Ask a supplier in Mumbai, Lagos, Dubai, or Jakarta for a signed invoice and it will almost certainly come back with a company stamp beside the signature. In much of the world, an unstamped quotation, delivery note, or bank form looks incomplete, even where no law requires the stamp.
That raises practical questions. What exactly goes on a company stamp? Is it the same thing as a company seal? Should it be round or rectangular, and how big? This guide answers all of that, with a country-by-country snapshot of conventions and a step-by-step walkthrough for designing one in our free Stamp Studio.
Company Stamp vs Company Seal vs Common Seal
These three terms get used interchangeably, but they mean different things.
| Company stamp | Company seal | Common seal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An inked rubber or self-inking stamp (or its digital equivalent) | A round mark, usually embossed, identifying the company | The company’s official seal under company law, historically its “signature” |
| How it’s applied | Ink on paper, or a PNG on a PDF | Embosser crimp, or ink | Embossed or inked, often under board authority |
| Typical use | Invoices, receipts, delivery notes, letters, bank forms | Contracts, share certificates, corporate records | Deeds, share certificates, powers of attorney |
| Legally required? | Almost never | Rarely | Optional in the UK, India, Nigeria, and most common-law countries today |
In everyday business, the company stamp is the one you’ll actually use. It’s the practical, inked mark that shows a document was issued or approved by the business. The common seal is a formal legal instrument that many companies no longer keep at all. If you’re specifically after an embossed seal for an LLC or corporation, our official company seal guide and LLC seal vs rubber stamp comparison cover that side in detail.
What to Include: Legal Name, Registration No., Tax ID, Address
A good company stamp identifies the business precisely enough that a bank or customs officer can match it to official records. Here’s what typically goes on one, in rough order of importance.
1. Exact registered legal name (required)
Use the name exactly as it appears on your certificate of incorporation, including the suffix: Pvt. Ltd., Ltd, LLC, Inc., GmbH, FZE, PT, Corp. A trading name alone isn’t enough for formal documents. If you trade under a brand, you can add it as “trading as” or leave it for your letterhead.
2. Registration number (recommended)
The number your company registry assigned. It goes by different names:
- India: CIN (Corporate Identification Number, 21 characters) or LLPIN for LLPs
- Nigeria: RC number (CAC registration)
- Germany: HRB or HRA number, plus the registry court (Amtsgericht)
- UK: Company number (Companies House)
- Philippines: SEC registration number
- UAE: Trade licence number
- Indonesia: NIB (business identification number)
3. Tax ID (common on invoice stamps)
- India: GSTIN (15 characters)
- UAE: TRN (Tax Registration Number) for VAT-registered businesses
- EU / Germany: VAT ID (USt-IdNr., e.g. DE123456789)
- Nigeria / Philippines: TIN
- Indonesia: NPWP
Only add the tax ID if you’ll use the stamp on tax invoices. On a general-purpose stamp, it’s usually left off.
4. Registered or business address (common on rectangular stamps)
City and country at minimum. A full street address works on a rectangular stamp but rarely fits on a round one.
5. Signatory lines (for stamps used beside signatures)
The classic format in India, the Gulf, and much of Africa and Southeast Asia:
For ACME TRADING PVT. LTD.
(blank space for signature)
Authorised Signatory
Variants include Director, Partner, Proprietor, or Managing Director. The blank gap is where the signature goes, so leave enough room (about 10–12 mm) between the top and bottom lines.
What to leave off: phone numbers and emails on formal round stamps (they date quickly and crowd the design), logos with fine detail, and anything you wouldn’t want reproduced on every document you issue.
Round vs Rectangular vs Oval: Which Format for Which Document
| Format | Typical size | Fits | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round | 38–45 mm diameter (40 mm most common) | Name around the edge, city or reg. no. on an inner ring, logo or star in center | Contracts, bank forms, certificates, tenders, anything “official” |
| Rectangular | 58 × 22 mm (3–4 lines) or 70 × 25 mm (4–5 lines) | Name, address, reg. no., tax ID, phone | Invoices, delivery notes, letters, envelopes, receipts |
| Rectangular signatory | 50 × 30 mm or 60 × 40 mm | “For [Company]” + signature gap + “Authorised Signatory” | Cheques, purchase orders, approvals, bank documents |
| Oval | about 45 × 30 mm | Name on outer band, one or two center lines | Trade documents, export paperwork, a distinctive brand look |
Many businesses own two: a round stamp for formal approvals and a rectangular address stamp for day-to-day paperwork. If you’re only getting one, choose round for contract-heavy work and rectangular for invoice-heavy work.
