Louisiana does not require a notary seal, so any stamp you buy is a convenience rather than a legal duty. What the statute wants beside your signature is your name and the notary identification number the state assigned you. No design, size or ink color is prescribed. This page covers what belongs on a Louisiana stamp and the duty that follows a move.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against La. R.S. 35:12(B) and the Secretary of State's Notary Division. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | No. A seal is not a condition of a Louisiana notarial act. | Secretary of State's Notary Division |
| Identifying details | Your name, and the notary identification number the secretary of state assigned you. | La. R.S. 35:12(B) |
| How those details may be applied | Typed, legibly printed, or stamped. | La. R.S. 35:12(B) |
| Attorney notaries | An attorney licensed in Louisiana may give a bar roll number instead of a notary identification number. | La. R.S. 35:12(B) |
| Prescribed wording for a seal | None. Nothing is laid down, because no seal is called for in the first place. | La. R.S. 35:12(B) |
| Size and shape | Neither is set by rule. The text goes a step further and disclaims it: "you are not required to have a particular style of seal." | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Ink color | Not addressed. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Embosser | Permitted and entirely optional, as every other style is, since the choice is left to you. | Secretary of State's Notary Division |
| Commission term | None. Louisiana sets no term. | Secretary of State's Notary Division |
| Change of address | Tell the Secretary of State within sixty days whenever your residential address, mailing address or both change. | Secretary of State's Notary Division |
To compare Louisiana with every other jurisdiction, see our table of notary seal requirements by state.
Is a notary seal mandatory in Louisiana?
No. Louisiana asks for no seal at all, which puts it in a small group of states where the device is bought for speed and consistency rather than to satisfy a rule.
That changes what an order is for. You are not matching a prescribed design, you are building a block that puts the two details the statute names onto the page in one motion. A closer look at the Louisiana seal guidelines is worth reading before you commit to a layout.
What does the statute want beside your signature?
Two items. Your name, and the notary identification number the secretary of state assigned you. Those are what La. R.S. 35:12(B) fixes, and they are the reason most Louisiana notaries end up owning a stamp.
The statute also settles how they may reach the page. Typed, legibly printed, or stamped are all acceptable, so the rule treats a stamped block and a typed line as equals. Legibility is the standard the wording sets, and it is the standard a device has to meet.
Because the identification number carries the weight here, check it against your own paperwork before you approve artwork. A transposed digit on a stamp survives far longer than a transposed digit in a typed block, since nobody retypes a stamp.
What if you are an attorney who notarizes?
An attorney licensed in Louisiana may put a bar roll number where the notary identification number would otherwise go. That is an alternative rather than an addition, so one number does the job.
Decide which number the device will carry before it is made. A block holding both invites a question at the counter that neither number on its own would raise.
Does Louisiana set a size, a shape or a design?
No. Size and shape go unaddressed, and the point is expressly disclaimed rather than simply left open: "you are not required to have a particular style of seal." No diameter, rectangle, border or legend is prescribed.
What follows for a buyer is that layout is a practical decision, not a compliance one. Size the block so the name and number stay readable on the documents you actually notarize, and keep the number on its own line where a clerk can find it quickly. A sample Louisiana stamp layout shows one workable arrangement of those lines.
Which ink color does Louisiana call for?
None is stated. Ink color is not addressed in the cited rules, so no color is mandated and none is forbidden.
Dark ink is still the sensible default, because the documents a notary touches get copied, scanned and recorded. That is a durability argument rather than a legal one, and it is the only argument available here.
Is an embosser allowed?
Yes, and it is entirely optional. An embosser is permitted in the same way every other style is permitted, since the choice of device is left to you.
Weigh it against the job the statute actually sets. The two required details have to be legible on the page, and an uninked raised impression is a weaker way of delivering text than an inked one. Owning both is not prohibited.
Does a Louisiana commission expire?
There is no term. Louisiana sets no expiration on the commission itself, which removes the reprint cycle that drives reorders in most other states.
The practical effect on your stamp is that no expiration date belongs on it, and nothing on the face goes stale on a schedule. What renewal does and does not mean for a Louisiana stamp covers the question notaries moving in from other states ask first.
What has to be reported when you move?
File written notice with the Secretary of State no later than sixty days after a change to your residential address, your mailing address or both. Anyone who holds a notary identification number assigned by the state has this duty.
Nothing in that duty touches the stamp, because no address is required on the face. Keep the two jobs separate: the notice goes to the state, and the device only changes if you chose to print an address on it yourself.
Who commissions a Louisiana notary?
The Governor appoints, with the Senate giving advice and consent. The Secretary of State's Notary Division administers the statewide examination, processes commissioning paperwork, maintains the notary database, receives the annual report and holds remote notarization authority. As of February 1, 2026, the $50,000 bond is filed with the Secretary of State as well (La. R.S. 35:71, as amended by Acts 2025, No. 258), and approval by a parish clerk of court has ended.
That matters when you are chasing a number or a record: the Governor commissions you, and the Secretary of State holds your file. How the stamp rules sit inside Louisiana notary law puts those pieces in order.
What should a Louisiana stamp actually say?
Build it around the two items the statute names and stop there. Your name on one line, your notary identification number on another, both set large enough to stay legible after a document is copied.
Anything beyond that is a convenience you are choosing, not a rule you are meeting, so add it only if it helps the people who read your documents. The Louisiana stamp requirements written out in order is a useful cross check against whatever proof a supplier sends you.
How do you test the imprint before using it?
Stamp a clean sheet, read the number aloud against your commission paperwork, then photocopy the sheet and read it again. Numbers are what fail this test, since a filled in 8 or a broken 3 is invisible on the original and obvious on the copy.
Check the block against the space you have. Louisiana documents often leave a narrow band under the signature line, and a device sized for that band is worth more than one sized for a blank page. A plain summary of the Louisiana seal requirements is a good final read before you order.
Frequently asked questions
If no seal is required, why do Louisiana notaries buy one?
Because the statute still wants your name and your notary identification number on the page, legibly. A stamp puts both down the same way every time, which is faster and steadier than writing or typing them.
Does the stamp have to show a commission expiration date?
No. Louisiana has no term, which means no expiration date goes on the face and nothing on it goes out of date.
What do the rules say about a lost or stolen stamp?
Nothing. A lost or stolen device is not addressed in the cited rules, so no reporting step is prescribed. Replacing it is a purchasing decision rather than a compliance one.
Can a Louisiana notary use a round seal?
Yes. Because "you are not required to have a particular style of seal," no shape is required or banned. You may choose round, rectangular or oval.
Does the parish belong on the stamp?
The cited rule names only your name and your identification number, so a parish line is not required. Adding one is your choice.
Can an attorney notary print both numbers?
The statute offers the bar roll number as a substitute for the notary identification number rather than as an extra line. Pick one and let the device carry it cleanly.
Decide on your two lines, confirm the number against your paperwork, and order from our Louisiana notary stamps and seals in the size that suits the documents you sign most often.
