An Alabama PE seal must be a circle 1 5/8 to 2 inches across that bears the legend "licensed professional engineer" along with your name and licensure number. Rubber stamps and computer generated seals qualify only when they match the approved seal in size, design and content. Each design sheet is signed, sealed and dated. Below: wording, size, devices, signing, sheets, electronic files and lapse.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-7(c) and the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Your name appears on the seal. | Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-7(c) |
| Licensure number | Your Alabama licensure number is part of the face. | Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-7(c) |
| Legend | Engineers carry licensed professional engineer; the same section gives surveyors licensed professional land surveyor. | Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-7(c) |
| Size and shape | A circle with a diameter anywhere from 1 5/8 to 2 inches. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(2) |
| Rubber stamp or computer seal | Permitted only as an exact match to the approved seal in size, design and content. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(4), 330-X-11-.03(10) |
| Embosser | The seal chapter never uses the word embossing; the Board's authorized design anchors every format. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(4), 330-X-11-.03(10) |
| Signature and date | Applied along with the seal, dated with the day you sign. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.03(1), (2), (8) |
| Sheets to seal | Every engineering design sheet, and every surveying map, plat or chart sheet, gets a signature, seal and date. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.03(3), (5), (6), (7), 330-X-11-.04 |
| Electronic seal | No separate seal standard; the rules define the signature instead. | Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-2-.01(10), 330-X-11-.02(5), 330-X-11-.03(8) |
| Unrenewed license | It becomes expired, the holder may not practice, and seal use after the lapse is prohibited. | Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-8(d), (f) |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in professional engineer seal requirements by state.
What must an Alabama PE seal show?
Three items: your name, your Alabama licensure number, and the words licensed professional engineer as the legend. Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-7(c) sets the list, and the same section gives land surveyors a parallel legend, licensed professional land surveyor.
The legend is fixed wording, so the only details you supply are your name and number. Because the statute names both legends, confirm that your die carries the engineer version. For more on the face of the seal, see our article on the Alabama PE stamp format.
What diameter and shape does the Alabama seal need?
A circle with a diameter from 1 5/8 inches to 2 inches, under Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(2). The band governs the approved seal, so you pick one diameter inside it and build every other format to that same size.
A 2 inch seal gives the lettering more room, while a 1 5/8 inch seal takes less space on a crowded sheet. Name your diameter when you order. Ideas for laying out the face are in our piece on designing an Alabama PE stamp.
Are rubber stamps and computer generated seals allowed?
Yes, on one condition. Under Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(4), 330-X-11-.03(10), both are allowed only as exact copies of the approved seal in size, design and content. A version that differs in any of those three respects falls outside the permission.
Treat the Board's authorized design as the reference for everything. Cut the rubber stamp from it, and make any digital version from the same artwork at the same diameter. Our overview of Alabama PE stamps and embossers covers the device types.
Is an embosser allowed for Alabama engineers?
The seal chapter is silent. The word embossing never appears in Chapter 330-X-11, which names only rubber stamps and computer generated seals as substitutes. What the chapter does make plain is that the Board's authorized design is the benchmark for any format.
If you want a raised impression, have the embosser follow the same authorized design as your stamp. Read our notes on using an Alabama engineer embosser before you rely on one.
How are the signature and date tied to the seal?
As one unit. Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.03(1), (2), (8) pairs the seal with your signature and the date you signed. An impression that lacks your signature or the signing date does not meet the rule.
Lay out the title block so all three fit in one place. Date each sheet on the day you sign it, not the day the drawing was finished.
Which sheets must carry the seal?
Every design sheet in engineering practice is signed, sealed and dated. The same duty covers each map, plat or chart sheet in land surveying practice. The source is Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.03(3), (5), (6), (7), 330-X-11-.04.
A sheet-by-sheet duty means one set can take dozens of impressions. Choose a device that stays crisp over long runs, and check the last sheet in a set as carefully as the first.
Does Alabama have a rule for electronic seals?
Not as a separate seal standard. Alabama's rules define the signature rather than the seal, per Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-2-.01(10), 330-X-11-.02(5), 330-X-11-.03(8). For the seal image itself, the identity test for computer generated seals applies.
That means a digital seal must match the approved seal in size, design and content, exactly as a rubber stamp must. Keep one approved artwork file and place it at true size instead of scaling it to fit a sheet.
What happens if your Alabama license is not renewed?
It becomes an expired license, and you become ineligible to practice, the result that Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-8(d), (f) sets. Using the seal after the lapse is prohibited.
Put the renewal date on your calendar and hold any sealing that would fall after it until the license is current again.
What should you supply when ordering an Alabama PE seal?
Your name, your licensure number, the engineer legend, a diameter within the 1 5/8 to 2 inch band, and the device type. If you hold a copy of the Board's authorized design, send it with the order so the die matches.
Order every format at the same diameter, because the identity rule makes a mismatched stamp and digital seal a problem even when each looks right alone. For a second pass over these points, see our guide to Alabama PE stamp requirements.
How do you check an impression before sealing work?
Stamp a scrap sheet and measure it. The circle should fall between 1 5/8 and 2 inches, equal your approved seal's size, and show your name, licensure number and the engineer legend with no spelling errors.
Lay the test impression over your approved design if you have one. Any difference in lettering, spacing or size breaks the identity requirement for stamps and computer seals.
For the geologist side of practice in Alabama, read what an Alabama geologist seal requires.
Frequently asked questions
Can I order a 2 1/4 inch Alabama PE seal?
No. The published range tops out at 2 inches, so anything larger falls outside Ala. Admin. Code r. 330-X-11-.02(2). A seal under 1 5/8 inches misses the range at the other end.
Can my computer generated seal use a different font from my stamp?
No. A computer generated seal has to match the approved seal in design, and the lettering is part of the design. Build the digital version from the approved artwork rather than retyping it.
I hold both engineering and surveying licenses. Which legend goes on my seal?
The statute lists the two legends as alternatives: licensed professional engineer for engineering and licensed professional land surveyor for surveying. None of the provisions cited here describes a combined seal, so match the legend to the work you are sealing.
Can I seal drawings I finished before my license expired?
Not once the lapse has begun. The prohibition is on using the seal after the license expires, and an expired license leaves you ineligible to practice, whatever date the drawings were completed.
What counts as the approved seal?
The seal of the design the Board authorizes. It is the reference point for every format you use, so a rubber stamp, a computer generated seal and any embosser should all trace back to it.
Choose your seal in the size and format you need from our Alabama stamps and seals collection, with your licensure number and authorized design at hand.
