5.3 Seal and Stamp Requirements

The Official Seal of Office

Under HRS §456-4 and the administrative rules, every Hawaii notary must obtain an official rubber stamp seal and use it to authenticate every notarial act. The Notary Public Manual is precise about the physical specifications: the seal must be a rubber inked stamp that is circular, no larger than 2 inches in diameter, and bordered by a serrated or milled edge. The serrated/milled border is a genuine tested element — substituting a plain ring or a square stamp produces a defective seal.

The seal is what converts a private signature into an act bearing the State's authority, so its specifications and the rules around possessing and disabling it are heavily tested.

Required Engraving

Four elements must appear on every Hawaii seal. Memorize this exact set — missing or extra elements are a favorite distractor.

The impression should be clear and photocopiable (blue or black ink), applied after the act is complete, and never on a blank or partially completed document.

The One-Seal Rule

Hawaii permits a notary to possess only one rubber stamp seal at a time. There is no such thing as an authorized "backup" seal.

Filing the Impression with the Circuit Court

Before performing official acts, a newly commissioned notary files with the Circuit Court of their judicial circuit: (1) an impression of the seal and (2) a specimen of the official signature. This lets the court and the public authenticate a notary's work. A new filing is required whenever the notary gets a new commission, replaces the seal, or changes judicial circuits.

Security and Exclusive Use

The notary is personally responsible for the seal at all times.

• Never lend the seal — only the commissioned notary may use it.
• Store it securely (locked drawer or safe) when not in use.
• A lost or stolen seal should be reported and replaced; the old impression on file is treated as retired.

Surrender or Disable When the Commission Ends

When a commission ends by resignation, expiration without renewal, or revocation, the notary must, within 90 days, surrender the physical stamping device (and certificate) to the AG, or disable any electronic stamping device, and submit a declaration stating how it was disabled.

Acceptable methods to disable a seal: destroying it, defacing or erasing the stamp face, or damaging it so it can no longer produce a legible impression.

Seal-Related Administrative Fines

Why the Filing Step Exists

The Circuit Court filing of an impression and signature specimen is not bureaucratic busywork — it creates a public authentication baseline. When a county recorder, a bank, or a foreign government receives a Hawaii-notarized document, it can ultimately trace the seal and signature back to what the notary deposited with the court. That chain is why a new filing is mandatory after any change that alters the baseline: a new commission (new number on the seal), a replacement seal (new impression), or a move to a different judicial circuit (the authenticating court changes).

Skipping the re-filing leaves notarized documents un-authenticatable.

Worked Scenario: The Lost Seal

A notary's stamp is stolen from a bag. The wrong move is to keep working with a quietly purchased replacement. The correct sequence is: report the loss, obtain a new seal, and file the new impression with the Circuit Court so the prior impression on file is retired. If the original is later recovered, it must be disabled — destroyed, defaced, or erased — because possessing both would violate the one-seal rule and risk the $200 fine. Documenting the disablement in a declaration protects the notary if the old seal ever resurfaces on a fraudulent document.

Reading the Fine Schedule Strategically

The seal fines climb with the seriousness of the harm. A merely technical lapse — not maintaining a proper seal — is a small $20 fine. Possession of an extra seal or failure to surrender/disable a device after the commission ends are mid-tier $200 fines because they create fraud risk. The most serious, failure to authenticate an act with the proper seal, is $500, the same top tier as failing to authenticate with a proper certificate (Section 5.4). When a question stacks several seal violations, rank them by harm to pick the right dollar amount.

Common Traps

1. Choosing a size larger than 2 inches, dropping the serrated/milled edge border, or adding a state map — the seal is a circular rubber stamp no larger than 2" with a serrated/milled border carrying just the four text elements.
2. Thinking a backup seal is allowed — it is one seal only, $200 fine.
3. Forgetting the 90-day surrender/disable deadline when the commission ends.
4. Confusing the $200 possession fine with the $500 failure-to-authenticate fine.
5. Failing to re-file an impression after a circuit change or seal replacement.