Thirty-six of the 54 U.S. jurisdictions in our sources give engineering firms a certificate of authorization or a similar firm credential, but only Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina make a design firm carry a seal of its own. Seven jurisdictions want the firm’s number printed on engineering documents instead, and Louisiana bars engineering and surveying firms from using seals. The table covers engineering, architecture and surveying firms in all 54 jurisdictions, with landscape architecture and geology further down.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against the statute or board rule cited in each row, including 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(c), S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 49-207 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 83A-10(a). Sources read September 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Engineering firms | Architecture firms | Surveying firms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; individual seal only | COA; no firm seal or number | Code of Ala. 1975, § 34-11-9(a)(1); Ala. Admin. Code r. 100-X-8-.01 |
| Alaska | COA; number on documents | COA; number on documents | COA; number on the plat | Alaska Stat. § 08.48.241; 12 AAC 36.185(g) |
| Arizona | Firm registration; no firm seal | Firm registration; no firm seal | Firm registration; no firm seal | A.R.S. § 32-141 |
| Arkansas | COA holders need a firm seal | No separate firm seal | COA holders need a firm seal | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(c) |
| California | No COA; organization record | No firm license | No firm certificate | Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 6738(h)(1), 8761(b) |
| Colorado | No firm registration | No firm registration | No firm registration | C.R.S. Title 12, Article 120 |
| Connecticut | Entity rules; no firm seal or number | COA; individual seal only | Entity rules; no firm seal or number | Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-298b, 20-306a |
| Delaware | COA; no firm seal or number | No COA; resident architect rule | COA; no firm seal | 24 Del. C. §§ 2821, 2722 |
| District of Columbia | No engineering firm license | Design firm license; no firm seal | No surveying firm license | D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.65 |
| Florida | Business registry; no firm number | No COA; qualifying agent | COA required | Fla. Stat. §§ 471.023, 481.219, 472.021 |
| Georgia | COA name, number, expiry on documents | Firm name barred from seal | COA name, number, expiry on documents | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 180-12-.02(3) |
| Guam | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; no firm seal | COA; no firm seal | 22 GCA § 32123 |
| Hawaii | No COA | No COA | No COA | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 464-12 |
| Idaho | COA; no firm seal or number | No COA | COA; no firm seal or number | Idaho Code § 54-1235 |
| Illinois | Registration; number on documents | Registration; number on documents | Registration; number on documents | 225 ILCS 305/14; 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1270.58(c) |
| Indiana | No firm seal or number | Firm practice rule; no firm seal | Not recorded | IC 25-31-1-18; 804 IAC 1.1-2-8 |
| Iowa | No COA | No COA | No COA | Iowa Code § 542B.26; § 544A.21 (repealed) |
| Kansas | COA; number not on documents | COA; number not on documents | COA; number not on documents | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 74-7036 |
| Kentucky | Business entity permit | No firm seal; firm name rule | Business entity permit | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.060 |
| Louisiana | Firm license; firm seals barred | Certificate of authority | Firm license; firm seals barred | LAC 46:LXI § 2701.A.1; LAC 46:I § 1301.E |
| Maine | No COA | No COA | No COA | 32 M.R.S. §§ 1253, 220-C, 18222 |
| Maryland | Firm permit | Firm name in title block | Not recorded | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402; COMAR 09.21.02.04 |
| Massachusetts | Registrant in charge; no firm seal | Entity rule; no firm seal | Registrant in charge; no firm seal | 250 CMR 5.05; 231 CMR 4.04 |
| Michigan | Firm approval; no firm seal | Firm approval; no firm seal | Firm approval; no firm seal | Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.2010 |
| Minnesota | Firm registration; number not on documents | Firm registration; number not on documents | Firm registration; number not on documents | Minn. Stat. ch. 319B |
| Mississippi | Certificate of authority | Not recorded | Certificate of authority | Miss. Code Ann. § 73-13-43 |
| Missouri | Not recorded | Certificate of authority; no firm seal | Certificate of authority; no firm seal | 20 CSR 2030-10.010 |
