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Stamp Design defined by Law?
I got to thinking about stamps/seals and their look or design.
In Oregon it is very specific, and they even give dimensions and tolerances on size. But I find the other state I work in, Washington, stamps can be VERY different. They all have George’s image in them, but they almost all look different. The information is all there but the images themselves look different. Even the ribbon or border around the outside is made up differently a LOT.
How many states have a defined design in state law or administrative rule for your LS Stamp or Seal.
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17 Replies
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I’m licensed in five states, all colonial. Each state is rather definitive in their requirement for seal size and appearance.
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From The Georgia Secretary of State’s website:
“The seal authorized by the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors for registrants may be of the crimp type and/or rubber stamp facsimile or may be computer generated. The seal design is to be circular in form, the diameter of the outer circle being 1 1/2 inches, and the diameter of the inner circle being one inch. The registration seal design will be furnished to each registrant as part of the licensure process.”
Andy
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Tennessee gives this image with a statement that it must be exactly two inches in diameter.
In practice, all follow the layout and size but some have more detailed artwork in the center, some have rectangles around the perimeter rather than dots, and other cosmetic differences.
Here’s my current seal:
and here’s the one I started with years ago.
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Most every company that makes seals for professionals has a template made for each state and will ask for your personal information to complete the image for them to create.
In addition to the stamp available, I ask Schwaab to make a regular size ink stamp and one that was 1.4″ diameter to fit in small places on letter and legal sized drawings.
The crimp seal does not hinder any drawing elements as it only leaves an impression in the paper and does not add ink to mask parts of the drawing.
I do know that in Texas it is against the law to design your own stamp that differs from the one they require.
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https://www.dol.wa.gov/business/engineerslandsurveyors/stampseal.html
It seems to me that the Washington DOL is pretty rigid when it comes to how our stamp should look. They to their credit though understand that size does not matter.
We went through a phase where our “expiration date” need to be on the stamp, which was needlessly confusing not to mention doomsday like. So when that rule changed some of us simply took our number 5 blade and carved the words out of our stamps. I use the resulting space for the date I sign the seal. This is probably why you see some seals different than others.
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The appearance of the Alaska stamp is defined but the size just needs to be legible (which is handy on 8.5×11 and 8.5×14 exhibits where you can easily read a stamp at around 1.25″).
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Washington does have a design, just the size can vary according to the DOL website. I do research in about 5 counties and the only difference I see is the older surveys have a circle around them instead of a “rope” . I would be interested to see how many different ones you’re seeing. Are they older surveys?
Land surveyors
Land surveyorHow to get your stamp or seal
It’s your responsibility to get your stamp or seal. Request your stamp or seal from a rubber stamp company, and make sure it contains all of the following:
- State of Washington
- Registered professional land surveyor
- Your license number
- Your name as shown on your wall certificate
Approved design
The approved designs for land surveyor stamps and seals is shown above. You may use it in any size, as long as the stamp or seal is fully legible.
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I was asked by a client to change my stamp to “half size” so it would fit in the title block of a set of plans. I sent an email to the board and was given a response that a half size stamp/seal would not be acceptable to the board…. now that might have been one person’s opinion that works at TBPLS, but I don’t change the size of mine because of that.
When I sent mine in for approval when I got licensed, I did not include a half size, so I can see their point.
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Plan sets with stamps and signature (copies of) printed at half size (11×17 instead of 22×34) are the norm around construction sites these days.
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I think this is like Washington. I have seen so many different ones there. Then Oregon is SO specific that they give a specific allowable tolerance in size (1/4″). Then again Oregon’s Seal is boring, and Washinton’s a lot more art involved.
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Then Oregon is SO specific that they give a specific allowable tolerance in size (1/4″). Then again Oregon’s Seal is boring, and Washington’s a lot more art involved.
I think it may have been touched on, but what I may be seeing is different era’s of seals. Being that I have worked for a few Washington Companies, I think I have noticed that each company had a slightly different seal for Washington PLS’s. It seems to me that the company in which someone worked for when they got licensed is what dictates the inconsistencies.
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Virginia should have rights to the image of George Washington on their surveyor’s seal: Washington should have to use either Kurt Cobain or the chick on the Starbucks logo.
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It’s a good idea to check with your board before you order. I’ve had 2 vendors send me images for approval that did not meet code.
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I can vouch for this. A vendor sent me a DC seal with the wrong wording “registered” instead of “licensed”.
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NJ also has required dimensions and language to appear on the seal.
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