Keep text readable. The smallest line should be at least about 2 mm cap height (roughly 7–8 pt). On a 40 mm round stamp, that means a company name of up to around 35–40 characters fits comfortably around the outer ring. Longer names need a 45 mm stamp or an abbreviation the registry accepts. Our stamp sizes guide converts mm to inches and pixels for exact export settings, and the stamp dimensions guide has full size charts.
Where Company Stamps Are Expected
Even where the law doesn’t require a stamp, these are the places where a missing one most often causes friction:
- Invoices and quotations. Common across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Customers’ accounts teams may reject an unstamped invoice.
- Tenders and bids. Government and corporate tenders often require every page of the bid to be signed and stamped.
- Trade and customs documents. Commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, and letters of credit frequently carry the exporter’s stamp.
- Bank forms. Account opening, mandate changes, and board resolutions submitted to banks often need a stamp beside each authorised signature.
- HR letters. Experience letters, salary certificates, and offer letters, especially when used for visa or loan applications.
- Delivery notes and receipts. A stamp confirms the business, not just an individual, received or dispatched goods.
For invoice workflows specifically, you can pair your company stamp with status stamps like APPROVED or PAID. Our invoice processing stamps guide shows how.
Country Conventions Snapshot
Conventions vary a lot. This is a practical overview, not legal advice. Check with your registry, bank, or accountant for anything formal.
| Country | Common format | Typical contents | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Round (38–40 mm) or rectangular signatory | “For [Name] Pvt. Ltd.” + “Authorised Signatory”; round stamps often add city | Common seal optional since the Companies (Amendment) Act 2015, but stamps are near-universal on invoices, bank forms, and HR letters. Add GSTIN on invoice stamps. |
| Nigeria | Round or rectangular | Company name, RC number, address | CAMA 2020 made the common seal optional; banks and agencies still widely expect a stamp. |
| UAE | Round or oval, often bilingual (English + Arabic) | Company name, trade licence no., city/emirate, sometimes TRN | Stamps are expected on most business and bank documents. |
| Philippines | Rectangular or round | Registered name, address, TIN, sometimes SEC no. | Often used alongside “Received” stamps on official documents. |
| Indonesia | Round (stempel perusahaan) | PT name, city, often a logo | Typically stamped partly over the signature, and over the meterai (duty stamp) where one is required. |
| Germany | Rectangular (Firmenstempel) | Firm name with legal form, address, often phone/web; HRB and USt-IdNr. optional | Not legally required. Rectangular address stamps are the norm; round stamps are rare outside public authorities. |
| China | Round, red, with a star in the center (company chop) | Full registered Chinese name | The official company chop is legally significant and must be made by a licensed engraver and registered with the police. A design tool can’t produce a valid one. |
Responsible use: Only create a stamp for a company you own or are authorised to represent. Reproducing another business’s stamp, or a registered chop, is forgery in virtually every jurisdiction.
Step-by-Step: Design a Company Stamp Online
- Pick a starting point. Open the Business & Corporate templates. The UK Registered Company Common Seal and Commercial Partnership Seal make good round company stamps, and the Executive Officer Endorsement Stamp is a ready-made rectangular signatory layout.
- Enter the exact legal name on the outer arc (round) or top line (rectangular), including the suffix.
- Add the identifiers you need: registration number on an inner arc or bottom line, tax ID if it’s an invoice stamp, and city or full address.
- Choose the center element for round stamps: a star, a simple icon, or your logo uploaded as an image layer. Keep it bold and simple so it survives being inked.
- Set the size. 40 mm for round stamps; 58 × 22 mm or 70 × 25 mm for rectangular ones.
- Choose an ink color. Blue and violet are most common for company stamps in South Asia and the Gulf, black in Europe, and red for Chinese-style chops. Pick one and use it consistently.
- Export. Download a transparent PNG for invoices and PDFs, or an SVG to send to a stamp maker. Both are free, with no watermarks.
To place the stamp on documents, use the PDF & Word Stamper: drop in the PNG, position it beside the signature, and download the stamped file, all in your browser.
Pro Tip: Print your design at 100% scale before ordering a physical stamp. A registration number that looks fine on screen can become unreadable once it’s on a 40 mm circle.
Final Thoughts
A good company stamp is accurate, readable, and fit for the documents it goes on. Use the exact registered name, add only the identifiers your counterparties actually check, pick round for formal approvals or rectangular for everyday paperwork, and keep every line at a size that survives ink.
Get those right, and your stamp does its job: it tells the reader, at a glance, that the document came from your business.
Create Your Company Stamp
👉 Launch the Free Company Stamp Generator: design a round, rectangular, or signatory company stamp with your legal name, registration number, and address. 100% free, no watermarks.
Or start from a ready-made Business & Corporate template and customize it in seconds.