| Montana | COA for Secretary of State registrants | Not in statute; rules not read | COA for Secretary of State registrants | Mont. Code Ann. § 37-67-328 |
| Nebraska | COA; number on documents | COA; number on documents | Not recorded | 110 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 7 |
| Nevada | No COA; firm contacts on filings | No firm seal or number | No COA; firm contacts on filings | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 625.407, 623.349 |
| New Hampshire | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; individual seal only | Not recorded | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 310-A:20; N.H. Code Admin. R. Arch 307.01 |
| New Jersey | COA required | COA per discipline | COA required | N.J.A.C. 13:40-10 |
| New Mexico | No firm license; affidavit filed | No COA | No COA; affidavit filed | NMSA 1978 § 61-23-21; 16.39.5.10(E) NMAC |
| New York | COA; no firm seal | No firm seal or number | COA; no firm seal | N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 7210, 7307 |
| North Carolina | Firm number on every sheet | Firm seal required | Firm number on first sheet | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 56.1103(a)(6); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 83A-10(a) |
| North Dakota | Commercial practice certificate | No COA | Commercial practice certificate | N.D.C.C. §§ 43-19.1-27, 43-03-10(1) |
| Ohio | COA; posted, not printed | COA; no firm seal | COA; posted, not printed | Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4733.16, 4703.18(L) |
| Oklahoma | Certificate of authority; number on documents | Certificate of authority | Certificate of authority; number on documents | 59 Okla. Stat. § 475.21; Okla. Admin. Code 245:15-17-2(j) |
| Oregon | No firm registration | Firm registration | No firm registration | Or. Admin. R. 806-010-0080 |
| Pennsylvania | No COA; name approval | Registration; combined seal option | No COA; name approval | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.71, 9.143(b) |
| Puerto Rico | No COA; no firm seal | No COA; no firm seal | No COA; no firm seal | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Arts. 2, 16 |
| Rhode Island | COA; no firm seal or number | Not recorded | Not recorded | R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-24 |
| South Carolina | COA seal required | Firm seal required | COA seal required | S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 49-207, 11-11.D |
| South Dakota | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; no firm seal or number | SDCL 36-18A-48 |
| Tennessee | Disclosure filing; no firm seal | Disclosure filing; no firm seal | No firm seal or number | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-06-.03 |
| Texas | Registration; F number on each sheet | Registration discretionary | Firm registration; no firm seal | Tex. Occ. Code §§ 1001.405(b), 1051.306 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | No COA; DLCA firm license | No COA; DLCA firm license | No COA; DLCA firm license | 27 V.I.C. § 291(4) |
| Utah | No COA | No COA | No COA | Utah Code § 58-22-301(2); Utah Admin. Code R156-3a |
| Vermont | No firm registration | No COA; personal seal | No COA; no firm seal | 26 V.S.A. §§ 203, 2593 |
| Virginia | Registration; number not on documents | Registration; number not on documents | Registration; number not on documents | 18VAC10-20-627 |
| Washington | COA; number not on documents | COA required | COA for corporations and LLCs | RCW 18.43.130; RCW 18.08.320(5) |
| West Virginia | COA; no firm seal or number | No COA | COA required | W. Va. Code §§ 30-13-17(a), 30-13A-20 |
| Wisconsin | COA; no firm seal or number | COA; no firm seal or number | No COA | Wis. Stat. § 443.08(2) |
| Wyoming | Board registration; no firm seal | Not recorded | Board registration; no firm seal | Wyo. Stat. § 33-29-602 |
What is a certificate of authorization, and which firms need one?
A certificate of authorization, or COA, is a credential issued to the business rather than the person. It lets a corporation, LLC or partnership offer licensed design work and ties the firm to a licensee in responsible charge. In most states it adds nothing to the seal.
The name varies. Oklahoma and Missouri issue a certificate of authority, North Dakota a certificate of commercial practice, Kentucky a business entity permit and Maryland a firm permit for engineering. Illinois uses design firm registration, Michigan grants firm approval, and Arizona, Minnesota, Virginia and Wyoming register firms.
Counting all of those, the table records a firm credential for engineering firms in 36 of 54 jurisdictions, for architecture firms in 26 and for surveying firms in 32. The other rows have no firm credential or leave the point open, and Missouri engineering is not recorded in our sources.
