Maine requires a licensed architect to seal technical submissions prepared personally or under direct supervision, and the seal stops being usable once the license ends. The rules cited here set no size, shape, device, signature or date requirement for architects, and no electronic seal standard. This page separates what the statute says from the face layout we manufacture for Maine.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 32 M.R.S. § 225. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Documents that take the seal | Technical submissions. | 32 M.R.S. §§ 225, 226 |
| Whose work you may seal | Submissions you prepared yourself or that were prepared under your direct supervision as the licensed architect. | 32 M.R.S. §§ 225, 226 |
| Face wording set by rule | None is spelled out in the rules cited on this page. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Face layout we manufacture | A production layout, not a legal requirement: LICENSED ARCHITECT on the top arc, STATE OF MAINE on the bottom arc, a star on each side, your name and number in the middle. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Size | No figure is prescribed. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Shape | No shape is given. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Device type | The section speaks of stamping submissions with the seal but identifies no device. Embossing, rubber stamps, facsimiles and computer generation go unmentioned. | 32 M.R.S. § 225 |
| Signature or date | Silent for architects: the section sets no signature or date requirement. | 32 M.R.S. § 225 (no signature or date provision) |
| Seals in electronic form | No technology standard is set. The cited regulation speaks to reliance, not to technology. | 02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18 s. 3 |
| After the license ends | Use is prohibited. The seal's working life ends with the license, and the statute states it. | 32 M.R.S. §§ 218, 224-B, 225 |
Maine is one row in our architect seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side. The seal follows registration; the degree, experience and exam routes that lead to a Maine license are compared in how to become a licensed architect.
What does Maine law require an architect to seal?
Technical submissions. The duty covers submissions you prepare yourself and those prepared under your direct supervision as the licensed architect, under 32 M.R.S. §§ 225, 226.
Direct supervision is the line that matters in an office. Work drawn by a colleague can carry your seal when it was prepared under your direct supervision; the statute frames the duty around that relationship rather than around who held the pen. For a longer treatment of the statute, read our post on Maine architect seal requirements.
Does Maine law spell out what the seal face says?
Not in the rules cited here. None of them lists the wording, the order of elements or the layout of an architect's seal, so there is no statutory element list to copy onto a die.
That silence changes how you order. Without a legal checklist, the face comes from a manufacturing design rather than from rule text. We say so plainly on this page so that a production detail is never mistaken for a legal one. Our earlier post on the requirements and design of Maine architecture seal stamps covers the design side.
What layout does Engineer Seal Stamps make for Maine architects?
Our Maine architect die sets LICENSED ARCHITECT along the upper arc and STATE OF MAINE along the lower arc, with a five-pointed star on each side dividing the two. This is our manufacturing layout, not a legal requirement.
Your name sits in the middle, and your license number is set beneath it in the style No. followed by the digits. A ring of dots frames that center block, and a plain double border runs around the outside edge. Every item in this paragraph comes from our production artwork for Maine, and none of it is cited as law.
Is there a set size or shape for a Maine architect seal?
No. The rules cited here prescribe no size and state no shape for an architect's seal, so neither dimension is a legal question in Maine on the sources read for this page.
Any diameter we cut is a production choice, not a rule. Pick a diameter at which your name and license number stay readable on the smallest sheet you issue. Our post on choosing a size for a Maine architect seal goes further into that decision.
Which devices are allowed: embosser, ink stamp or digital seal?
The statute does not say. 32 M.R.S. § 225 refers to technical submissions being stamped with the seal without identifying any device. It never mentions embossing, rubber stamps, facsimiles or computer generation.
The only textual cue is the verb stamped, and the section does not define it by device. That leaves the device choice to you. An inked stamp and an embosser produce different marks, so think about whether your submissions travel on paper, as scans, or both before you pick one.
Does Maine require a signature or date beside the seal?
Not for architects. 32 M.R.S. § 225 is silent on both a signature and a date, and it says nothing about where either would go in relation to the seal.
Any signing or dating practice you follow on sealed sheets therefore rests on something other than the text of § 225, such as your office standard or a reviewer's request. This page does not present either as a Maine rule, because the cited section does not contain one.
How does Maine treat electronic seals?
It sets no technology standard. The regulation cited here, 02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18 s. 3, speaks to reliance and not to technology, and no cited rule describes how an electronic seal must be produced.
In practical terms, no file format, image standard or signature technology is prescribed for a digital version of your seal in the sources read for this page. The rule's attention is on reliance, not on how the seal is made.
Can the seal be used after your Maine license ends?
No. The right to use the seal ends when the license does, and the statute says so directly. The provisions are 32 M.R.S. §§ 218, 224-B, 225.
Treat the license date as the seal's expiry date. The prohibition is on use, so the seal has to stop appearing on submissions once the license is gone. For more on sealing practice in the state, see our notes on sealing practice for architects in Maine.
What should you have ready when ordering?
Your name as you want it on the seal and your license number. Everything else on our Maine layout, including the arcs of wording, the stars and the borders, is fixed production artwork.
Choose the device, an inked stamp, an embosser or both, and a size that reads clearly on your sheets. Our earlier roundup of Maine architect seal regulations is another reference before you order.
How do you check a Maine seal impression before use?
Stamp a test sheet and confirm every element of the layout: both arcs of wording, the two side stars, your name at the center with your number beneath, the dotted ring and the double border.
Read the license number digit by digit, since a transposed digit is easy to miss on a small impression. Then look at the fine detail, the dots and the inner border line, to make sure the impression is crisp enough that nothing blurs into the lettering.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sign across the seal?
Section 225 does not address signing for architects, so it neither requires a signature across the seal nor bars one. Any placement you choose rests on practice, not on the cited text.
Can I put an image of my seal on PDF sets?
The cited rules do not address electronic seals, so they neither authorize nor prohibit a digital image in terms. No technology standard is set.
Would a larger or smaller seal break a Maine rule?
No size is prescribed in the cited rules, so there is no dimension to break. Pick the size for legibility rather than to meet a figure.
Does an embossed-only impression count as stamped?
Section 225 uses the word stamped without identifying a device, so the cited text does not settle the point either way. It neither lists embossing nor excludes it.
Why does your Maine artwork show No. before the license number?
That is the format on our production artwork for Maine. It reflects how we set the number on this state's seal, not wording taken from a rule.
When your name and license number are ready, order from our Maine stamps and seals collection and approve the proof before production.
