promptly, and at the end of ten years destroy a paper journal “by shredding” or by other means that leave every entry illegible.
If you need your seal as an image file for electronic work, see electronic notary seal images.
Who is allowed to sell you a Washington notary seal?
Washington is the one state in this group with a restriction that binds the seller, so build the extra step into your timeline. The statute opens with it: “It is unlawful for any person intentionally to manufacture, give, sell, procure, or possess a seal or stamp evidencing the current appointment of a person as a notary public until the director has issued a notary commission.” The rule puts the matching duty on you: a notary “shall procure an official seal or stamp only after receiving a certificate evidencing the notary public’s commission from the department, and shall provide a copy of this certificate to their chosen seal or stamp vendor as part of procuring the stamp.” Have your Department of Licensing commission certificate to hand when you order. Seals held under commissions effective 1 July 2018 are grandfathered; anything procured since must meet the current rule.
Related Washington guides
- Top Picks for Your Notary Kit for Washington Starter
- Learn About The Use Of A Washington Notary Public Stamp & Seal
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 contact us and we will check your wording against the statute before we make it.
Frequently asked questions about Washington notary seals
Is a notary stamp required in Washington?
Yes for paper records, and the mandate is in the certificate section rather than the section describing the stamp.
What size must a Washington notary stamp be?
The sizes are minimums. A circular stamp must be at least one and five-eighths inches in diameter; a rectangular one at least one inch wide by one and five-eighths inches long. There is no maximum. Most published summaries state these as exact specs or as ceilings, and both readings are wrong.
What has to appear on a Washington notary stamp?
The words “notary public”, the words “state of Washington”, your name as commissioned, your commission expiration date, and your commission number.
Is the commission number required by statute in Washington?
No, by regulation. The statute lists four elements and then delegates to the director for anything further; the commission number requirement comes from the administrative rule under that delegation. The distinction does not change what you order, but it matters if someone tells you the statute does not mention it. They are right, and the stamp still needs it.
What ink color does Washington require?
None. Searching the notary chapter and the rules for black and for color returns nothing in either. The requirement that applies is about the imprint's quality rather than its hue.
Do I need a new stamp when my Washington commission is renewed?
Yes, because your expiration date and commission number are both on it. Note that a Washington commission runs four years or ends when your assurance expires, if that comes first, so check the actual end date rather than assuming four years.
Do I need to show my commission to buy a Washington stamp?
Yes. Washington restricts the seller, so build that step into your timeline rather than expecting to order blind.
Who commissions notaries in Washington?
The Department of Licensing, not the Secretary of State. That trips up people arriving from other states and looking in the wrong place for forms.