The conditions are about people, not devices. Kansas wants a licensed professional regularly supervising each separate office, and Arizona wants a separate registration for every branch. Idaho’s Secretary of State refuses a business name with engineer or land surveyor wording unless the board has issued a certificate or eligibility letter.
Which states make a firm carry its own seal?
Three jurisdictions require a firm seal for engineering, architecture or surveying work: Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina. In each one the firm seal goes on the document next to the licensee’s own seal, never in place of it.
- Arkansas engineering and surveying firms. Under 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(c), each firm issued a COA obtains a seal of the board’s authorized design showing the firm name and COA number. It goes at least on the plan cover sheet, the cover or seals page of the specifications, and reports.
- South Carolina engineering and surveying firms. Regulation 49-207 sets a Certificate of Authorization seal at least 1 1/2 inches across, with the firm name and COA number in the center and South Carolina and Certificate of Authorization around the ring.
- South Carolina architecture firms. Regulation 11-11.D sets a 1 3/4 inch firm seal with a 1 3/16 inch inner circle, State of South Carolina at the top, Registered Architects at the bottom, and the firm’s name, business location and license number inside.
- North Carolina architecture firms. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 83A-10(a) calls for a Board approved firm seal beside the author’s seal. Under 21 NCAC 02.0206(a)(3) the firm license number sits in the innermost circle, with North Carolina and the approved firm name in the band, and the legend reads Registered Architectural Corporation, North Carolina or Registered Architectural Company. It goes on the cover sheet; a sole proprietorship needs none.
Pennsylvania offers an option rather than a duty: an architecture firm may use one combined seal listing each licensee’s name and number under the legend Architects, if every member holds a Pennsylvania license. Louisiana sits at the far end. LAC 46:LXI § 2701.A.1 says firms are not authorized to possess or use seals, so a Louisiana engineering or surveying firm should not order one.
Which states put the firm number on the drawing?
Seven jurisdictions require engineering documents to show the firm’s credential number as text: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. The number belongs in the title block or document text, not inside the individual seal.
- Alaska. The longest list: firm name, street address, phone number, project name, project location and the entity’s COA number, on every document that has to be sealed, under 12 AAC 36.185(g).
- Georgia. Georgia engineers and surveyors add the COA name, authorization number and COA expiration date to each original final document issued to a client or public agency.
- Illinois. Firms show the corporate or assumed name and the design firm registration number on technical submissions.
- Nebraska. Engineering and architecture organizations print their name, contact details and COA number on every drawing and on the first page of specifications, reports and studies.
- North Carolina. The firm’s name, address and license number go on each sheet of engineering drawings and on the first or title sheet of a survey.
- Oklahoma. OAC 245:15-17-2(j) requires the firm name, COA number and contact details on each separate document, and Oklahoma surveyors follow the same rule.
- Texas. Engineering firms show their name and F-xxxxx number on the engineering work they release, preliminary sets included, and the board wants every engineering sheet to identify the firm.
Architecture firms carry the same duty in three jurisdictions, Alaska, Illinois and Nebraska, and surveying firms in five: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Nevada instead wants the submitting firm’s name, address, email and telephone on plans or maps sent to a public authority, under NAC 625.611(1)(a).
Should the COA number go on a stamp or in the title block?
Keep firm data out of the individual seal. Where a rule asks for the firm number, set it as text in the title block or on a separate custom stamp, because firm credentials renew on their own cycle and some boards reject a seal that carries firm data.
Illinois engineering and surveying rules treat a seal bearing a firm’s name, instead of the responsible individual’s, as an invalid seal, while still requiring the firm name and number elsewhere on the submission. Illinois surveyors face that pair of rules on every plat. New York allows the license number on the seal “with no other letters or numbers,” and Georgia’s architecture rule calls a seal with a firm name unacceptable.
Dates are the other trap. Georgia prints the COA expiration date on each document, so a die engraved with it goes stale at renewal, and Texas firm registrations expire one year after issue under Tex. Occ. Code § 1001.405(d). A title block field can be edited; an engraved die has to be replaced.
