Signing & Sealing

Each sheet should be signed and sealed. The front sheet should have an original seal and signature. If some sheets are not signed and sealed who is to say they have not been approved by the regulant?

In Va. all sheets are to signed and sealed and dated and so on....or they have to marked preliminary (state code).

Once is enough. It goes with your certification to the client. Imagine a set of highway construction plans with 487 sheets in the package with some poor engineer signing and stamping every page.

Holy....I agree. Once is enough.....for each sheet. Too many times revisions were made and not checked carefully enough or even seen by the lic. I think the effort to sign all 487 shets comes with the responsibility of the regulant to protect the public by announcing he has at least looked at things witnessed by his signature.

Who knows...I may be way wrong....but heck....got to hit the road. Will check in later to see what all the other folks think.

It's common practice here to sign every sheet. Engineers as well.

As long as there's language on each sheet indicating that it's part of a whole ("sheet two of seven" etc.) I think one seal & signature should suffice. I doubt the Registries of Deeds around here would agree, so I usually sign & seal each sheet if it's to be recorded.

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in NY and NJ, every page of highway plans IS stamped and sealed. The same for the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access and Number 7 Line extension, all of which have thousands of pages of plans and spec.

The 8 1/2 by 11 spec books, however, are generally only stamped and signed only in front.

There are many aspects of plans which are, in fact "stand-alone", and pieces of many projects can be built without other components. The Maine Turnpike as a good example, where all the bridges were widened, sometimes years before the lanes and ramps were built, yet the design was done all at once.

In fact, while a project may be designed for a specific length (i.e., we had the L.I.E. project for 10 miles), government budget restraints may require a large project to be built in pieces over the course of several budget allocations over a number of years. That project wound up being done in four separate contracts.

Check your board rules. Most states require that you sign and seal every page.

Here is a portion of the North Carolina Code on the subject.

21 NCAC 56 .1103 STANDARD CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

(7) Any revision on a drawing after a licensee's certification is affixed shall be described and dated and if not done under the responsible charge of the same licensee shall be separately certified.

Notice a5. I added the bold emphasis. The bottom line is the opinions expressed here mean little. The rules that govern the practice of surveying in your area are what count.

Larry P

The way the Florida statute is worded, only one signature and seal is required for a set. I understand what the others are saying about signing and sealing each sheet, however, our rules aren't as strict in that respect.

To me, one could make an argument that MTS does not require every sheet be signed and sealed, however, if the municipality has a code requiring it, then that should be reason enough to sign/seal each page.

It would make sense for Florida MTS to be updated to require each page be signed/sealed for the obvious reasons stated by others.

Personally, I'd have to add that even if my State did not require it on all sheets, I would still want to sign and seal each and every page. Why? Two reasons: 1.) To protect each page from being changed without my consent; and 2.) Simply for the sake of clarity.

Further, I had a statement next to my stamp that stated the map was not valid without my original signature. Sure, it's not totally foolproof, but it's a step in the right direction. It complicates matters a bit because any revision requires a new signature... but rightfully so, IMHO. I don't want any changes to something I've signed going out the door without the opportunity to review it first.

A lot of engineers and attorneys got ticked off at me for this policy, but I have to protect myself (and my company/employer, for that matter).

In Florida...

Unless it's changed, you only need to sign and seal one page. However, you must note that each sheet is a part of a set, and not complete without the other sheets.
That's how I've always done it. (Unless they ask me to sign and seal every page, which has happened at least once.)

Of course, you can also enter into a contract with more stringent requirements than MTS.

5J-17.051 General Survey, Map, and Report
Content Requirements
(1) Nothing in these rules shall preclude a surveyor and mapper from entering into a
contract with a client which requires more stringent surveying standards than
those set forth in this rule.

In Kansas...

There are no words in the regulations addressing multiple pages needing to be stamped individually. The same regulation applies to engineers, architects, land surveyors, geologists and landscape architects. It also includes other categories of products, including technical reports. It says the original document, map or report is to be signed and sealed by a specific method. It says nothing about cases where a specific product is more than a single page.

The 132-page set of highway construction plans that are laying on my desk only have seals and signatures on the cover sheet. This includes all required seals and signatures from the design engineer to top KDOT officials.

An excerpt from California Business and Professions Code §8761:

"If the land surveying document has multiple pages or sheets, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing and sealing or stamping shall appear, at a minimum, on the title sheet, cover sheet or page, or signature sheet, unless otherwise required by law."

I only sign and seal once on a document unless I can't avoid otherwise.

edit- Jim beat me to it.

CA PLS Act, 8761(d)

(d) All final maps, plats, reports, descriptions, or other land surveying documents issued by a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer authorized to practice land surveying shall bear the signature and seal or stamp of the licensee and the date of signing and sealing or stamping. If the land surveying document has multiple pages or sheets, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing and sealing or stamping shall appear, at a minimum, on the title sheet, cover sheet or page, or signature sheet, unless otherwise required by law.

Most of the replies here are addressing whether or not a signature & seal should appear on every single page of a drawing set is required, or not required.

The real question we should be asking and answering is whether it is necessary or not necessary.

How many contracts, deeds, or multiple-page documents do we see that has a full signature and notarization on every single page? None. Why? Because it's not necessary. The document is the whole document, no matter how many pages (which should be stated on every page in order to incorporate them to the overall document). Your signature is merely an expression of your intent to affix your signature (whatever that means) to the entire document. Any changes made to the document after your signature is affixed requires a new approval if, and only if, the change affects your intent when you signed.

What happens when you sign a document digitally? Does the digital signature appear on every page of a single electronic file?

It's not necessary, and should not be required.

JBS

Oregon

> It's not necessary, and should not be required.
>
> JBS

I agree but unfortunately in Oregon:

820-030-0070
Surveyor's Seal and Signature Required
In both ORS 209.250(2)(c) and (3)(g) the intent is that each page of the map and the last page of the narrative, if the narrative is a separate document, shall bear the seal and original signature of the professional land surveyor.

Oregon

> I agree but unfortunately in Oregon:
>
> 820-030-0070
> Surveyor's Seal and Signature Required
> In both ORS 209.250(2)(c) and (3)(g) the intent is that each page of the map and the last page of the narrative, if the narrative is a separate document, shall bear the seal and original signature of the professional land surveyor.

Whose profession is this? The bureaucrats, or ours?

If the regulations don't suit the profession, request to change them. In the mean time, follow them. Statutory regulations and board rules are not carved in stone.

JBS

Oregon

I'm looking at a set of design plans with each sheet signed and sealed by an Oregon registrant. Must 500 sheets altogether. Not everybody gets the whole set.
Work, Work , Work

As a personal preference, I do the following:

24x36 or 18x24 sheets: sign (with date) and seal all sheets with the signature over the seal
11x17 or 8.5x11 sheets: initial with date each sheet

Of course I will sign (with date) and seal the certification which is only on one sheet. I do this to indicate, at least to me, that I have seen all the sheets and that someone cannot just replace a sheet in the set. And yes, I have seen someone do that.

Miguel A. Escobar, RPLS, LSLS

My personal preference is to combine all sheets into a single pdf file, then provide a digital certification and signature for the whole set. Electronic certifications typically allow only one certification on the set. Otherwise, I'd have to prepare individual files for individual sheets, each with an individual certification. All that would be accomplished is more work to achieve the exact same goal. What's the point in that?

JBS