Joel Schaefer (asker) Mar 17, 2017:

Johanna, would you like to post an answer? You were first to show me the right path, thank you.

phillee Mar 15, 2017:

Agree with Johanna and Robin All my contracts have the coat of arms of the federal state on the front.

Also makes sense because each state can have different ways of doing stuff.

RobinB Mar 13, 2017:

Bundesland coat of arms This is actually the coat of arms of the Bundesland in which the Notar has been appointed. I have a contract in front of me right now that's going to be notarized later this week (in Hesse). It starts with the Urkundenrolle Nr. (deed roll no.), and there is then a large coat of arms of Hesse, followed by the standard text.

So I really would say "Coat of arms of the Bundesland X" (whichever it is). See also what Johanna says. The German text is simply wrong.

Incidentally, a German Notar is a "civil law notary" (see Bundesnotarkammer for an explanation).

Jacek Kloskowski Mar 13, 2017:

FYI, I guess Landeswappen would be an official state emblem or coat of arms, like for example here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_and_coat_of_arms_of_Penns...

if the emblem is round, it is referred to as "seal" - examples:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state,_district,_...

Such emblems usually appear of the top of the official documents or forms.

Licensed state notaries (e.g. public notaries) have their own stamps (usually inked) or seals (usually embossed., which wouldn't show on the copied documents) that they use for stamping documents, usually at the bottom of the notarized documents, for example:

Inked stamp impression example:

http://www.mtrubberstamp.com/products/self-inking-minnesota-...

Embossed seal impression example:

http://www.thestampmaker.com/images/categories/notary-seal-e...

Johanna Timm, PhD Mar 13, 2017:

Beispiel https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/view/49919991/urkundenroll...
Hier sieht man das Landeswappen auf dem Deckblatt, oben Urkundenrolle usw.

Ich bin ziemlich sicher, dass es sich um den Platzhalter für ein Landeswappen handelt (das Notare ja nicht nur in ihrem Dienstsiegel, sondern auch auf ihrem Büroschild führen dürfen)
https://www.bnotk.de/Notar/Berufsrecht/DONot.php

Joel Schaefer (asker) Mar 12, 2017:

A Landeswappen would make sense... but it's not there. Instead it says Notarwappen.

Johanna Timm, PhD Mar 12, 2017:

Wappen on the first page of notaries' documents are usually Landeswappen i. e. of NRW, or Staatswappen(Bayern)=coat of arms; http://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Pdf/BayAVWpG?all=True
http://www.westfaelische-notarkammer.de/seiten/fach/kammerre...
(Siegel/seals are something else, i.e. what JackMark describes below)

AllegroTrans Mar 12, 2017:

It sounds like you are probably right.... but we cannot see this as it appears on your document!!