A stamp still has a place on paper sets. The Texas board accepts the F number stamped on, typed at the bottom of a report, written legibly or added in CAD, and some Texas firms order a small second stamp with the firm name and number to sit beside the Texas PE seal. Engineer Seal Stamps makes that kind of COA or title block stamp as a custom stamp, set from the exact wording you send.
Which states have no certificate of authorization for engineering firms?
Our sources record no firm certificate, registration, permit or approval for engineering firms in 15 jurisdictions, including California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Oregon, Utah and Vermont. In those states the individual seal carries the document.
Several still want paperwork. California requires a current organization record at the board for civil, electrical and mechanical engineering businesses, and California architects file a Business Entity Report Form. New Mexico licenses no business entity; a company officer and the engineer in responsible charge file a signed affidavit within 30 days. Pennsylvania approves the firm’s corporate or fictitious name before the articles go to the Corporation Bureau, and Tennessee firms file a disclosure.
Others regulate people. Hawaii lets an entity practice when the person directly in charge is licensed and can bind it. Indiana issues engineering registrations only to natural persons, and Nevada requires a firm to employ at least one licensee full time. Puerto Rico ties practice to membership in a professional college and, inside a firm, has the person responsible for the case seal the first page.
The U.S. Virgin Islands has no certificate of authorization, though its licensing department issues engineering, architecture and surveying firm licenses. Massachusetts requires a registered engineer or surveyor in charge of that part of the business; whether it runs a separate firm registration was not verified in our sources.
Do architecture and engineering firms follow the same rules in one state?
Often not. Architecture and engineering usually answer to different boards, so one office can need a certificate for one discipline and nothing, or something stricter, for the other. Read each discipline’s column before assuming the firm is covered.
West Virginia requires a COA for engineering firms under W. Va. Code § 30-13-17(a), for West Virginia surveying firms under § 30-13A-20 and for landscape architecture firms under § 30-22-19, yet article 30-12 creates none for architecture. Idaho and Delaware split the same way, though Delaware wants a resident architect in each office. Oregon runs it in reverse, registering architecture and landscape architecture firms but not engineering or surveying firms.
Other splits concern the device. Arkansas engineering and surveying firms need a firm seal, while the Arkansas architecture board issues none. Louisiana architecture firms hold certificates of authority, while Louisiana engineering and surveying firms are licensed but barred from seals.
New Jersey issues separate certificates for architecture, landscape architecture and engineering, so a firm offering all three holds three, and the architecture certificate for New Jersey architects carries its own director and ownership tests. Wisconsin requires a COA for firms of architects, engineers, designers and registered interior designers, but not land surveyors.
What do landscape architecture firms need?
Our sources record a firm credential for landscape architecture in 20 jurisdictions, among them Alaska, Kansas, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. Only North Carolina and South Carolina give the firm a seal of its own.
South Carolina’s Regulation 76-4.B(4) sets a COA seal with the same round geometry as the individual seal, State of South Carolina at the top, COA at the bottom, and the firm name and COA number inside, which South Carolina landscape architects apply beside the individual seal. North Carolina landscape architects also have a firm seal (21 N.C. Admin. Code 26.0207(a), .0206, .0314, .0315). Alaska landscape architects have no firm seal but still put the COA number on every sealed sheet.
Georgia covers a Certificate of Organization in chapter 310-8, the District of Columbia requires a professional design firm license, and New Jersey gives landscape architecture its own certificate. Oregon landscape architects register the business, and its name appears on the stamped document.
Many states have nothing for the firm. California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin create no landscape architecture firm credential, and Nebraska does not license the profession.
Do geology firms need a certificate of authorization?
Usually not. Our sources record a geology firm credential in six of the 30 jurisdictions we hold geology data for: Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina and Texas. North Carolina is the one place a geology firm gets a seal, and the Board issues it.
For North Carolina geologists practicing through a corporation or LLC, 21 N.C. Admin. Code 21.0402(d) requires a Board approved seal with the entity’s name and North Carolina registration number plus the legend registered geological corporation (for an LLC, registered geological limited liability company). Firm registration renews each July 1, and because the seal comes from the Board it is not an item to order from a stamp maker.
