 | Mississippi Notary Handbook
403.01 Official Seal.
(1) A notary shall keep an official seal that is the exclusive property of the notary. The seal shall
not be possessed or used by any other person, nor surrendered to an employer upon termination
of employment.
(2) An image of the official seal shall be affixed by the notary on every paper document
notarized.
(3) An image of the seal shall be affixed only at the time the notarial act is performed.
(4) When not in use, the seal shall be kept secure and accessible only to the notary.
(5) Within 10 days after the seal of a notary is stolen, after informing the appropriate law enforcement agency, or lost, the notary shall notify the Secretary of State by submitting an Application for Replacement Commission, SOS Form NP 006. The Notary shall also provide a copy or number of any pertinent police report. Upon receipt of such notice the Secretary of State shall issue to the notary a replacement commission with a new Notary Identification Number.
(6) As soon as reasonably practicable after resignation, revocation, or expiration of a notary commission or death of the notary, the seal shall be destroyed or defaced so that it may not be misused.
Mississippi Notary Law
(1) Near the notary’s official signature on the notarial certificate of a paper document, the notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal that shall include the following elements:
(a) the notary’s name exactly as indicated on the commission (abbreviations beyond those already appearing on the commission are not permissible);
(b) the identification number of the notary’s commission;
(c) the words “Notary Public” and “State of Mississippi [insert county of residence] County”;
(d) the words “Commission expires [insert expiration date]”;
(e) a border in a circular shape with a diameter no less than one and one-half inches and no larger
than two and one-half inches, surrounding the required words.
(2) Illegible information within a seal impression may be typed or printed legibly by the notary adjacent to but not within the impression.
(3) An embossed seal impression that is not photographically reproducible may be used in addition to but not in lieu of the seal described in Subsection (1).
(4) The model seals contained in Section 902.07 of the Appendix of Forms meet the seal image requirements of Section 403.02(1). The model seals are merely examples of valid seal formats. Other seal formats that meet the requirements of Section 403.02(1) shall likewise be considered valid.
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