Georgia Notary Stamps – Yes! Required

Current through the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly, Ga. Code Ann. § 45-17-6 requires all notaries public apply an official seal of his or her office to authenticate a notarial act . Do so using either a stamp or embosser. While the seal embosser may be used in tandem with a stamp or by itself, use of an inked seal alone is sufficient.

Your official Georgia notary public seal of office will include at minimum your name, the words “Notary Public”, state, and county of residence. The “State at Large” distinction for Georgia has been eliminated. You can maintain the “State at Large” distinction if qualified before 1985.

It is also common practice to include your commission expiration date, although this is not required in current statute. A House Bill that would have made additional information including commission number and expiration date required did not pass the approval phase during 2018. (Find it under 45-17-18).

Specifications regarding shape and dimensions are left open. No determination has been yet made on photographic reproducibility. Both round and rectangular models are accepted. Use personal preference in combination with best practice as the aforementioned proposed legislation attempts to define these characteristics, while other states you plan to do business in may already have them defined. Contact an appropriate vendor.