An Illinois architect's seal carries three items: the words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois, together with your license number and your name as licensed. The statute then asks for the seal, your signature, the current date and your license expiration date on the first sheet of a technical submission. No size is prescribed. This page covers the wording, the dates, the sealing scope and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 225 ILCS 305/14. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal wording | The words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois, plus your license number and your name as licensed. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Size | None prescribed. Section 14 states the elements and stops. | 225 ILCS 305/14 (no dimension stated) |
| Shape | No outline is named in the Act or in Part 1150. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Device | A reproducible seal or facsimile. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Electronic application | The seal or facsimile may be applied electronically, with no technology named. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Signature and dates | Seal, signature, the current date and the license expiration date all appear on the first sheet. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Where the seal goes | On the first sheet of the technical submission. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Documents carrying the seal | Technical submissions that serve as contract documents between the parties to a contract, or that go to a governmental or public authority with jurisdiction for review and approval. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Who may seal | The architect who prepared the submission, or the architect under whose responsible control it was prepared. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| License term | An individual architect license expires November 30 in each even numbered year, with renewal running in the month before that date. | 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1150.100(a) |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in architect seal requirements by state. The seal assumes you already hold the Illinois license; how to become a licensed architect covers the degree, AXP and ARE routes.
What must an Illinois architect's seal show?
Three items and no more. The words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois, your license number, and your name as licensed. Section 14 lists them and moves on to how the seal is used.
Because the statute is short, the errors are usually in the name. Use the version the license carries rather than the one on your letterhead. The element list is set out again alongside sample layouts on the Illinois architect seal provisions explained.
Does Illinois prescribe a size or a shape?
Neither. The Act names the three elements and supplies no dimension, and Part 1150 of the administrative code carries no seal section to add one. There is no minimum diameter, no maximum and no required outline.
We read both sources in full to confirm the silence rather than inferring it from one. In practice that leaves you free to fit the die to your title block, so long as the three items stay legible once the sheet is copied.
Which device may an Illinois architect use?
Anything that produces a reproducible seal or facsimile. The statute sets the test by result rather than by tool, which puts an inked rubber stamp and a computer generated image on the same footing.
Reproducible is the operative word. A device whose impression fades on a copy fails the statutory description even if it carries the correct wording, which is why raised impressions alone are a poor fit for documents that circulate.
What has to appear on the first sheet?
Four things together: the seal, your signature, the current date and your license expiration date. Illinois asks for both dates, which is the requirement most often missed by architects licensed in several states.
The first sheet is the location the statute names, so a submission sealed only on an interior sheet is not sealed where the Act asks for it. Build the block once as a template and the two dates stop being an afterthought.
Why does the expiration date belong on the sheet and not on the die?
Because the seal's three elements do not include a date. The name, the number and the state wording are cut into the device; the current date and the expiration date are written or typed onto the submission alongside it.
That split is worth keeping straight when ordering. A vendor who engraves an expiration date onto an Illinois architect seal has added something the statute does not list and has given you a device that goes out of date on its own.
Which documents count as technical submissions?
Those acting as contract documents between the parties to a contract, and those put before a governmental or public authority with jurisdiction for review and approval. The definition follows the document's purpose rather than its format.
A drawing set going to a permit office is squarely inside it. A study prepared for a client's internal use, with no contract role and no review authority, sits outside the description the Act gives. Where a set serves both purposes, treat it as a technical submission.
Who may seal an Illinois technical submission?
The architect who prepared it, or the architect under whose responsible control it was prepared. Responsibility is the qualifier in the statute, so the seal follows control of the work rather than ownership of the file.
Guidance on applying the standard inside a firm, including how the compliance points fit together, is collected on meeting the Illinois architect stamp rules.
Can the seal be applied electronically?
Yes. The statute allows the seal or facsimile to be applied electronically and names no particular technology, no file format and no signing standard. The requirement that it reproduce still governs.
With nothing further specified, the receiving authority's own submission rules become the practical constraint. Check what the permit office accepts before you commit a project to an electronic workflow.
When does an Illinois architect license expire?
On November 30 in each even numbered year, with renewal running through the month before that date. Part 1150.100(a) sets the cycle for every individual architect license issued under the Act.
The date matters more here than in most states because you write it on the first sheet of every submission. When the cycle turns, the expiration date in your title block template has to turn with it.
What happens to the seal if the license lapses?
The provisions cited here do not address it. Neither Section 14 nor Part 1150.100(a) states what becomes of the device once a license is no longer current, so there is no Illinois text to quote on the point.
What the Act does tie to the seal is a current expiration date written on the submission, which makes a lapsed credential visible on the face of the document.
What do we need to make your Illinois seal?
Your name as licensed, your license number, and the format you want. The Licensed Architect, State of Illinois wording is fixed by statute and we set it for you. Ordering steps are on ordering an Illinois architect stamp online.
Proof the two variable lines carefully. Design options and how the elements sit within a die are shown on Illinois architect stamp design choices.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the words Licensed Architect and State of Illinois both?
Yes. The statute states the wording as a single phrase, Licensed Architect, State of Illinois, so both parts belong on the device.
How large should I make a seal when no size is set?
Large enough that the name and number read clearly on a photocopy of the sealed sheet. Since the Act sets no dimension, legibility after copying is the only standard the wording has to meet.
Does every sheet of a drawing set need the seal?
The provision names the first sheet as the place where the seal, signature and dates appear. Any wider practice on a given project comes from the reviewing authority rather than from Section 14.
Is a scanned image of my seal acceptable?
The statute contemplates a seal or facsimile applied electronically, so an electronic image is within the description as long as it reproduces. Handle the file so that it stays under your control.
My license number changed format. Which version goes on the die?
The number as your current license shows it. That is what a reviewer will compare against the state record.
Do I need a separate seal for each office of the firm?
The device is personal to the licensed architect, not to a location. More on how architects use the device day to day is on Illinois architect stamps in daily practice.
Send your licensed name and license number and we will proof the die before it is cut. Compare formats on the Illinois architect stamps and seals page.
