Electronic notary seal providers, compared
For a remote notary who needs the image of their stamp on an electronic certificate: who sells an electronic seal file, which RON platforms make the seal for you and which ask you to upload your own, and how the seal rides on your digital certificate. Every cell comes from the seller's or platform's own pages, or your state's own rule. The certificate and the journal are compared under journals, records and e-seals.
Table last checked
Best if one platform supplies everything
Proof issues each notary an electronic seal with its own digital certificate, so there is nothing to buy, but its FAQ says it takes no seal bought elsewhere.
Best for one seal file on several platforms
It sells a PNG seal made to your state's format, for the platforms that ask you to upload an image of your seal.
Best if you need a file other than PNG
It emails a seal as JPG, PNG, TIF or PDF, which covers the Texas application's formats; the certificate is sold separately.
Fig. 1Where your electronic seal comes from
An electronic seal is the image of your stamp that sits on a remote notarial certificate. It reaches you one of two ways, and which one you are on decides whether a seal seller matters to you at all.
The platform makes it
- The platform issues the seal with your account. Proof, for one, issues each notary an electronic seal and a digital certificate of its own.
- Nothing to buy and nothing to upload.
- The seal stays on that platform. Proof's FAQ says it takes no seal or certificate bought from another vendor.
Fits a notary who works on one platform and has no state filing that needs the seal image.
You buy a file and upload it
- A seller makes the image to your state's wording and shape and sends you the file.
- You upload it to each platform that takes one. OneNotary, for one, accepts PNG only.
- The same file can go to your state too: Texas asks for the seal image with the online commission application.
Fits a notary on two or more platforms, or in a state that wants the image on file.
The seal sellers, against the rule
Two sellers of electronic seal files could be read from their own pages on the date shown. The National Notary Association's site did not load for us that day, so it is not in the table; a short table beats an invented row. The rows are what a rule like Texas's asks of the seal, not what the sellers advertise. Certificate authorities do not make the image: SSL.com tells notaries to buy the e-seal separately.
| Seal seller | Seal made to your state's required wording and shape (Texas sets the words, a five-point star, the size and a milled border)Made to your state's seal rule | Delivered as an image file you can upload (Texas accepts BMP, JPEG, PNG or TIF)Delivered as an image file | Seal attaches together with your digital certificate, so later changes showAttaches with your certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Association of Notaries | Meets | Meets | Not stated |
| Engineer Seal Stamps | Meets | Meets | Not stated |
American Association of Notaries
A Houston notary supply company and insurance agency selling state e-notary seals, an e-notary journal, and E&O policies underwritten by CNA Surety companies.
A notary who wants the seal, journal and E&O policy from one supplier, set to one state.
- Seal made to your state's required wording and shape (Texas sets the words, a five-point star, the size and a milled border)
- Meets
- The vendor says its Texas e-notary seals comply with Texas notary law, round or rectangular; its other state pages (Florida, for one) say the same for their state.
- Delivered as an image file you can upload (Texas accepts BMP, JPEG, PNG or TIF)
- Meets
- Delivered as a downloadable PNG file.
- Seal attaches together with your digital certificate, so later changes show
- Not stated
- The vendor says the seal is for platforms that need an image of your seal; nothing on the certificate. Check with your platform.
Engineer Seal Stamps
A seal and stamp maker that sells electronic notary stamps state by state, sent as image files by email.
A notary whose platform or state application wants a file type other than PNG, such as TIF or JPEG.
- Seal made to your state's required wording and shape (Texas sets the words, a five-point star, the size and a milled border)
- Meets
- The vendor says its seals are guaranteed to meet your state's specifications and, for Texas, every Texas requirement for digital notary seals.
- Delivered as an image file you can upload (Texas accepts BMP, JPEG, PNG or TIF)
- Meets
- 300 DPI files in JPG, PNG, TIF and PDF (plus DXF and DWG), emailed within one business day.
- Seal attaches together with your digital certificate, so later changes show
- Not stated
- The vendor says the digital certificate for signing is sold separately; it does not say how the two attach.
