A Georgia architect seal is a circle exactly 1 3/4 inches across bearing REGISTERED ARCHITECT, STATE OF GEORGIA, your name and your certificate number. It may be an inked rubber stamp or a computer generated seal, and your signature goes on with the issue date and the purpose. This page covers the face, size, devices, signing, documents, electronic use, certificate status and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9). Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Your name is lettered on the face. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) |
| Certificate number | Your Georgia certificate number appears on the face. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) |
| Credential and state | Two phrases: REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF GEORGIA. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) |
| Shape | Round. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) |
| Diameter | One fixed figure: 1 3/4 inches. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) |
| Devices | An inked device is the starting point, and a computer generated seal is also allowed. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01 |
| Electronic seal | Allowed, and the rule carries an opt out that the Board wrote into it. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(2) |
| Signing | The seal goes on with your signature, and the issue date and purpose are shown alongside. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(1), (3) |
| Documents to seal | Work you prepared or that was prepared under your responsible control, plus prototypical documents whose responsibility the architect of record takes on. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01, 50-2A-.02, 50-2A-.03 |
| Certificate status | A current Georgia certificate is needed at the moment of sealing. Without one, neither your seal nor your name may be put on a document, by you or with your permission. | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01, 50-6 |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. The seal assumes you already hold the Georgia license; how to become a licensed architect covers the degree, AXP and ARE routes.
What must a Georgia architect seal show?
Four items under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9): the phrases REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF GEORGIA, plus your name and certificate number. The two phrases identify the credential and the state, and the name and number identify you.
Set the two phrases as the rule writes them and check the certificate number against your registration before approving a proof. A single transposed digit puts the wrong number on every sheet you seal.
The list stops at those four items, which keeps the face compact at its fixed size. Our article on Georgia architect stamp laws has more background.
What size and shape is the seal?
A circle 1 3/4 inches in diameter, stated in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9). The rule gives the diameter as an exact figure, so the die should be made to 1 3/4 inches rather than to whatever stock size is closest.
Hold the computer generated version to the same figure. When the electronic seal sits in a drawing file, check that it prints at 1 3/4 inches rather than scaling up or down with the sheet.
The fixed diameter limits how large the lettering can be, so review the proof at actual size. For design background, see our post on Georgia architect stamp designs.
Which devices can you use?
An inked rubber stamp is the baseline, and a computer generated seal is also permitted under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01. Those are the two forms this rule supports, and each carries the same four items at the same size.
An office issuing both paper and electronic sets can hold one of each, built from the same artwork. Start with the inked stamp for paper and add the electronic version when your file workflow is ready. Read more about Georgia architect stamps as a professional seal.
What goes with the seal when you sign?
Three things: your signature, the issue date and the stated purpose. The rule at Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(1), (3) pairs the seal with a signature and calls for the issue date and purpose to be shown, so a bare impression is not the whole endorsement.
Plan title block space for the signature, the date and a short statement of purpose. Settling that layout once saves rework on every sheet of every set.
Which documents must be sealed?
Everything you prepare or that is prepared under your responsible control, plus prototypical documents once the architect of record accepts responsibility for them. The duty runs through Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01, 50-2A-.02, 50-2A-.03.
Responsible control is the dividing line. Work produced by your staff under your control is sealed by you, and prototypical documents come in when you, as architect of record, accept responsibility for them. For more on these duties, read about meeting Georgia's architect seal requirements.
Can you apply the seal electronically?
Yes. An electronic seal is permitted, and the text of Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(2) also contains an opt out written in by the Board. The terms of that opt out sit in paragraph (2) itself, so read it before your first electronic issue.
The electronic seal has to match the physical one: the same four items inside the same 1 3/4 inch circle. Only the delivery method changes.
What happens if your certificate is not current?
You may not seal without it. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01, 50-6 requires a current Georgia certificate of registration when the seal is applied, and bars you from applying your seal or your name to a document, or letting anyone else do it, without one.
The rule covers your name as well as the seal, and it reaches staff who would apply the seal on your behalf. Let a lapse stop all sealed issues from the office until the certificate is current again.
What should a seal order include?
Your name and certificate number, plus confirmation of the phrases REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF GEORGIA. Specify a 1 3/4 inch circular die and say whether you want an inked stamp, a computer generated seal or both.
- Your name, spelled as it should read
- Your Georgia certificate number
- Phrases: REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF GEORGIA
- Round, 1 3/4 inches in diameter
- Inked rubber stamp, computer generated seal, or both
Check each line of the proof against your registration before approving it. Before ordering, you may also want our wider look at Georgia architect stamps.
How do you check an impression before using it?
Stamp a spare sheet and measure the circle at 1 3/4 inches. Then read the four items against Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) one at a time, checking the certificate number digit by digit.
Photocopy the test and read the copy too, since small lettering can fill in. For the computer generated seal, print a sheet at full scale and measure again.
Frequently asked questions
How close to 1 3/4 inches does the seal have to be?
The rule states one exact figure and gives no range around it. A die cut to 1 3/4 inches needs no argument, while a 1 1/2 or 2 inch stock size is simply a different measurement.
Does the seal itself carry a date?
No. The date belongs with your signature under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(1), (3), and the rule leaves it off the list of four items for the face.
Do I seal prototypical drawings I did not prepare?
When you are the architect of record and take responsibility for prototypical documents, they fall within the sealing duty under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01, 50-2A-.02, 50-2A-.03. Accepting that responsibility is the step that brings them in.
Do the rubber stamp and the electronic seal need separate artwork?
Both have to carry the same four items at the 1 3/4 inch size, so one approved layout can serve both. Keeping a single design also makes paper and electronic sets match.
Can a firm name go on the seal?
The four items in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9) are your name, your certificate number and the two phrases. A firm name is not one of them, so the seal stays personal to you.
When your certificate details are ready, choose your seal from our Georgia stamps and seals collection and specify the 1 3/4 inch circle.
