A Kentucky professional engineer's seal must carry the legend Licensed Professional Engineer with your name and license number, applied together with your signature and the date. Only two devices qualify, an embossing seal or a rubber stamp, because an image produced by a computer does not count as an original seal. Size ranges differ for engineers and land surveyors. This page covers wording, devices, digital signatures, covered documents and expiration.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(1) and the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name and number | Both are printed on the seal. | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(1) |
| Title legend | Engineers carry Licensed Professional Engineer. Land surveyors carry Licensed Professional Land Surveyor. | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(1) |
| Dimensions | No single size. Each profession has its own size range, and the two ranges are not the same. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 5, 6 |
| Outline | No shape is stated. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Physical devices | A rubber stamp or an embossing seal built to the regulation's design requirements. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 1(6), 2 |
| Computer image | Not accepted as an original seal or stamp. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 1(6), 2 |
| Signing and dating | Seal, signature and date are applied as a set. A reproduced original signature satisfies the statute. | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(3), (4) |
| Covered documents | Plans, drawings, specifications and reports delivered to any public or governmental agency, or handed to a client. | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(3), (5) |
| Digital signature | Can replace the seal, signature and date together when six security conditions are met. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 3, 4 |
| Expired license | Applying a seal, stamp or signature after expiration is unlawful. | Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 322.160, 322.340(6) |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in professional engineer seal requirements by state.
What does a Kentucky engineer seal have to say?
Three items, set by Ky. Rev. Stat. § 322.340(1): the legend Licensed Professional Engineer, plus the licensee's own name and license number. Land surveyor seals carry Licensed Professional Land Surveyor in its place, so a seal made for one profession cannot be used for the other.
The word Licensed is part of the legend the statute names. A seal that reads only Professional Engineer drops a word the law calls for. For a broader look at how the board expects the seal to be used, see our Kentucky PE seal guidelines.
Does Kentucky fix one seal size?
No. 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 5, 6 tie the seal to size ranges, and the engineer range is different from the land surveyor range. The cited rules state no required shape.
Because the professions have separate ranges, a device sized for a surveyor may fall outside the engineer range. Put your profession on the order so the die is made for engineers. Our note on Kentucky engineering seal regulations gives more background on the rule.
Which devices can apply a Kentucky seal?
One of two devices: a rubber stamp, or else an embossing seal. Under the regulation, an original seal or stamp means one of those two devices built to its design requirements, and a computer-generated image falls outside that definition.
The board reads KRS 322.340 the same way in its published Approved Stamps and Seals guidance: each licensee needs either an embossed metal seal or a rubber stamp. If you prefer a raised impression, our guide to ordering a Kentucky engineer embosser covers that device. For an inked impression, see our page on the Kentucky professional engineer stamp.
How do the seal, signature and date work together?
They go on as one unit. KRS 322.340(3) requires all three at once: the seal or stamp, your signature and the date. It also accepts a reproduction of an original signature as meeting that subsection.
The regulation fills in what original means. Under 201 KAR 18:104 Section 1(7), an original signature is a person's name written by hand and applied to a document. So you start from a handwritten signature, and a reproduction of that signature satisfies the statute's signing requirement.
Which documents need a Kentucky seal?
Each plan, drawing, specification or report delivered to a client, and likewise each one sent to a public or governmental agency. KRS 322.340(3) supplies that trigger, which depends on the recipient of the document.
If a document is one of those four types and is headed to either audience, plan to seal, sign and date it before it leaves your office.
Can a Kentucky engineer seal electronically?
Yes, through a digital signature. Under 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 18:104 Sections 3, 4, a digital signature can stand in for the original seal, signature and date, provided it meets six conditions.
The digital signature has to:
- identify you and nobody else;
- be verifiable;
- stay under your direct and exclusive control;
- be tied to the file so any later edit is easy to detect and shows up visibly;
- become invalid if anyone tries to change the document after you sign; and
- for a file that will be sent electronically, sit in a document saved as read-only first.
What changes when a Kentucky license expires?
You lose the right to seal. Under KRS 322.340(6), once your license expires it is unlawful to put your seal, stamp or signature on a covered document, or to allow anyone else to do so. The same subsection bars using them to help anyone evade chapter 322.
Under KRS 322.160(1), an individual license lasts no more than two years from issue unless renewed, and an individual renewal has to be completed by June 30 in the year the license expires. Our note on Kentucky PE license and stamp renewal has more on staying current.
Can a retired or inactive licensee keep sealing?
Not while in that status. 201 KAR 18:210 sets up retired and inactive registration for engineers and land surveyors, each with a fee every two years and a bar on practice. Before practicing again, you have to be reinstated under 201 KAR 18:115.
If you plan to step back from practice, keep the seal out of use for as long as that status lasts.
What should you send with a Kentucky seal order?
Four things: your name, your license number, your profession, and the device you want. Your profession decides both the legend and the size range, and the device choice is a rubber stamp, an embosser, or both.
Copy the license number from your license record rather than typing it from memory. It is one of only three items on the face, so an error there follows every document you seal.
How do you check a Kentucky seal before first use?
Make a test impression and compare it line by line with KRS 322.340(1): the full legend including Licensed, then your name, then your license number. Then confirm the order was made for the engineer size range, not the surveyor range.
If you also plan to sign digitally, test that workflow on its own against the six conditions above before a client file depends on it.
For the geologist side of practice in Kentucky, read what a Kentucky geologist seal requires.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Kentucky digital signature also need a seal image?
Under the regulation, a qualifying digital signature can stand in for the original seal, the signature and the date all at once, so no separate seal image is listed as a requirement.
Is read-only format needed for every electronic file?
The read-only step applies to a document that will be transmitted electronically. It is one of the six conditions a digital signature has to meet to replace the seal.
Does the Kentucky seal have to be round?
The cited rules do not state a shape. They handle size through a separate range for each profession, not through a required outline.
Is a digital signature the same as a computer-generated seal image?
No. A digital signature that meets the six conditions is its own route and can replace the seal, signature and date. A seal image produced by computer, on its own, is not an original seal.
Do firm permits renew on the same date as individual licenses?
No. An individual license is due no later than June 30 of its expiration year, and a business entity permit no later than December 31.
With your license number in hand, order your Kentucky engineer seal or stamp in the engineer size range.
