North Carolina requires a commissioned notary to use an official seal, and the statute fixes the four lines that go on it. Those are your commissioned name, the words Notary Public, the commissioning county with County or Co. attached, and the state written as North Carolina, N.C. or NC. Round and rectangular dies are both allowed, each with its own size cap. This page walks through each rule.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against G.S. 10B-37(b) and The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal mandate | Yes. A commissioned North Carolina notary uses an official seal. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Wording on the die | Four lines: the state as North Carolina, N.C. or NC; the commissioning county, carrying County or Co.; the words Notary Public; the name exactly as commissioned. | G.S. 10B-37(b) |
| Round die size | A circular die measures 1.5 to 2 inches across. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Rectangular die size | A rectangular die is capped at 1 inch high by 2.5 inches long. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Embosser | Not settled either way in the rules read here. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Ink | No color is specified, and no photographic-reproduction standard applies. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Lost or stolen die | Ten days from the point you find it missing to give written notice to the Secretary and to the register of deeds, signed in the name on your commission, with law enforcement told as well where theft or vandalism is involved. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Recommission | A notary recommissioned inside three months keeps the old seal rather than surrendering it, and no new seal is called for while the information on the die still matches. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Change of name or address | The Secretary has to be told within 45 days. | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
| Who commissions | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State | The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |
North Carolina is one row in our notary seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side.
Does North Carolina require a notary seal at all?
Yes. A commissioned notary in this state uses an official seal, and the statute controls both the wording it carries and how large the die may be. The device is the piece of your commission that a stamp maker has to reproduce exactly.
Because the wording is statutory rather than stylistic, artwork built from a generic national template rarely lines up. A die ordered from a template is where most reorders start. For a plain reading of the same ground, see North Carolina stamp requirements in plain terms.
Which four lines belong on a North Carolina notary seal?
Four, and the statute names them: the state written as North Carolina, N.C. or NC; the county you were commissioned in, shown with County or Co.; the words Notary Public; and your name exactly as it reads on the commission.
- State: North Carolina, N.C. or NC. Any of the three satisfies the line.
- County of commissioning: the word County or the abbreviation Co. travels with the county name.
- Notary Public: the title appears in full.
- Your name: exactly as commissioned, letter for letter.
Copy the name line off the commission document itself instead of typing it from memory, since a middle initial that appears on the commission but not on the die is a mismatch. A fuller treatment of the same wording sits in our breakdown of North Carolina seal wording.
How big can the seal be, and does shape matter?
Both shapes are on the table. A round die measures 1.5 to 2 inches across. A rectangular die may be no taller than 1 inch and no longer than 2.5 inches. Nothing in these rules favors one shape over the other.
Shape is therefore a working decision rather than a legal one. A rectangular impression fits the narrow band left under a printed certificate block; a round impression sits better in open margin space. If you are weighing formats and accessories together, our notes on what to check when buying North Carolina notary supplies cover the trade-offs.
Does North Carolina set an ink color?
No color is specified, and the state sets no photographic-reproduction standard either. That combination is unusual, and it means there is no stated color test for your impression to fail.
The practical standard is still legibility on a copy. Choose an ink that stays sharp after a page runs through a scanner.
Can an embosser stand in for the inked stamp?
The point is not settled either way. Nothing read for this page states that an embosser alone meets the seal requirement, and nothing states that it fails, which leaves the question open rather than answered.
Given that silence, an inked impression is the safer working device, because it leaves a mark that photographs and copies. An embosser used alongside it adds a raised impression without putting the readable mark at risk. Our roundup of North Carolina notary supply options compares the formats side by side.
Does a recommission mean buying a new seal?
Not on its own. A notary recommissioned within three months does not surrender the old seal, and no new seal is called for so long as the information carried on the die still matches. A changed line is what forces new artwork.
Run the check before you reorder: name, county, the title line and the state abbreviation. If all four still read true, the die you own still reads true. More on timing sits in our guide to renewing a North Carolina notary stamp.
What are the deadlines if the seal is lost or stolen?
Ten days from the point you find it missing. Inside that window, written notice goes to the Secretary and to the register of deeds, signed in the name on your commission.
Law enforcement is told as well where the seal was stolen or vandalized rather than simply mislaid. Treat the ten days as running from the moment you notice, not from the loss itself, and order the replacement in the same stretch so the gap in your work is short.
What do you file after a name or address change?
The Secretary is notified within 45 days. That deadline covers a change of name and a change of address alike, so a move triggers the same clock as a marriage or a legal name change.
A name change also reaches the die, since the seal shows the name exactly as commissioned. An address change does not, because the address never appears on the artwork in the first place.
What do you need in front of you before you order?
Your commission document, and nothing else. It carries the name spelling and the commissioning county, which are the two lines a stamp maker cannot guess, plus the state abbreviation you prefer out of the three the statute allows.
Decide the shape at the same time, since round and rectangular dies have different caps. The background on how these provisions fit together is in our overview of how North Carolina notary stamp law is built.
How do you check the first impression?
Press the die onto plain white paper before it touches a record. Read all four required lines back against the commission document, one at a time, and confirm that the county line shows County or Co.
Then copy that test sheet and read it again. An impression that is clear in person but muddy on a copy is a pad or pressure problem you want to find on scrap paper.
Who commissions notaries in North Carolina?
The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. Notaries here are commissioned rather than licensed, and the commission is the document your die has to match line for line.
That same office is where the change notices and the loss notices land, which is why the commission paperwork is worth keeping somewhere you can reach it quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1.5 inches a minimum or a target for a round die?
It is the floor of an allowed range. Any circular die from 1.5 inches up to 2 inches across meets the size rule, so the exact diameter inside that band is yours to choose.
May I use a rectangular seal instead of a round one?
Yes. The rectangular format is allowed on its own terms, capped at 1 inch high and 2.5 inches long. It is an alternative to the circular die, not a supplement to it.
Does the state ban any particular ink color?
No color is specified at all, and no photographic-reproduction standard applies. The only working constraint is whether the impression still reads after the page is copied.
If I am recommissioned five months later, does the three-month allowance help?
The allowance is written for a recommission inside three months, and the rules read here do not stretch it further. Outside that window you are back on the general requirement rather than the exception.
Does the 45-day notice apply to a move as well as a new name?
Yes. The same 45-day deadline covers a name change and an address change, and it runs to the Secretary in both cases.
Do the cited rules decide whether an embosser alone is enough?
No. They leave the question open in both directions, which is why an inked device remains the dependable choice and the embosser works best as a second impression.
Have your commission document open, confirm the name and county spellings against it, then order from our North Carolina stamps and seals collection.
