What the law requires, what it does not, and what offices commonly expect

1) The short legal answer: there is usually no nationwide “required paper size” for notarization

In the Philippines, notarization is governed primarily by the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice (A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC) and related Supreme Court issuances. These rules focus on personal appearance, identification, the proper notarial certificate, the notarial seal, and the notary’s register—not on prescribing a single, mandatory bond paper size for every notarized document.

Practical consequence: A document does not become “invalidly notarized” simply because it is printed on A4, Letter, Long, or Legal—as long as the notarial act and certificate comply with law and rules.

That said, paper size can still matter a lot because courts, government agencies, registries, and private institutions may reject documents that don’t match their filing standards. This is a “receiving office” issue more than a “notarization validity” issue.

2) Where paper size becomes “required”: the receiving office, not the notary rules

Even if notarization rules do not impose one size, the document may be intended for:

Court filing (affidavits, judicial affidavits, pleadings with attachments)
Prosecution or police submissions (complaints, affidavits, sworn statements)
Government transactions (benefits claims, permits, licensing, immigration, procurement)
Registries / property and corporate filings (deeds, special powers of attorney, corporate instruments)
Foreign use (documents to be apostilled or authenticated and used abroad)

Each receiving body can set or prefer a paper size to standardize scanning, binding, archiving, and reproduction. If a document is printed on a non-preferred size, the office might require reprinting, re-signing, or re-notarization.

Key point: A notary public generally may notarize a document that meets notarial requirements even if it is not on the receiving office’s preferred paper size; the risk is later rejection by the office where it will be submitted.

3) Common paper sizes used in Philippine practice (and the usual naming confusion)

In everyday Philippine transactions, these are the most encountered sizes:

Common name in PH practice	Dimensions	Notes
A4	210 mm × 297 mm (8.27" × 11.69")	Often used for standardized forms, many offices and international documents
Letter	8.5" × 11"	Common in private offices; less common in government templates than A4
Long bond	8.5" × 13"	Widely used for affidavits and attachments in practice; sometimes mislabeled as “legal”
Legal	8.5" × 14"	Used in some legal documents and older templates

Why this matters: Some offices say “legal size” but actually mean 8.5" × 13" (long bond), while others mean 8.5" × 14" (legal). This mismatch is a common cause of rejected submissions.

4) If size isn’t mandated, what is strictly required for a valid notarization?

Paper size is usually flexible, but the following are not:

A) Personal appearance and competent identification

Notarization generally requires the signatory to personally appear before the notary public and be identified through competent evidence of identity (e.g., government-issued ID meeting rule requirements).

B) A proper notarial certificate

The notarial certificate (acknowledgment, jurat, etc.) must be correctly completed and must truthfully state what occurred (personal appearance, identification, date, place/venue, and other required statements).

C) The notarial seal and signature of the notary

The notary must sign and affix the proper seal/stamp.

D) Entry in the notarial register

The notary must record the act in the notarial register, with the required particulars.

These elements—not paper size—determine the legal integrity of notarization.

5) Paper size issues that can indirectly affect notarization quality (and cause practical problems)

Even without a strict “size requirement,” size and layout can impact compliance and acceptance:

A) Insufficient space for the notarial certificate and seal

A document printed with tiny margins or cramped formatting can leave no clean space for the notarial stamp/seal, making the notarial details illegible or smudged. Illegible certificates create problems for verification and acceptance.

Best practice: Leave a clear area for:

Notarial certificate text
Notary signature
Seal/stamp (and, in many practices, an impression that is not clipped by margins)

B) Multi-page documents and page integrity

For documents with multiple pages, common compliance and fraud-prevention practices include:

Parties signing or initialing each page
Clear page numbering (“Page 1 of 5”)
The notarial certificate stating the number of pages of the instrument notarized

Size matters here because attachments printed in mixed sizes can look incomplete or easily substituted.

