Oregon requires an official stamp, and OAR 160-100-0100(1) fixes what goes on its face. The face carries your printed name, the words Official Stamp, the state seal of Oregon, the commission number after Commission No., and the expiration date with the month written out in full. Size, shape and ink color are left open. This page covers the wording, the punctuation, embossers, renewal and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against OAR 160-100-0100(1) and the Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp required | Yes. An Oregon notary uses an official stamp. | The Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division |
| State seal | The state seal of Oregon appears on the face. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Fixed heading | The words Official Stamp. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Your name | Your printed name. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Title and state | The words Notary Public together with the word Oregon. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Punctuation | Those two lines are punctuated the way your Certificate of Authorization sets them out. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Commission number | Commission No. followed by the number itself. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Expiration line | My Commission Expires, then the date, and the month is written out rather than abbreviated. | OAR 160-100-0100(1) |
| Size, shape and ink color | Not addressed. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Embosser | Allowed only as an addition to the official stamp, and the stamping device definition leaves out an ink-less embosser or crimper. | The Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division |
Not commissioned yet? Our guide to how to become a notary in Oregon covers who can apply, the fees and each application step.
Oregon is one row in our notary seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side.
Is an official stamp required of an Oregon notary?
Yes. The stamp is the device an Oregon notary uses to perform a notarial act, which is why the rule spends its detail on the face rather than on whether you need one.
That makes the wording the whole of the compliance question. Nothing about the shape of the die carries legal weight, while a single wrong line on the face does. The same ground is covered at length in the full list of Oregon notary stamp requirements.
Which lines does OAR 160-100-0100(1) put on the stamp?
Six elements in all. Two of them are fixed phrases, two identify you, one is the state seal itself, and one changes at the end of every term.
- Your printed name
- The words Notary Public and the word Oregon
- The words Official Stamp
- The state seal of Oregon
- Commission No., and then your commission number
- My Commission Expires, and then the expiration date
The state seal is the element that surprises people ordering for the first time, because most states ask for a title and a number and stop there. A walk through the Oregon notary public seal guidelines covers how those elements sit together.
Why does your Certificate of Authorization decide the punctuation?
Because the rule ties the Notary Public and Oregon lines to the way that certificate sets them out. Punctuation is not a house style question in Oregon, and a comma or a period in the wrong place is a departure from the rule.
Work from the certificate itself rather than from an example, including one published by a supplier. Copy the characters across exactly as they appear, and keep a copy of what you sent with your order so a later reprint reproduces the same lines.
What does the expiration line have to look like?
My Commission Expires, then the date, with the month written out rather than shortened to three letters. That one instruction is the most commonly missed item on an Oregon order.
Because the date is on the face, the stamp is tied to the term it was made for. Plan the reorder around the end of your term rather than around the day the old impression starts to look tired.
Does Oregon set a size, shape or ink color?
No. None of the three is addressed. The rule fixes what the stamp says and leaves the dimensions, the outline and the pad color to you, so an Oregon stamp is sized to hold six elements legibly in the space your documents leave.
Practical limits still apply. Six elements squeezed onto a small die pushes the commission number and the expiration date down to a size that copies poorly, and those are the two lines a recipient is most likely to read closely.
Can an Oregon notary use an embosser?
Only in addition to the official stamp. Oregon writes an ink-less embosser or crimper out of the stamping device definition entirely, so an embossed impression never stands in for the stamp on its own.
Used alongside the stamp, an embosser is a supplementary mark rather than a substitute. Order it as an extra if you want one, and keep the inked official stamp as the device that does the work of the rule.
Does a renewal mean a new stamp?
Yes. Terms run four years, and a new stamp comes with every renewal. Oregon achieves that structurally rather than by asking notaries to remember, since the expiration date printed on the face belongs to the term that is ending.
Treat the stamp as a four year item in your own planning, and order the replacement once the new commission details are in hand rather than before. Oregon notary stamp law in more detail sets out the cycle.
What if your stamp is lost or stolen?
Report it. The statute asks for prompt notice and the rule puts a figure on it at ten days, so work to the ten day figure rather than to the looser word.
Ten days is short enough that the report is a same week task. Note the date you noticed the loss, because the clock runs from that point rather than from whenever the device went missing.
Which changes must you report, and how quickly?
Six of them, and all on the same clock. A change to your legal name, your official signature, your public records address, your electronic notarization technology, your state of residency or your Oregon place of employment goes to the Secretary of State inside 30 days.
Two of those reach the stamp directly. A legal name change means the printed name on the face is no longer correct, so the notification and the reorder belong in the same week. Oregon notary seal requirements for a business setting covers the employment side.
What should you have in front of you before ordering?
Your Certificate of Authorization, and nothing else. It holds the printed name, the punctuation of the title and state lines, the commission number and the expiration date, which together are every piece of copy on the stamp.
Read the month on the expiration date before you submit the order, and write it in full. Supplies for the rest of the role are set out in this guide to Oregon notary supply, and a broader run through the Oregon notary requirements covers the commission itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can the month on the expiration line be abbreviated?
No. The rule asks for the month written out in full, so a three letter form on the die is a departure from it. Check the proof for that one word before approving anything else.
Does the electronic version of the stamp carry the state seal?
The elements set out at OAR 160-100-0100(1) are those listed above for the official stamp. Nothing beyond that list is addressed in the rules read here.
Is an Oregon stamp valid if the punctuation differs from the certificate?
The rule ties those lines to the certificate, so a difference is a defect on the face rather than a style choice. Order a corrected stamp rather than using one you know departs from the certificate.
Does Oregon require a particular ink color?
Not addressed for the stamp. No color is set in the rules read here, which leaves the pad to you as long as the impression comes out readable.
Do I keep the old stamp after a renewal?
The renewal brings a new stamp because the expiration date on the old face belongs to the term that has ended. The old device has no further use once the new one is in hand.
How fast does a lost stamp have to be reported?
Ten days is the figure to work to. The statute uses the word promptly and the rule sets the ten day period, so the shorter and more definite of the two is the safer target.
Your Certificate of Authorization holds every line the rule asks for, so have it open when you order an Oregon stamp from the Oregon stamps and seals collection.
