Pennsylvania Notary Stamp and Seal Requirements (2026): What It Must Show, How to Use It, and Who Owns It

Required

An official rubber stamp seal on all acts.

“(1) A notary public shall provide and keep an official seal, which shall be used to authenticate all the acts, instruments and attestations of the notary public. The seal must be a rubber stamp and must show clearly in the following order:”

Source: Pennsylvania RULONA, 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 (Act 73, as amended 11-2022)

What it shows, in order

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Notary Seal; your name and Notary Public; county; expiration date; commission number. The statute lets the Department add items; its equipment page lists the commission number as the sixth line.

“(i) The words “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” (ii) The words “Notary Seal.” (iii) The name as it appears on the commission of the notary public and the words “Notary Public.” (iv) The name of the county in which the notary public maintains an office. (v) The date the notary public’s commission expires. (vi) Any other information required by the department.”

Source: Pennsylvania RULONA, 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 (Act 73, as amended 11-2022)

“The notary commission number”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Size and border

Up to 1 inch high and 3½ inches wide, plain border.

“(2) The seal must have a maximum height of one inch and width of three and one-half inches, with a plain border.”

Source: Pennsylvania RULONA, 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 (Act 73, as amended 11-2022)

No abbreviations

Except name suffixes.

“Words and terms on the official stamp may not be abbreviated, except for name suffixes.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Placement

Prominent, near your signature, photographically reproducible.

“In performing a notarization, a notary public must ensure that the rubber stamp seal is stamped in a prominent place on the notarial certificate near the notary public's signature in such a manner as to be capable of photographic reproduction.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Embosser

Optional, and never instead of the stamp.

“Notaries may use an embosser in addition to the rubber stamp seal. However, the embosser is optional and may not replace the rubber stamp seal.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Your property, your responsibility

Nobody else may use it.

“The notary public's stamping device is the exclusive property of the notary public to whom it is issued. The notary public is responsible for the custody and control of the stamping device at all times and shall not permit the use of his/her seal by another person.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Lost or stolen

Notify the Department within 15 days.

“If a stamping device or journal is lost or stolen, the notary public shall notify the Department within 15 days of discovering the loss or theft.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

When the commission ends

Disable the stamp; don't mail it to the Department. The Department says not to send an old stamp unless your commission was suspended or revoked or you were told to.

“Upon resignation or on the expiration of the date set forth in the stamping device or on the death or adjudication of incompetency of a notary public, the notary public or the notary’s personal representative shall disable the stamping device by destroying, defacing, damaging, erasing or securing it against use in a manner which renders it unusable.”

Source: PA Department of State: Notary Public Equipment

Suspended or revoked

Surrender the stamping device to the Department.

“(2.1) An individual whose notary public commission has been suspended or revoked shall surrender possession of the stamping device to the department.”

Source: Pennsylvania RULONA, 57 Pa.C.S. Chapter 3 (Act 73, as amended 11-2022)