Date stamp

A date stamp records when something happened. The failure mode of the physical kind is famous: the dial shows whatever it was last set to, so a stamp applied on Tuesday reads Friday because nobody turned the wheel. A digital date stamp can take the date from the device at the moment the file is produced, which removes the dial and the error with it.

Open the stamp maker

Templates you can start from

Date stamp: date stamp template — date stamp

Date stamp: date circle stamp template — date circle stamp

Date stamp: name date block template — name date block

Date stamp: received stamp template — received stamp

Date stamp: signature and date stamp template — signature and date stamp

Date stamp: registered stamp template — registered stamp

How to make it

Pick a rectangular or round outline. Both are conventional.
Add a date placeholder where the date belongs.
Add a label above it: RECEIVED, PAID, POSTED, whatever it records.
The placeholder resolves to the real date when you download.

What you get

A date that fills itself in at download
Date, or date and time for a mailroom
A label line above and a ruled line below
Round dial styles and plain rectangular blocks

What a date on a stamp is actually claiming

That the event happened on that day, which is why the wrong date is not a cosmetic error. A received stamp is evidence of when a document arrived, and in a dispute about a deadline it is the only evidence either side has. That is the argument for a date that comes from a clock rather than a dial somebody has to remember to turn, and it is the whole reason this field exists.

Questions

Can I set a date other than today?

Yes, by typing it as ordinary text instead of using the placeholder. The placeholder exists for the common case where the date is the day of use; a backdated stamp is a decision you should be making deliberately.

What date format does it use?

It follows the format of the language the page is in, so it does not produce a US ordering on a page read in Europe. The ambiguity between 03/04 and 04/03 is a real source of disputes about deadlines.

Estamplab is a design tool. This page describes common commercial practice rather than giving legal advice, and practice changes. Where a specific document matters, check the requirement with the body receiving it. Only produce a mark your own organisation or your own credentials are entitled to use.