Texas geoscientists show the geoscience firm name and registration number on geoscience documents under 22 Tex. Admin. Code § 851.156(t); those working for a government agency or an exempt firm show only its name. New York issues New York geology firms a three-year COA under N.Y. Educ. Law § 7210 but no seal.
Elsewhere the individual carries the firm. Florida qualifies a geology firm through a geologist of record under Fla. Stat. § 492.111, and Alabama refuses a geological report in a company’s name without the responsible geologist’s signature and seal. Missouri’s certificate of authority rule is an architects and engineers board rule that stops short of geology.
What happens to a firm credential at renewal?
Firm credentials renew on their own schedule, separate from each licensee’s license. Some states tie the right to seal to the firm’s standing, so a lapsed firm credential can stop sealing even while the individual license is current. Keep anything that changes at renewal in editable text.
- Ohio engineering and surveying COAs expire every two years on June 30, and the current certificate must be posted in the office.
- Illinois design firm registrations expire April 30 of each odd-numbered year.
- Texas engineering firm registrations expire on the first anniversary of issue.
- New York COAs run three years, and New Jersey COAs two years.
- Alaska expires a COA left unrenewed for five years, under 12 AAC 36.165.
South Carolina makes it unlawful to use a seal once the certificate of authorization of a firm named on it has expired or been revoked or suspended, unless it is renewed, reissued or reinstated (S.C. Code Ann. § 40-22-270(5)). Washington’s architecture and landscape architecture statutes bar sealing under an expired, revoked or suspended COA, at RCW 18.08.370(2) and RCW 18.96.150(2).
What should a firm order when it opens an office in a new state?
Order an individual seal for each licensee who will seal work there, then check two things in the table: whether the state wants a firm seal, and whether it wants the firm number printed on documents. Everything else about the firm lives in the title block.
- Arkansas engineering or Arkansas surveying firm with a COA: a second seal with the firm name and COA number, built to the board’s authorized design.
- South Carolina: a COA seal for engineering and surveying firms, a Registered Architects firm seal for architecture firms, and a COA seal for landscape architecture firms. The COA seal for South Carolina surveyors has the same 1 1/2 inch minimum as the individual seal.
- North Carolina architecture corporation or PLLC: a Board approved firm seal for the cover sheet.
- Louisiana engineering or surveying firm: no firm seal, because the rule forbids one.
- Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas engineering work: a title block field for the firm number, or a small custom stamp where paper sets need it.
When you order a firm seal or COA stamp, send the board’s approved design or the exact text, with the firm’s registered name and certificate number.
Frequently asked questions
Does a sole proprietor need a certificate of authorization?
Often not. Alabama exempts a licensee practicing under his or her own given name, Montana exempts a sole proprietor with no duty to register with the Secretary of State, and Wisconsin exempts a sole proprietorship using the individual’s own name. In North Carolina an exempt sole proprietor enters the individual license number where the firm number would go.
Can a firm seal replace the licensee’s seal?
No. South Carolina’s architecture rule says a firm seal alone is insufficient, and Arkansas and North Carolina require the firm seal in addition to the individual seal.
Can one stamp carry several licensees?
In a few places. Pennsylvania architects may use a combined firm seal when every member is licensed there, and Kentucky architects may use a combined seal naming two or more registered architects from the same office. Pennsylvania landscape architects cannot combine names.
Who signs and seals the title sheet for a firm?
Some states name that person. Guam requires the Responsible Managing Employee to sign, seal and date the title or first sheet, and West Virginia requires the firm’s engineer in responsible charge named on the COA application, or the project engineer.
If the COA number is not on the drawing, where does it appear?
Often on the office wall or in advertising. Ohio requires the current certificate to be posted conspicuously at the firm’s place of business, and Florida requires an architecture firm’s advertising to carry the license number of its qualifying agent.
Does a professional service corporation need a COA?
It depends on the state. Washington does not make professional service corporations formed under chapter 18.100 RCW, or professional LLCs, apply for an engineering COA. New Jersey requires one from corporations offering engineering or surveying services other than those formed under N.J.S.A. 14A:17.
If a board wants the firm number stamped on paper sets, or your firm needs a seal cut to an approved firm design, order it through our custom title block and COA stamps and include the exact wording or the board’s artwork.
