A Kansas geologist seal uses two circles, an outer one of 1 5/8 inches and an inner one of 1 1/16 inches, with your name, PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST, LICENSED, KANSAS and your certificate number in fixed positions. You must obtain it within 30 days of licensure, and you sign and date across it. This page covers layout, devices, digital signing, sealed documents and lapse rules.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1 and the Kansas State Board of Technical Professions. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Get the seal within 30 days after your license issues. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Ring sizes | A 1 5/8 inch outer circle and a 1 1/16 inch inner circle, both measured as diameters. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Upper ring | Your name as shown on the license. The given name may be shortened to initials; the surname may not. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Lower ring | PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Inner circle | LICENSED at the top, the certificate number in the middle, KANSAS at the bottom. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Devices | Rubber stamp, embossed seal or digital seal. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(a) |
| Signature and date | A handwritten or authenticated digital signature, plus the date, written across the seal. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(b)(1) |
| Digital signature | Unique to you, verifiable, under your sole control, and bound to the document so any change breaks it. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(b)(3), (4) |
| Documents | Every document you prepare or hold responsible charge over, with drawings, technical reports, records and papers included, within the limits of K.S.A. 74-7042a. | Kan. Admin. Regs. 66-6-1(c), (d), (e) |
| Expired or revoked license | Stamping any document is unlawful until the license is renewed or reissued. | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 74-7023(d) |
What goes on a Kansas geologist seal, and where does each item sit?
K.A.R. 66-6-1(a) fixes both content and position. The upper ring holds your name; the lower ring holds PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST. Inside, LICENSED sits at the top, your certificate number in the center and KANSAS at the bottom.
Use your name as it appears on your license. K.S.A. 74-7023(d) describes the same device as a seal of distinctive design authorized by the Board, carrying your name and number and a uniform inscription the Board sets.
What are the ring sizes on a Kansas geologist seal?
The outer circle measures 1 5/8 inches in diameter and the inner circle 1 1/16 inches, both set by K.A.R. 66-6-1(a). These are exact figures, so a device built to the outer size alone, with a different inner circle, does not match the rule.
K.A.R. 66-6-1 is also the seal rule for the Board's other technical professions, and K.S.A. 74-7003 lists professional geology among them. See the Kansas PE seal ring sizes and the Kansas land surveyor two ring seal for how other licensees apply it, or compare other states in our geologist seal rules for all 54 jurisdictions.
How soon after licensure do you need the seal?
Within 30 days of the date your license is issued, under K.A.R. 66-6-1(a). K.S.A. 74-7023(d) adds that documents you sign in a professional capacity are stamped with the seal for as long as the license lasts.
Order early enough for the device to arrive inside that window. Confirm your certificate number first, since it sits at the center of the design.
Which devices does Kansas allow?
Three, named in K.A.R. 66-6-1(a): an embossed seal, a rubber stamp or a digital seal. Each carries the same two ring layout and wording, and the rule does not rank them, so choose by how your documents are delivered.
Because the signature and date cross the impression, the center of the seal needs to stay clear enough for ink to read over it. If you keep both a physical and a digital seal, build them from one layout.
How must the signature and date be applied?
Across the seal. K.A.R. 66-6-1(b)(1) calls for your handwritten or authenticated digital signature, and the date, to be written over the impression rather than next to it. Taken together, the three marks certify that you created the document or that it was made under your responsible charge.
The same signing rule appears in our pages on the Kansas architect seal and signing across and the Kansas landscape architect seal and signing rules.
What makes a Kansas digital signature valid?
K.A.R. 66-6-1(b)(3) sets four conditions. The digital signature must be unique to you, verifiable, under your sole control, and bound to the document in a way that any later change breaks. The rule names no certificate authority.
Under K.A.R. 66-6-1(b)(4), every electronic document you transmit or store must carry your signature, the signing date and the seal. Altering the document voids all three.
Which Kansas documents need the seal?
Every document you prepare or hold responsible charge over, which K.A.R. 66-6-1(c)(1) says includes drawings, technical reports, records and papers. The geology practice exemption in K.S.A. 74-7042a sets the outer edge of that duty.
Subsection (c)(2) adds anything you submit for final approval or recording, whether to a government agency, a client or a user. Geology's exemption sits in its own statute, apart from the engineering and surveying exemptions, so read K.S.A. 74-7042a rather than another profession's rule.
Where does the seal go, and can preliminary work skip it?
K.A.R. 66-6-1(d)(1) places the seal on either the first page or the last page of a technical report. A drawing set is sealed on every sheet unless a digital authentication process links all of the sheets together.
Preliminary documents escape the duty only if labeled. K.A.R. 66-6-1(e) exempts documents marked "PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECORDING PURPOSES, OR IMPLEMENTATION" or with words of comparable meaning.
When is it unlawful to use a Kansas geologist seal?
Once the license expires or is revoked. K.S.A. 74-7023(d) makes stamping any document unlawful from that point until the license is renewed or reissued, so a lapsed geologist has no lawful use for the device.
Renewal is biennial under K.A.R. 66-6-10(a). Inactive and emeritus statuses are available, and both bar practice.
Does a Kansas geology firm need a seal or certificate?
The firm needs a certificate of authorization, not a seal. Under K.S.A. 74-7036(a), any business entity set up to practice a technical profession must hold that certificate, name licensed principals who are in responsible charge, and have a licensed professional regularly supervise each of its offices.
Neither the certificate number nor the firm name is required on sealed work by any rule, and no firm seal exists. The seal on the work stays the individual geologist's.
What should you check before ordering and on the first impression?
Confirm your certificate number, your name as licensed with the surname in full, the two ring diameters and the PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST legend in the lower ring. Then pick the device and leave room in the center for a signature and date to cross.
On the first impression, measure both circles, check that LICENSED, the number and KANSAS stack in order in the center, and proofread the name. Kansas notary stamps follow separate rules; see Kansas notary stamp expiration dates and name changes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Kansas geologist seal show a date?
No. The element list in K.A.R. 66-6-1(a) contains no date, so the face does not go out of date. You write the date across the seal, with your signature, each time you seal a document.
Can I use initials instead of my full name?
For your given name, yes: K.A.R. 66-6-1(a) lets you abbreviate it or reduce it to initials. Your surname must appear in full.
Do revisions need a new seal impression?
Yes. K.A.R. 66-6-1(c)(2) extends the sealing duty to each revision of a document submitted for final approval or recording.
Who in a firm seals the work?
The licensed geologist who prepared the document or is in responsible charge of it, under K.A.R. 66-6-1(c)(1). The firm's certificate of authorization does not take the place of that individual seal.
How does the geologist seal differ from the Kansas engineering seal?
K.A.R. 66-6-1(a) uses one layout and one pair of ring sizes for the Board's technical professions. Apart from your name and number, the difference is the profession in the lower ring, which reads PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST on yours.
Once your certificate number and name are confirmed, browse our Kansas stamps and seals for a device built to the K.A.R. 66-6-1(a) layout.
