A Washington land surveyor seal must carry four things: State of Washington, the title Registered professional land surveyor, your name in the form your wall certificate gives it, and your certificate number. No dimension is specified anywhere in the rule. Seal, signature and date go on final documents as chapter 196-23 WAC defines them. This page covers the wording, the devices and what counts as final.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 and the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Final documents carry the seal, the signature and the date. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-020(1), (2), (3), (4) |
| What counts as final | Documents prepared and distributed for filing with public officials, for construction use, for final agency approval, or for a client's use. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-020(1), (2), (5) |
| Jurisdiction line | State of Washington. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Professional title | Registered professional land surveyor. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Certificate number | Your certificate number appears on the seal. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Name | Your name in the form your wall certificate gives it. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Size | No dimension is specified. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Shape | Not stated. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Devices allowed | The rule refers to an impression or an image, wording that takes in an embosser, an inked stamp and a computer generated seal. | Wash. Admin. Code 196-23-010 |
| Sealing after a lapse | Your authority to seal lasts exactly as long as the certificate does. | RCW 18.43.080, 18.43.130 |
Washington is one row in our land surveyor seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side. Before any of this applies you need the Washington license itself; how to become a licensed land surveyor covers the routes, the FS and PS exams and any state exam.
What must a Washington land surveyor seal show?
Four elements, all of them fixed by WAC 196-23-010: State of Washington, the title Registered professional land surveyor, your name, and your certificate number. Nothing else is required and nothing else is prohibited by that section.
Because the rule states the content and no layout, the arrangement of those four items is a design question rather than a compliance one. What cannot move is the wording itself, and in particular the professional title, which reads as the rule writes it rather than as a shortened version. Our note on how a Washington seal design comes together shows the usual arrangements.
Which version of your name goes on the seal?
The one on your wall certificate. The rule ties the name on the seal to the name the board issued you, not to the name on your business cards or your email signature.
That single sentence settles most name questions. If the certificate carries a middle initial, the seal carries it. If you have since changed your name, the certificate is the document to correct first, because the seal is downstream of it.
What size and shape does Washington require?
Neither is set. No dimension is specified in WAC 196-23-010, and no outline is stated, so there is no diameter to hit and no penalty for choosing a shape that suits your sheets.
Legibility becomes the real constraint. A seal that has to hold four lines of text needs enough face to print them cleanly at the scale your plans are reproduced, which usually rules out the smallest dies. We work through the trade-offs in choosing a Washington surveyor stamp size.
Which devices satisfy the rule?
An embosser, an inked stamp and a computer generated seal all qualify. The rule refers to an impression or to an image, and that pairing takes in the raised crimp, the rubber or pre-inked stamp and the plotted seal alike.
Choose on how the document travels rather than on formality. Impressions read well on originals; images survive copying, scanning and electronic distribution without any loss of what the rule cares about, which is the four elements being present and readable.
What counts as a final document?
WAC 196-23-020(1) defines it: documents prepared and distributed for filing with public officials, for construction use, for final agency approval, or for a client's use. Subsections (2) and (5) carry the rest of the duty.
The definition is about distribution and purpose, not about a label in your title block. A drawing marked preliminary that is nonetheless issued to a client for use is inside the definition, and a set you keep in the office is not. Our page on the Washington surveyor stamp guidelines works through the edge cases.
How do the seal, signature and date sit together?
All three belong on the final document under WAC 196-23-020(1), and subsections (2), (3) and (4) carry the surrounding obligations. The seal alone does not complete the document.
Leave room for the signature and the date beside the seal in your title block rather than expecting them to fit inside it. A seal impression crowded by a signature is the most common reason a submittal comes back for a reissue.
Can you use an electronic seal in Washington?
Yes. Chapter 196-23 WAC allows for an image of the seal and not only an impression, and the board's authority over the practice comes from RCW 18.43.
Because the rule treats the image as an ordinary way of presenting the seal, the compliance question stays the same as it is on paper: the four elements have to be present and readable, and the signature and date have to accompany the seal on the final document.
What happens if the certificate lapses?
The seal is only as current as the certificate behind it. RCW 18.43.080 and 18.43.130 tie your authority to seal to that certificate being in force, so the device is only as current as your registration.
Practically, that means a renewal lapse is not an administrative inconvenience you can seal through and tidy up afterwards. Put the device aside until the certificate is current again. Our overview of the Washington land surveyor seal covers how surveyors usually manage the renewal cycle.
What should you supply when ordering?
Your name exactly as it reads on the wall certificate, your certificate number, and the device you want. The two fixed lines, State of Washington and Registered professional land surveyor, come from the rule rather than from you.
Send a copy of the certificate to the maker if you are unsure of the exact spelling or spacing, since both are easier to confirm before artwork than after a die is cut.
How do you check the impression before you use it?
Press or print a test on the media you actually deliver, then read all four elements at normal viewing distance and compare the certificate number against the certificate itself.
Check the professional title word for word, because an abbreviated version of a line the rule states in full is the defect most likely to survive a quick glance. Our short review routine is set out in a check over a new Washington surveyor seal.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum diameter for a Washington surveyor seal?
No dimension is specified in WAC 196-23-010, so no minimum and no maximum exist. Size the seal so the four required elements print clearly on the sheets you issue.
Can the title be shortened to land surveyor?
The rule states the title as Registered professional land surveyor. Reproduce that wording rather than a shortened form.
Does an embosser alone satisfy the rule on a document that will be copied?
An impression is an accepted way of applying the seal. Where the document will be copied or scanned, an image reproduces more reliably, which is a practical consideration rather than a rule.
Does a preliminary drawing sent to a client need a seal?
The test is the definition in WAC 196-23-020(1), which turns on preparation and distribution for filing, construction, agency approval or client use. A document distributed for the client to use meets that test whatever the title block says.
If your name changes, can you keep using the old seal?
The seal carries your name as shown on your wall certificate, so the certificate is the reference point. Update it, then order a seal that matches.
Does the certificate number need a prefix or a label?
WAC 196-23-010 requires your certificate number and states no format for it. Reproduce the number as the board issued it.
When the four elements and your certificate details line up, send the artwork to production. Start from the Washington surveyor seals and stamps we make and give us the name exactly as your wall certificate reads.
