Company Stamps in Indonesia: Stempel, e-Meterai, and What's Actually Required
Indonesia is the jurisdiction where confusing two kinds of "stamp" costs real money. The company stamp (stempel perusahaan) and the meterai (duty stamp) look superficially related and could not be more legally different.
Stempel: expected everywhere, required nowhere
No provision of the Company Law (Law 40/2007) requires an Indonesian company to own or use a stempel. Legally, the company is bound by the signatures of its authorized directors. And yet the stempel is ubiquitous:
- banks expect it on account forms and instructions,
- invoices, receipts (kwitansi) and delivery notes are routinely stamped,
- government counters and tender paperwork often treat an unstamped document as incomplete,
- counterparties read the stamp as proof the document went through the company.
The typical design is a round or oval stamp in blue or violet ink: company name around the rim, "PT" / "CV" designation, and city or logo in the center. The corporate seal template matches the round layout; an oval variant takes seconds to switch in the online seal generator. Export a transparent PNG and the PDF stamping tool will place it on digital invoices cleanly — or digitize your existing physical stamp with the background remover.
Meterai: the stamp that actually has legal teeth
The meterai is a duty stamp — a tax instrument under the Stamp Duty Law (Law 10/2020), currently Rp 10,000, required on certain documents (agreements above value thresholds, statements intended as court evidence, and similar). Since 2021 it exists digitally as the e-meterai, purchased from the state provider and affixed electronically.
Key point: the meterai does not make a contract valid or invalid — an unstamped agreement is still a contract — but a document intended as evidence needs its duty paid, and courts will require it. This is a tax formality, not an execution formality. Your company stempel can't substitute for it, and no stamp generator can produce one; e-meterai comes only from the official channel.
Electronic signatures
The Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law recognizes electronic signatures, with certified e-signatures from registered Indonesian providers (PSrE) carrying the strongest evidentiary position. High-value or government-facing digital workflows increasingly expect the combination of certified e-signature plus e-meterai. A pasted stamp image is neither — it serves the same visual-convention role as the physical stempel. The distinction is unpacked in electronic seal vs. electronic signature.
FAQ
Is a company stamp legally required in Indonesia? No. Directors' signatures bind the company. The stempel is convention — but convention strong enough that every operating company has one.
Can I put our stempel image on digital invoices? Yes, that mirrors physical practice — use a transparent PNG so it overlays the document text; see adding a seal to a PDF or Word document.
Is the meterai the same as the company stamp? No. The meterai is a government-issued duty stamp (a tax payment); the stempel is your company's own mark. Documents for court use need the meterai regardless of how nicely they're stamped.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Verify current requirements with Indonesian counsel or the relevant authorities.