An Indiana land surveyor seal must show your name and registration number exactly as they read on your certificate of registration, set in the design printed in the rule. Its outside diameter falls between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches. The edge is either milled or drawn as two concentric circles. This page covers devices, signing, sealed documents, electronic seals and lapse.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c) and the State Board of Registration for Professional Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Matches the name printed on your certificate of registration. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c) |
| Registration number | Matches the number on that same certificate. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c) |
| Layout | Follows the seal design reproduced in the rule. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c) |
| Edge | One of two options: a milled edge or a pair of concentric circles. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c) |
| Outside diameter | At least 1 5/8 inches and at most 1 7/8 inches. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(a) |
| Devices | Embossed, stamped or applied electronically, each following the printed design. | 865 IAC 1-7-1(b) |
| Signature and date | Placed right beside the seal and never over it. The date is the day the seal goes on. | 865 IAC 1-7-2(b), (c) |
| Documents sent for government review | Full seal on every drawing or plan sheet, plus the title page of each specification. | 865 IAC 1-7-2(d), (e), (f) |
| Electronic seal | Allowed. The surveyor rules define it as a digital copy of an original seal. | 865 IAC 1-7-4 |
| Lapse | Seal only while the certificate is current and not suspended or revoked. Fees paid late leave the certificate invalid. | 865 IAC 1-6-1, 865 IAC 1-7-2(a), 865 IAC 1-8-1 |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read land surveyor seal requirements by state. The route to a Indiana surveying license, from education through the exams, sits in the national table on land surveyor licensing requirements.
What must an Indiana land surveyor seal show?
Four things, all under 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c). Your name and registration number must match your certificate of registration, and they sit inside the design printed in the rule, finished with either a milled border or a pair of concentric circles.
Treat the certificate as the reference for every character on the die. The rule ties the seal's name and number to that certificate, so copy them from it rather than from letterhead or an older stamp.
The layout is set as well. Indiana prints the seal design in the rule, and your details slot into that design rather than one of your own. Our guide to Indiana professional land surveyor stamps has more background on the stamp itself.
How large is an Indiana surveyor seal?
The outside diameter must be no less than 1 5/8 inches and no more than 1 7/8 inches, as 865 IAC 1-7-1(a) sets it for land surveyors. Any size inside that quarter-inch window complies, and anything outside it does not.
Because the figure is an outside diameter, measure across the whole impression at its outer edge, not just the lettering. The rule states no shape in words; the design it prints is what fixes the appearance.
Which devices can apply the seal?
Three methods, per 865 IAC 1-7-1(b): embossing, stamping and electronic application. Whatever the method, the impression has to conform to the design shown in subsection (a) of the same section.
The rule lists the three as alternatives, so the choice turns on how your work leaves the office: paper sets, electronic files or both. For practical pointers on daily use, read our tips on Indiana land surveyor seal guidelines.
Where do the signature and date go?
Directly beside the seal, never across it. Under 865 IAC 1-7-2(b), each time you affix the seal the document must also carry your signature and the date the seal is applied, both placed next to the impression.
That date records the act of sealing, which may come days after the drawing was finished. Leave open space beside the seal area in your title block so the signature never has to run over the impression.
Which documents must carry the full seal?
The trigger is submission to a governmental body for review. When specifications, plans or drawings go that route, 865 IAC 1-7-2(d) calls for the full seal on every drawing or plan sheet, plus the title page of each specification.
Count by sheet, not by set. A plan set of twenty sheets sent for review takes twenty impressions, while a specification takes its seal on the title page. Our checklist for an Indiana land surveyor seal that meets the rules pairs well with a review of your sheet index.
Can you seal documents electronically in Indiana?
Yes. Indiana land surveyors have their own electronic transaction rule, 865 IAC 1-7-4, and its definitions describe an electronic seal as a digital copy of an original seal. The physical seal and the electronic one therefore share a single design.
The definitions sit in 865 IAC 1-7-4(b). There, the term original seal covers a rubber stamp, an electronic stamp or an embossing seal built to the section 1 design. The same subsection also defines a document, an electronic document, an electronic signature, an electronic transmission and an original signature.
In practice, draw the electronic image and the physical seal from one piece of artwork. A digital version that strays from the printed design is no longer a true copy of your original seal.
When are you barred from using the seal?
Whenever your certificate of registration is not current, or is under suspension or revocation. 865 IAC 1-7-2(a) allows sealing only while the certificate is current and free of any suspension or revocation.
A missed fee deadline is enough to cross that line. Under 865 IAC 1-8-1(a)(2), fees not paid on time leave the certificate invalid. Until both the renewal fee and the delinquent fee are paid, you may not lawfully practice land surveying or offer to, and your name is dropped from future rosters.
Does a reissued certificate change your seal?
Not the number. Under 865 IAC 1-6-1(b), a duplicate or replacement certificate carries the same certificate number you started with, and the word Reissue is printed above that number. A seal cut to the original number therefore still matches the certificate.
The word Reissue belongs to the certificate, not to the seal. It is not among the seal elements in 865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (b), (c), so there is no reason to add it to the die.
What should you have ready when you order?
Four decisions. You need the name and registration number as your certificate shows them, the edge style (milled or double circle), a diameter between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches, and the device, whether embosser, inked stamp, electronic file or more than one.
Keep the certificate beside you while you fill in the order so nothing is typed from memory. For more on the finished product, see our page on the Indiana licensed land surveyor stamp and seal, and for general background read our overview of the Indiana professional surveyor seal.
How do you check a new seal before first use?
Make a test impression on plain paper and hold it against your certificate. Confirm the name, the registration number, the edge style and the printed layout, then measure the outside diameter to see that it lands between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches.
Next, try the impression in your actual title block. The signature and sealing date must fit directly beside the seal without crossing it, so confirm the block leaves room for both.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1 3/4 inch seal acceptable in Indiana?
Yes. It sits inside the band that 865 IAC 1-7-1(a) allows, which runs from 1 5/8 to 1 7/8 inches of outside diameter.
Does the milled edge count toward the diameter?
The rule measures the outside diameter, so take the measurement across the full impression, edge included. A seal whose lettering fits the band but whose outer edge runs past 1 7/8 inches is too large.
Does the rule say the seal has to be round?
Not in words. 865 IAC 1-7-1(a) gives an outside diameter and prints the design to follow, and that design, together with the two edge options, sets the seal's form.
Can I keep both an embosser and an inked stamp?
Yes. 865 IAC 1-7-1(b) names embossing and stamping as permitted methods alongside electronic application, and each device you own has to follow the same printed design.
Does 865 IAC 1-7-4 apply to Indiana architects?
No. It is a land surveyor rule. Indiana architects and landscape architects have no matching electronic transaction rule, so their practice is no guide for surveyors.
With your certificate in hand, order an Indiana land surveyor seal built to the printed design and sized between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches.