C) Attachments (“Annexes”) and mixed-size annex packs

If the main affidavit is long bond but annexes are A4 (or vice versa), some offices require all pages to be uniform for scanning/binding. The notarial certificate should be consistent with what is being notarized (and what is merely attached as supporting documents).

6) Can a notarized document be reformatted to a different paper size after notarization?

This is one of the most important practical consequences of paper-size mistakes.

A) Reprinting changes the document you notarized

Notarization is tied to the specific instrument executed in the notary’s presence. Reformatting can:

Change pagination
Move paragraphs across pages
Alter spacing or line breaks
Create ambiguity about whether it is the same document

If the receiving office requires a different paper size and the document must be reformatted, the safest and most common route is re-execution and re-notarization—meaning the signatories appear again and sign again on the correctly formatted document.

B) Cutting and transferring signature pages is a serious red flag

Physically transferring signature blocks/pages between versions undermines integrity and can create exposure to:

Rejection by receiving agencies
Questions on authenticity
Potential administrative liability for the notary if it appears the notary certified something not executed before them

Practical rule: If the paper size requirement changes the printed output in any material way, treat it as a new document that must be signed again and notarized again.

7) Single-sided vs double-sided printing: not a universal legal ban, but often discouraged

Notarial rules generally do not impose a universal requirement that documents be single-sided, but many receiving offices prefer single-sided because:

Seals/embossing can show through
Scanning and pagination become complicated
There is higher risk of missing pages in reproduction

For documents to be filed with courts or registries, single-sided printing is often the safer standard unless the receiving office expressly accepts duplex pages.

8) Special document types where paper size expectations are common (even if not “notarial law”)

A) Affidavits (jurat)

Affidavits are among the most common notarized documents. In practice, some institutions insist affidavits be on:

A4, or
Long bond / Legal, depending on the office

Paper size often affects:

Where the jurat block is placed
Availability of space for ID details and thumbmarks (if used in practice)
Uniformity with office templates

B) Special Power of Attorney, Deeds, Contracts (acknowledgment)

For instruments that may be submitted to registries, banks, or government offices, paper size is frequently dictated by:

The entity’s internal template
Scanning and archiving standards
Compatibility with standard attachments (IDs, specimen signatures, exhibits)

C) Documents for foreign use (apostille/authentication)

Foreign-facing documents are often printed on A4 to match international defaults, but the core notarial requirement remains: proper certificate, seal, and compliance with personal appearance and identification.

9) The notary’s own record-keeping and paper

Notaries must maintain a notarial register and comply with rules on recording notarial acts. The rules emphasize the content and integrity of entries and safeguarding records. Paper size can matter operationally because:

Notaries may keep document copies (where required or as best practice)
Poor paper quality or cramped layout can make seals/stamps unclear
Uniform sizing can help prevent loss or misfiling

But again, the legal requirement is proper recording and safekeeping, not a specific bond paper size.

10) Practical standards: how to choose the “right” paper size

Since “paper size requirements” are usually imposed by the destination (court/agency/company), the safest approach is:

Follow the receiving office’s written template or checklist (if any).
If none is provided, default to the size most commonly accepted for that transaction:
- Many standardized forms: A4
- Some affidavit-heavy transactions: Long bond (8.5" × 13") is frequently used in practice
Keep formatting conservative:
- Clear margins
- Legible font size
- Space for notarial certificate and seal
- Consistent pagination
Avoid post-notarization reformatting that changes pagination or layout.

11) Key takeaways

Philippine notarization rules generally do not impose a single mandatory paper size.
Paper size becomes “required” mainly because the receiving office requires it, not because notarization law requires it.
The legally critical parts are personal appearance, proper identification, correct notarial certificate, notarial seal, and proper register entry.
Choosing the wrong paper size can cause rejection and may force re-execution and re-notarization, especially if reformatting changes pagination or layout.
For reliability, use a size aligned with the destination office (often A4 or Long bond in Philippine practice) and preserve ample space for the notarial certificate and seal.