An Indiana professional engineer seal must show your name and registration number exactly as your certificate of registration lists them, plus the legend professional engineer, framed by a milled edge or two concentric circles. Its outside diameter generally runs 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inches. You sign and date directly beside the seal, never across it. This page covers the seal face, size, devices, signing, sealed pages, electronic work and renewal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c) and the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Must match your certificate of registration character for character. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c) |
| Registration number | Must match the number on that certificate. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c) |
| Legend | professional engineer | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c) |
| Border | Two concentric circles or a milled edge, per the board design. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c) |
| Size and shape | Round, with an outside diameter that generally falls from 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inches. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a) |
| Devices | Embossed, rubber stamped or applied electronically, each matching the board design. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(b) |
| Signature and date | Placed immediately beside the seal and never over it. The date is the day you apply the seal. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-3(a), (b), (e) |
| Pages to seal | Each drawing or plan page and each specification title page, whenever the state building commissioner or some other government body must review the work. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-3(c), (d) |
| Electronic seal and signature | Both allowed. No cryptographic standard is named. | 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(b) |
| Late renewal | An unpaid renewal makes the certificate invalid, and practicing is unlawful until fees and reinstatement conditions are satisfied. | 864 IAC 1.1-8-1 |
Indiana is one row in our professional engineer seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side.
What does an Indiana PE seal have to say?
Your name and your registration number, each matching your certificate of registration exactly, plus the legend professional engineer. Per 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a), (c), a milled edge or two concentric circles frames those items, following the board design.
Copy the name character for character from the certificate, including any middle initial or suffix, and do the same with the number. Our post on the Indiana professional engineer seal is a related read on the face design.
How large is an Indiana engineer seal?
The outside diameter should generally land from 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inches, according to 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a). That is a band rather than one fixed figure, and the seal is round, so a circular die anywhere inside the band fits the stated range.
Choose a size inside the band with your title block in mind. Because your signature and date must sit directly beside the impression, a seal near the top of the range needs more open space around it on each sheet.
Which devices can apply an Indiana seal?
Three methods qualify: an embosser, a rubber stamp, or electronic application to a drawing. 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(b) names all three and requires each one to follow the board design described in subsection (a) of the same rule.
For paper sets, a self-inking or traditional rubber stamp is the natural pick, because the rule names the rubber stamp outright. For files, use an electronic image drawn to the same design. Our post on Indiana engineer stamp guidelines has more on device choice.
Where do the signature and date go on an Indiana sheet?
Directly next to the seal, and never across it. 864 IAC 1.1-7-3(a), (b), (e) requires your signature and the date you apply the seal to sit immediately beside the impression, so nothing you write may overlap the seal itself.
Plan each title block with a clear signing area beside the seal area. If your templates were drawn for signing across an impression, redraw them before the next Indiana submission so the signature and date have their own space.
Which signatures and which date does Indiana accept?
The signature may be your original handwritten one, an electronic one, or another form of signature that Indiana law recognizes. The date is the day the seal is applied, which is not the same thing as a drawing's revision date.
Where a sheet has been revised several times, the date beside the seal still records when you sealed it. Keep your revision block separate so a reviewer never confuses the two dates.
Which pages must carry the Indiana seal?
The seal goes on each drawing or plan page and on the title page of each specification, whenever work under your responsible charge has to be submitted to the state building commissioner or any other government body for review.
Drawings take the seal page by page and specifications take it on their title page, so count sheets before a submission to be sure each one is covered. The rule is 864 IAC 1.1-7-3(c), (d). Our post on Indiana PE stamp requirements is a related read.
How does electronic sealing work in Indiana?
The seal may be applied electronically to a drawing, and an electronic signature is accepted. Indiana names no cryptographic standard for either one under 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(b), so the rule does not tie you to a specific technology.
The electronic signature follows Indiana's general electronic-records definition: a sound, symbol or process in electronic form, attached to or logically linked with the record, that a person executes or adopts intending to sign it. The electronic seal image still has to follow the board design.
What happens if an Indiana registration is not renewed on time?
Registration renews every two years. If you miss the renewal fee deadline, the certificate is no longer valid, and practicing or even offering engineering services is unlawful until you pay the renewal and late fees and satisfy every reinstatement condition.
Treat the seal as off limits during any lapse, since 864 IAC 1.1-8-1 bars practice until reinstatement is complete. Pay the renewal fee before the deadline so a sealed set is never caught in that gap.
What details should you gather to order an Indiana PE seal?
Start with your certificate of registration. Copy your name and registration number from it exactly, confirm the legend professional engineer, and choose a milled edge or two concentric circles and a diameter in the 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inch band.
Pick your device next: a rubber stamp for paper, an embosser if you want a raised seal, or both. Our posts on Indiana engineer stamp rules and on getting a professional engineer stamp in Indiana are useful companions.
How should you check an Indiana impression before sealing plans?
Stamp a test sheet and measure the outside diameter; it should land within the 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inch band. Then compare the name and number letter for letter against your certificate of registration before you approve the device.
Next, mock up a title block and sign and date beside the test impression to confirm there is room without crossing it. Copy or scan that sheet to confirm the seal, signature and date all stay readable on the version you submit.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1-3/4 inch seal acceptable in Indiana?
Yes. A 1-3/4 inch outside diameter sits inside the band that 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(a) describes, which generally runs from 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inches.
My name changed. Can I keep using my old seal?
The seal has to match the name on your certificate of registration exactly. Once your certificate shows the new name, a seal carrying the old one no longer matches it, so order a new seal at that point.
Can the date beside the seal be the drawing's issue date?
The date is the day the seal is applied. If you seal on the day of issue, the two dates match; if you seal on another day, write the sealing date.
Does an embossed-only seal work in Indiana?
The rule permits an embossed seal. A raised mark without ink can be hard to see on copies, though, so test a copied sheet before you rely on an embosser alone for a submission.
Does a self-inking stamp count as a rubber stamp?
A self-inking stamp is a rubber stamp with a built-in ink pad, and the rule lists the rubber stamp as an approved method. It still has to follow the board design and fall within the size band.
Browse our Indiana engineer stamps and seals with your certificate of registration beside you, so the name and number you enter match it exactly.