Platforms that make the seal, and platforms that take yours
Before you buy a seal, find out whether your platform will use it. Some draw the seal themselves and refuse an outside one; others ask you to upload your own at sign-up. If you work on more than one, read using more than one RON platform.
| Platform | What the platform says about the seal |
|---|---|
| The platform makes the seal for you | |
| Proof | Issues each notary a free electronic seal with its Proof Digital Certificate; its title FAQ says it does not support seals bought from other vendors. read |
| You upload a seal you already have | |
| NotaryCam | Asks independent notaries to provide a RON notary seal; the file format is not described, check with the vendor. read |
| OneNotary | Its help centre says it accepts eNotary stamps in PNG format only, recommends a transparent background at 500 × 200 or 240 × 240 pixels, and wants no vendor logo on the stamp. read |
| OneSpan Notary | Its onboarding tutorial has the notary upload their notary seal in the My Account section; no file format is given. read |
Seal source not described on the pages we read: Docusign Notary, BlueNotary, NotaryLive, SIGNiX, PandaDoc Notary, Secured Signing, Notary Hub, Online Notary Center, OnlineNotary.us, ProNotary, Stavvy. Most of these describe the digital certificate but not where the seal image comes from, so ask each one whether it makes the seal or takes yours, and in which file format.
How the seal attaches to your certificate
The seal is the part a reader sees; the digital certificate is the part that proves nothing changed. On a remote act the two are applied together.
The seal image goes on the certificate
It sits on the notarial certificate beside your electronic signature and carries the details your ink stamp carries, worded and shaped the way your state's rule asks.
Your digital certificate signs the document
The certificate is the credential that signs. IdenTrust says you can add a seal you bought elsewhere to its certificate's signature appearance, so the image and the signature are applied in one step. Who issues certificates, and which platforms take yours, is in notary digital certificate providers, compared.
Any later change shows
The signature is bound to the whole file. BlueNotary puts it plainly: “Change even a single space or period, and the mathematical relationship breaks, revealing that alteration has occurred.” It adds that standard PDF viewers such as Adobe Acrobat display a warning.
The image alone proves nothing
A seal picture can be copied; the tamper evidence comes from the certificate. That is why Texas asks for both, attached through a third-party provider, and wants to hear when you change either one.
What your state asks the seal to show
A seal seller's promise that a file “complies” is only as good as its reading of your state's rule. Pick your state to see what the rule on file says, then hold the seller's proof against it. The wording rules in full are in electronic notary seal requirements.
Seal rule for Texas (TX)
Spells out the seal: its words, a five-point star, your name, ID number and expiration date.
A digital certificate issued by a third-party provider, using PKI technology and X.509 compliant, that makes any later change to the document evident; plus an electronic seal with 'Notary Public, State of Texas' around a five-point star, your name, notary ID number and commission expiration date.
Tex. Gov't Code § 406.109(d); 1 TAC §§ 87.4(b)(7)(B), 87.41(j)read
Ask the seller before you buy
- Is the seal made to this state's wording and shape, and will the seller redo it if the state rejects it?
- Which file types come with it, and does your platform take that type?
- Does the file carry your commission expiration date, so you know when a new one is due?
No seal or certificate rule was found in a primary source for Louisiana; check your state's current rule.
Before you buy a seal
How we compared
New to remote work? Start with how to become a remote online notary, then see what the rule asks of the platform itself in what state rules ask of a RON platform.
Questions notaries ask
Is an electronic notary seal the same as a digital certificate?
Can I make my own electronic seal image?
The Texas Secretary of State's page sets what the seal must show, its size, border and file formats, but does not say who may make it, and it recommends no provider. Check your own state's rule before you make one. A platform that makes its own seal, such as Proof, will not take one from elsewhere anyway.
Can I use one seal file on two RON platforms?
Which file format should my electronic seal be?
Whatever your state and platform both take. Texas accepts BMP, JPEG, PNG or TIF for the online commission application; OneNotary takes PNG only and recommends a transparent background. Ask the seller which file types come with the seal before you pay.
Do I need a new electronic seal when my commission renews?
Usually yes, because the seal shows your commission expiration date. Texas also requires you to keep a current seal and certificate and to give the Secretary of State updated information when you change either one.
Does a seal from a seller make my notarization tamper-evident?
No. A seal image can be copied. Tamper evidence comes from the digital certificate or the platform's tamper-evident technology, which binds the signature to the whole document so any later change shows.
Related
- Notary digital certificate providers, comparedWho issues X.509 certificates to notaries, how identity is checked before issue, and which platforms accept one you bring.
- Electronic notary seal requirementsWhat an electronic seal must contain, how it differs from the digital certificate, and how states have you register it.
- Electronic notary certificate wordingThe certificate wording states require for a remote act, read from the states' own forms.
- RON platforms for Texas notariesTexas keeps no approved list, so each platform is read against the Texas rule itself.
- Texas online notary requirementsThe Texas path: commission, digital certificate, electronic seal, online application and record keeping.