An Alabama geologist seal must be round, no smaller than 1 5/8 inches across, and built from the design the Board gives you when you register. The rule sets no maximum and prints no word list, so the furnished artwork decides what the face shows. A rubber stamp has to match that approved seal exactly. This page covers design, size, devices, signing and the documents you seal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02 and the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Duty to seal | The seal goes on geological drawings, specifications, reports and similar work, and each sheet is signed, sealed and dated by the geologist who prepared or directed it. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(1), 364-X-11-.03(2) |
| Seal design | The Board hands each licensee a copy of the design at registration. The rule itself lists no required wording. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(2) |
| Shape | The seal is round. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(2) |
| Diameter | Nothing smaller than 1 5/8 inches. No largest size is stated. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(2) |
| Rubber stamp | Allowed at your option when it matches the approved seal in size, design and content. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(3) |
| Electronic seal | The device rule names a board-issued electronic seal, and any digital reproduction has to conform to the seal rules. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.02(3), 364-X-11-.03(1) |
| Signature, number and date | Seal, signature and serial number together certify the work, and every sheet also carries the date. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.03(1), (2) |
| Bound volumes and revisions | A bound set may be sealed on a title or index sheet listing every sheet; safety or code revisions are sealed by their author. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.03(1) through (5) |
| Company use | A company-name report needs the responsible geologist's signature and seal, and no company may use the Board's own seal. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 364-X-11-.01, 364-X-11-.03(1) |
| Expiration and renewal | Handled in a separate chapter. The seal chapter says nothing about sealing after a license expires. | Ala. Admin. Code ch. 364-X-13 |
What does Alabama require on a geologist seal?
Alabama does not publish a list of words for the seal. Rule 364-X-11-.02(2) fixes the shape and minimum size and provides that the Board furnishes a copy of the design to each licensee at registration. That furnished design is your specification.
In practice, send the Board's artwork with your order and ask for it to be reproduced as issued. A legend borrowed from another state, or from another Alabama profession, has no footing in this rule. If you also hold an engineering license, our page on the Alabama PE seal legend, size range and identical copy rule covers that separate seal.
How large must an Alabama geologist seal be?
No less than 1 5/8 inches across, and round. Rule 364-X-11-.02(2) sets that figure as a floor, and no Alabama rule puts a ceiling on the licensee seal, so a larger approved seal still satisfies the size requirement.
Do not confuse this with the 1.5 inch cap in rule 364-X-11-.01. That limit applies when you reproduce the Board's own seal on your business cards or stationery, not to the seal you place on reports. For how other states size and word this device, see our summary of geologist seal rules in all 54 jurisdictions.
Can an Alabama geologist use a rubber stamp?
Yes. Rule 364-X-11-.02(3), in the version effective August 14, 2023, lets you use a rubber stamp at your option, provided it is identical in size, design and content to the Board-approved seal. Identical is the working word in that sentence.
The stamp cannot be a loose version of the Board's artwork, a shrunken copy, or a layout with extra lines. Check the proof against the furnished design before the stamp is made.
Where does an Alabama electronic geologist seal come from?
From the Board. The device rule names a board-issued electronic seal as the digital option, so Alabama expects the electronic version to originate with the Board rather than with the licensee or a vendor.
Rule 364-X-11-.03(1) separately permits a digital reproduction of the seal where appropriate, on condition that it conforms to rules 364-X-11-.02 and 364-X-11-.03(3). The seal chapter is silent on encryption, certificate authorities and signature software.
Engineer Seal Stamps makes the physical rubber stamp. A seal image from any supplier, us included, is not the board-issued electronic seal the rule describes, so request that one from the Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists.
How do the signature, date and serial number work with the seal?
Every sheet is signed, sealed and dated under rule 364-X-11-.03(2). Rule 364-X-11-.03(1) treats the seal, your signature and your serial number on a document as your statement that you prepared it, directly supervised it, or reviewed another geologist's plans closely enough to coordinate them and accept responsibility.
Nothing in the rule says the signature has to pass over the impression, and the date has no fixed position. Keep all four marks close together so a reader sees one certification.
