Notarial Seal and Stamp

It is the responsibility of the notary to obtain and keep an official seal upon being commissioned.  The State does not provide the seal.  They may be purchased from most stationery, stamp, or office supply stores. 

Notarial Seal

Montana statute requires the notary’s seal to bear ONLY the following information; anything additional renders the image invalid as a Montana Notarial Seal:

• The Notary’s Name exactly as it appears on the Certificate of Commission
• The words, State of Montana
• The words, Notarial Seal or Notary Public

A currently commissioned Montana notary is grandfathered and may use either a crimper-type or an ink-type seal until the end of their current term. Once a notary has received a new Certificate of Commission, all renewing notaries must obtain the new style seal stamp.

After October 1, 2009, all notaries with a commission expiration date of October 1, 2013 or later are required to have an ink stamp unit, rectangular in shape and approximately 1” x 2 ½” in size, that contains a seal (as described above) and the additional statutorily mandated information: The notary’s printed name; the title, “Notary Public for the State of Montana”; the words, “Residing at” with the name of the city or town where the notary lives; and the notary’s commission expiration date, shown as Month/Day/Four Digit Year. The stamp may be either blue or black ink only.

The following is an illustration of the combination seal/stamp unit that is now mandated for Montana notaries whose commissions start October 1, 2009 or later:

All information as shown above must be included. The commission expiration date must be complete. It is not acceptable to “fill in” the year.

If any of the information contained in the seal/stamp changes during the notary’s term of office, the stamp must be replaced. Handwritten corrections are not allowed.

The rectangular border is a REQUIRED part of the stamp.