Company Seal Requirements by Country (2026)
Reviewed:
In most of the 12 jurisdictions below a company seal is no longer a legal requirement: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and the United States let authorised signatures bind a company. Seals still carry legal weight where they are registered — Japan and Korea for acts that demand a seal certificate, Thailand when the seal is written into the company's signing authority — and in mainland China and Taiwan the registered company seal remains how a company acts on paper. Vietnam leaves the seal to each company's own rules.
General information, not legal advice. Each row condenses a longer guide and shows when that guide was last reviewed; check current law or ask a local professional before relying on it.
| Jurisdiction | Seal legally required? | Registered with an authority? | In practice | E-signature law | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland ChinaFull guide → | Effectively yes Effectively yes — the official company seal (公章) is how a company acts on paper. | Yes — official seals are cut by licensed engravers and filed with the local public security bureau. | Company, contract, finance and invoice seals are all in daily use, and counterparties routinely expect a seal on contracts. | Electronic Signature Law (2004; amended 2015, 2019) — a reliable electronic signature has the same effect as a handwritten signature or seal. | |
| Hong KongFull guide → | No No — the common seal has been optional since Cap. 622 took effect in 2014. | No. | The company chop is still expected by banks and on most business paperwork. | Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Cap. 553). | |
| TaiwanFull guide → | Effectively yes Effectively yes — the company chop (大章) and representative chop (小章) are filed at registration and expected for banking, filings and contracts. | Yes — chop impressions are filed with the company registration and compared against the specimen. | Both chops together on formal documents; some routine documents accept the company chop alone. | Electronic Signatures Act, substantially revised in 2024. | |
| JapanFull guide → | Only for certain acts Only for specific acts — registered seals (jitsuin, and a company's representative seal) are required where a seal certificate is demanded. | Yes, for registered seals — personal jitsuin at the municipal office; a company's representative seal at the Legal Affairs Bureau. | Hanko use is being reduced in administrative and business processes, but registered seals remain for property, vehicles and major contracts. | Electronic Signature Act (2000) — a qualifying electronic signature can carry effect comparable to a handwritten signature or seal. | |
| South KoreaFull guide → | Only for certain acts Only for specific acts — a registered seal (인감) with its seal certificate is required for certain legal and financial transactions. | Yes, for registered seals — personal ingam at a local office; corporate seals (법인인감) with the court registry. | Companies keep a registered corporate seal plus an everyday use-seal (사용인감). | Digital Signature Act, fully revised in 2020. | |
| SingaporeFull guide → | No No — the common seal has been optional since the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017; deeds can be executed by signature. | No. | Banks and counterparties still often ask for a company stamp, usually showing the UEN. | Electronic Transactions Act. | |
| MalaysiaFull guide → | No No — optional under the Companies Act 2016; if a company adopts one, the Act regulates how it is affixed. | No. | Rubber stamps are expected on invoices, bank forms and government paperwork. | Electronic Commerce Act 2006; Digital Signature Act 1997 for licensed certificate-based signatures. | |
| ThailandFull guide → | Only for certain acts Not by the Civil and Commercial Code — but if the company's registered signing authority requires the seal, documents need it to be validly executed. | Yes — the seal specimen is filed with the Department of Business Development (DBD); a redesign is a registration event. | Most companies register a seal and write it into the signing authority. | Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544 (2001), amended 2019. | |
| VietnamFull guide → | Effectively yes Company's choice — since the 2020 Enterprise Law a company decides the form, number and use of its seals, but the red seal still runs banking, tax and contracts. | No — specimen notification to the authorities was removed by the 2020 law. | The round red seal remains standard on contracts and official documents. | Law on Electronic Transactions 2023, in force mid-2024. | |
| IndiaFull guide → | No No — the common seal has been optional since the Companies (Amendment) Act 2015; two authorised signatures replace it. | No. | Rubber stamps are a banking and government fixture. “Stamp duty” is a separate tax paid via stamp paper or e-stamping. | Information Technology Act 2000 — digital signature certificates (DSC) are mandatory for MCA and tax filings. | |
| IndonesiaFull guide → | No No — Law 40/2007 does not require a company stamp (stempel); directors' signatures bind the company. | No. | The stempel is ubiquitous. The meterai (Rp 10,000 duty stamp, also as e-meterai) is a tax instrument, not a company seal. | ITE Law — certified e-signatures from registered providers (PSrE) carry the strongest evidentiary position. | |
| United StatesFull guide → | No No — no state requires a corporation to adopt a seal; Delaware lists it as a power, not a duty. | No. | The embosser from the corporate kit is occasionally asked for on bank or real-estate paperwork; notary seals are a separate, state-regulated matter. | Federal E-SIGN Act and state Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. |
Sources by jurisdiction
- Mainland China
- Electronic Signature Law of the PRC (2004, amended 2015 and 2019)
- Public-security seal-engraving filing rules
- Hong Kong
- Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), in force 2014
- Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Cap. 553)
- Taiwan
- Company registration seal specimens
- Electronic Signatures Act (revised 2024)
- South Korea
- Digital Signature Act (fully revised 2020)
- Singapore
- Companies (Amendment) Act 2017
- Electronic Transactions Act
- Malaysia
- Companies Act 2016
- Electronic Commerce Act 2006
- Digital Signature Act 1997
- Thailand
- Civil and Commercial Code
- Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544 (2001), amended 2019
- Vietnam
- Law on Enterprises 2020 (in force 2021)
- Law on Electronic Transactions 2023 (in force 2024)
- India
- Companies (Amendment) Act 2015
- Information Technology Act 2000
- Indian Stamp Act (stamp duty — unrelated to company stamps)
- Indonesia
- Company Law (Law 40/2007)
- Stamp Duty Law (Law 10/2020) — e-meterai
- Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law
- United States
- Delaware General Corporation Law § 122(3)
- Model Business Corporation Act
- E-SIGN Act (federal) and Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (states)
How this table is maintained
Each row summarises one of our country guides and is dated by that guide's last review. “Seal legally required?” answers a narrow question — whether the law obliges a company to have or use a company seal — and bank or counterparty expectations are listed separately under “In practice”. Statutes are named rather than paraphrased; links point to official sources only where we have checked them.