Connecticut leaves the design of a land surveyor's seal to the Board, and a rubber stamp is allowed only when it matches the specified seal in size and design. The seal goes on surveys, maps, plans and other project papers you hand to a client. Licenses run on a yearly cycle. This page covers the face we manufacture, signing, electronic sealing and renewal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(a) and the Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal design | Set by the Board, not drawn in the regulation. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(a) |
| Rubber stamp | Permitted on condition that it is identical to the specified seal in both size and design. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c) |
| Size | No measurement is written into the regulation. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Documents to seal | Surveys, maps, plans, drawings, sketches, specifications and any other project document you submit to your client. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(a), (b) |
| Paper documents | The regulation treats a handwritten signature with a live seal as the paper standard. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c), (f) |
| Sealing work prepared by others | Both your seal and your signature go on the document. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c), (f) |
| Electronic sealing | Permitted, and the regulation names a specific technology for it. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(c), (d), (e) |
| License term | One year, ending January 31 of the year after issue or renewal. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies §§ 20-300-11, 20-300-3b(d), 20-300-10(g) |
| After January 31 without renewal | The license is invalid and practice becomes illegal. The seal section itself does not address use after a lapse. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies §§ 20-300-11, 20-300-3b(d), 20-300-10(g) |
| Late renewal | You keep the right to renew for five years, counted from the day the license went invalid. After that, only a new application works. | Regs. Conn. State Agencies §§ 20-300-11, 20-300-3b(d), 20-300-10(g) |
To compare Connecticut with every other jurisdiction, see our table of land surveyor seal requirements by state. Before any of this applies you need the Connecticut license itself; how to become a licensed land surveyor covers the routes, the FS and PS exams and any state exam.
Who sets the design of a Connecticut land surveyor seal?
The Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(a) delegates the design to the Board instead of spelling out a legend, a layout or a size in the regulation itself.
That means the published regulation will not tell you what the face looks like. The Board's specified seal is the reference, and a rubber stamp has to match it exactly. Our summary of Connecticut land surveyor seal regulations sets out the rule text in more detail.
What does the seal we make for Connecticut look like?
The face below comes from our production artwork for Connecticut land surveyors. It describes what we manufacture for this license, not wording the regulation prescribes, because the regulation leaves design to the Board.
- STATE OF CONNECTICUT curving along the top, with a place-name line set beneath it.
- LICENSED LAND SURVEYOR following the bottom curve, and your license number under it, written as No. followed by the digits.
- The state coat of arms in the middle: a shield with three grapevines, above a ribbon carrying the motto Qui Transtulit Sustinet.
- A five-pointed star at the left and right edges, level with the center.
- A dotted ring around the center block, and an outer edge of fine radial ticks that gives a serrated border.
Treat this as our starting layout and check it against the Board's specified seal. Our Connecticut land surveyor seal design guide walks through the artwork.
When is a rubber stamp allowed?
Yes, with one condition. Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c) permits a rubber stamp only if it is a match for the specified seal in size and in design. A stamp that is close but not the same falls outside that permission.
Order the stamp from the same artwork as the seal, at the same size, so the two impressions match. Our Connecticut land surveyor stamp and seal overview covers the pairing.
What size is a Connecticut surveyor seal?
The regulation does not print a size. Because the rubber stamp must equal the specified seal in size under Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c), the specified seal is what fixes the figure for both devices.
When you order, give the size of your existing seal if you are adding a matching stamp. Matching the two is what the rubber stamp condition requires.
Which documents need the seal?
Every survey, map, plan, drawing, sketch, specification or other document for a project that you submit to your client. Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(a), (b) ties the duty to submission to the client.
The list is broad. A sketch sent to a client is as much within it as a finished survey, so seal what leaves the office for a client on a project.
How is a paper document signed?
By hand, with a live seal. The regulation's wording in Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(b), (c), (f) treats a handwritten signature and a live seal as the norm for paper documents.
When you seal documents that someone else prepared, both your seal and your signature must be affixed. Keep your signing ink and the seal together, so neither step gets skipped on a set with mixed authorship.
Can a Connecticut surveyor seal electronically?
Yes. Electronic sealing is permitted, and Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-300-10(c), (d), (e) goes further than most states by naming a specific technology for it.
This page does not name that technology or restate its conditions. Read those three subsections in full before you set up an electronic workflow or buy software for one.
When does a Connecticut license expire?
Every year on January 31. Regs. Conn. State Agencies §§ 20-300-11, 20-300-3b(d), 20-300-10(g) puts each license on an annual cycle that ends January 31 of the year following issue or renewal.
Put the date on your calendar with time to spare. Renewing before it passes keeps your license valid without a break.
What happens if you miss the renewal?
The license becomes invalid after January 31, and practicing becomes illegal. The seal section itself does not address using the seal after a lapse, but the renewal rule leaves no room to practice on an invalid license.
A missed deadline is recoverable for a time. You keep the right to renew for five years, counted from the day the license went invalid. Past five years, the only route back is a new application.
What should you confirm before ordering?
The Board's specified seal, your license number, the place-name line and the size. If you are ordering a rubber stamp to go with an existing seal, bring the seal's size and design so the stamp can match it exactly.
For our earlier notes on specification, read Connecticut land surveyor stamp guidelines.
How do you check a new stamp against the seal?
Place a stamp impression and a seal impression side by side on the same sheet. They should match in size and design, line for line, since that identity is the condition for using a rubber stamp at all.
Then check your license number digit by digit and copy the sheet. If the stamp differs from the seal anywhere, correct it before the stamp goes on a client submission.
Frequently asked questions
Is the coat of arms a legal requirement?
It is part of the face we manufacture for Connecticut, not something the regulation spells out. The regulation delegates the design to the Board.
Does my license number have to read No. followed by the digits?
That format comes from our production artwork. The regulation does not print a number format, so follow the Board's specified seal.
Does the renewal date depend on when I was first licensed?
Only in the sense of which year. The license runs to January 31 of the year after issue or renewal, so the month and day are the same for everyone.
My license lapsed three years ago. Can I still renew?
Yes. The renewal right lasts five years from the day the license went invalid, so three years is inside that window.
Do I seal a sketch I send only to my client?
Yes. Sketches are on the list, and the trigger is submitting a project document to your client.
With the Board's specified seal and your license number in hand, choose a seal and a matching rubber stamp from our Connecticut land surveyor stamps and seals, and compare the two proofs before you approve them.
