What to Do When the Seal or Stamp Is Illegible

"We cannot read the seal" is a rejection about reproduction, not about validity. The seal is almost always intact on the paper in your hand and has been lost somewhere between that paper and the person looking at it — in a scanner, a photocopier, a compression setting, or a one-sided copy of a two-sided page.

That is worth knowing, because the fix is usually free. Work out where the image died before you book anything.

Cause 1: an embossed seal that did not photograph

Many notarial and registry seals are embossed — pressed into the paper without ink. The impression is perfectly legible in the hand and almost invisible to a flatbed scanner, which flattens the shadow the eye relies on.

Fix: if the accepting authority is working from a scan, either send the original, or ask the notary whether the embossment can be inked or overstamped so it reproduces. Notaries encounter this constantly and generally have a standard answer. Do not ink an embossment yourself — adding anything to a sealed document after the act is an alteration.

Cause 2: the scan or photo is too poor

Grey-scale, low resolution, phone photograph at an angle, heavy JPEG compression, or a "scan to email" setting optimised for text.

Fix: rescan flat, in colour, at a high resolution, with the page square to the glass and no shadow across the seal. Send as PDF rather than as a photo. This alone resolves a large share of these rejections.

Cause 3: the seal is on a page that was not copied

Seals and signatures often sit on the reverse of the last page, on a cover sheet, or on a ribbon slip at the back. A copy of the "document" that stops at the text loses them.

Fix: copy every page and both sides of every page, including pages that look blank. Include any binding ribbon, eyelet or backing sheet in the image.

Cause 4: the impression itself is faint or smudged

A worn stamp, a low-ink pad, an embossment taken through too many sheets, or a seal placed over printed text so the two interfere.

Fix: this one needs a fresh act. Where the faint seal is the notary's, the notary can normally reissue a clean certificate over the same original, which is short work. Where the faint seal belongs to a registry or an institution, the document must be reissued by them.

Cause 5: the document was resized when copied

A page reduced to fit, or scaled on a photocopier, can shrink fine engraved detail below the point where it resolves. Security features and microtext go first.

Fix: copy at 100 per cent, on the same paper size as the original, with no "fit to page".

Cause 6: the authority cannot verify the seal, not read it

A different complaint wearing similar words. Here the seal is legible but the officer cannot confirm the person behind it is who they say they are. That is what the authentication chain exists for: an apostille from DFAT for a Hague Convention destination, or DFAT authentication followed by embassy legalisation for a non-member.

Fix: complete the chain. No amount of rescanning solves a verification problem.

Working out how far back to go

What went wrong	Restart from
Embossment did not reproduce	Nothing — send the original, or ask the notary about inking
Poor scan	Nothing — rescan in colour at high resolution
Seal page omitted	Nothing — recopy every page and both sides
Faint notarial seal	The notary — fresh certificate, original stands
Faint registry seal	The issuing body — reissue, full restart
Resized copy	Nothing — recopy at full size
Cannot verify, not cannot read	DFAT or the embassy — the seal is fine

Sending documents so this stops happening

If an authority accepts electronic copies, send colour PDFs made on a flatbed scanner, one file per document, every page, both sides, no compression. If they want originals, send the original rather than a copy of it and keep a certified copy for yourself.

Where the destination will be examining the document closely — a registration, a property matter, a court filing — assume the original will be wanted eventually and plan for it, rather than discovering it after two rounds of scans.

Frequently asked questions

Can the notary re-stamp the document I already have? Usually the notary issues a fresh certificate rather than adding a second impression to an existing one. Adding marks to a completed notarial document after the fact is what tamper evidence is designed to detect, so the clean answer is a new certificate.

Does a faint seal make the document invalid? Not in itself. The act was valid when performed. The problem is evidentiary — a seal that cannot be read cannot be relied on by someone who was not there.

Can I photograph the embossment at an angle so the shadow shows? It helps for informal purposes and sometimes satisfies an intake officer. It is not a substitute where the authority requires a proper reproduction or the original.

How can the receiving authority check the seal is genuine? Through the authentication chain, and through the registers maintained for that purpose in the issuing country. This is precisely why overseas documents go through DFAT rather than being accepted on their face.