Which Alabama documents need the geologist seal?
Drawings, specifications, reports and any other geological documents. Rule 364-X-11-.03(1) defines a document broadly: any paper or illustration, including electronic and photostatic copies, that comes out of professional geological services or their supervision.
The duty runs sheet by sheet under subsection (2). A report also cannot go out under a corporation, company or partnership name unless the licensed geologist who takes responsibility for it signs and seals it.
How are bound volumes, revisions and working drawings sealed?
A bound volume may carry the seal on its title or index sheet alone under rule 364-X-11-.03(3), as long as that sheet identifies every other sheet in the volume. Any sheet another licensee prepared still needs that licensee's own seal.
Subsection (4) covers changes: whoever makes additions, deletions or revisions that affect public health and safety, or compliance with state and local codes, signs, seals and dates them. Subsection (5) reaches working drawings, sketches and reports meant to describe work to be done or to set a contract's scope.
Is the Board's seal the same thing as your seal?
No. Rule 364-X-11-.01 deals with the Board's seal, which is separate from the licensee seal you apply to reports. You may put the Board's seal on your business cards or stationery only if it is no more than 1.5 inches across and your license number sits prominently beside it.
That allowance is personal to the licensee. The same rule keeps corporations and companies from displaying the Board's seal or any likeness of it.
What happens to the seal when an Alabama license lapses?
The seal chapter does not say. Renewal and expiration are handled in chapter 364-X-13 and discipline in chapters 364-X-15 through 364-X-17, while chapter 364-X-11, the seal chapter, is silent on sealing once a license has expired.
It is equally silent on surrendering or destroying the device and on whether your number changes when you reinstate.
What should you have ready before ordering an Alabama geologist stamp?
The design the Board furnished at registration, the size of your approved seal, which cannot be under 1 5/8 inches, and a plan for where signature, date and serial number will sit on each sheet. Those points settle nearly every question about the order.
When the first impression comes back, lay it beside the Board's artwork. Measure the diameter, compare every character, and confirm nothing was added or dropped, because the rule demands a match in size, design and content.
If your office holds other Alabama credentials, each follows its own rule: see the Alabama architect seal rules on circle size and devices, the Alabama landscape architect stamp regulations, and how Alabama land surveyors seal maps, plats and chart sheets. For notarial work, our quick guide to Alabama notary supplies and stamps covers what a notary needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is using a seal optional for Alabama geologists?
Not in practice. Rule 364-X-11-.02(1) says a registrant may secure an official seal, then states that the seal shall be applied to geological documents, citing Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-41-14(a). Rule 364-X-11-.03(2) then calls for a signature, seal and date on every sheet.
Can I order a 2 inch stamp because larger reads better?
The seal rule allows any diameter from 1 5/8 inches up. A rubber stamp, though, must be identical in size to your approved seal, so size the stamp to match that seal rather than choosing a bigger figure on your own.
Does my serial number go inside the Alabama seal?
The rule does not list what the face contains; the Board's furnished design does. Rule 364-X-11-.03(1) does count your serial number as part of the certification together with the seal and your signature, so the number belongs on every sealed document either way.
Does the Alabama device rule mention an embosser?
No. Rule 364-X-11-.02(3) names two options by type: a rubber stamp identical to the approved seal, and a board-issued electronic seal. The word embosser does not appear in it.
My old stamp is 1 1/2 inches. Can I keep using it?
Not for Alabama geology work. Rule 364-X-11-.02(2) makes 1 5/8 inches the smallest permitted diameter, so a 1 1/2 inch device is under the floor. Replace it with a stamp cut to the Board's design at your approved seal's size.
Does an Alabama geology firm need its own seal or certificate number?
No. The seal rules prescribe no firm seal and put no certificate of authorization number on sealed geological work. What they require is that a report issued under a company name carry the signature and seal of whichever licensed geologist takes responsibility for the work.
With the Board's furnished design in hand, browse our geologist seals and stamps and send that artwork with your order so the stamp matches it in size, design and content.
