An Arkansas architect seal is a 1.5-inch circle with a 1-inch circle centered inside it, and it must show the name under which you are registered, your license registration number, and the legend REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF ARKANSAS. The rule names three formats: a metal impression, a rubber stamp or a printed seal. This page covers use, electronic files and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Shown in the form under which you are registered. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D |
| Registration number | Your license registration number appears on the face. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D |
| Legend | REGISTERED ARCHITECT together with STATE OF ARKANSAS. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D |
| Shape and diameters | Circular, with an outer circle of 1.5 inches and a concentric inner circle of 1 inch. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Seal Design Requirements |
| Formats | A metal impression, a rubber stamp or a printed seal, all named in the design paragraph. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Seal Design Requirements |
| What travels with the seal | Your signature and the date you affix the seal, placed together with it. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Use of Architect's Seal |
| Documents to seal | Every original contract document. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Use of Architect's Seal |
| Index sheets and cover pages | Included whenever they identify the specification pages that the seal covers. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Use of Architect's Seal |
| Electronic files | Dealt with through a release legend, not through any signature technology. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D, Use of Architect's Seal |
| Lapse and surrender | The seal provisions say nothing on either point. | ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI.D (silent as to lapse and surrender) |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. How an architect reaches licensure in Arkansas, from education through the ARE, appears in the national table on architect licensing requirements.
What must an Arkansas architect seal show?
Three items under Section XI.D: your name in its registered form, your license registration number, and the legend REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF ARKANSAS. All three belong on every seal, whatever format you choose.
- Name as registered: the exact form on your Arkansas registration
- License registration number: the number issued with that registration
- REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF ARKANSAS: the fixed legend
The phrase "as registered" is the detail to respect. Copy the name from your registration record, including any middle initial it shows, rather than from a business card or letterhead. See also our article on Arkansas architect seal regulations.
Which documents must carry the seal?
All original contract documents. The use provision of Section XI.D names them as the documents that receive the seal, and it requires your signature and the date of affixation to go on with it.
The word original matters here. The duty attaches to the contract documents themselves, so plan the seal into the title block of every original sheet and into the front matter of every original specification.
Do index sheets and specification cover pages need the seal?
Yes, when they identify the specification pages the seal covers. Those sheets count among the original contract documents, so the seal, your signature and the date of affixation go on them as well.
This is how a single seal reaches into a bound specification. The index sheet or cover page names the pages, and the seal placed there covers the pages it lists. Keep that list accurate, since it is what tells a reader which pages the seal covers.
What goes on the document along with the seal?
Your signature and the date you affix the seal. Section XI.D's use provision groups all three together on original contract documents, so a sealed sheet without a signature or a date is incomplete.
The date is not part of the seal face. None of the three required face items is a date, so the date comes from you at the moment of sealing, next to the impression and your signature. That keeps a single seal usable across every project, since nothing on its face goes out of date by itself.
What size and shape does the rule set?
Circular, with two concentric circles: 1.5 inches in diameter outside and 1 inch inside. The Seal Design Requirements paragraph of Section XI.D gives both figures, and the space between them is 1/4 inch on each side.
Give the maker both measurements. A seal that matches the outer circle but uses a larger or smaller inner circle is not the design the paragraph describes, and a seal cut at a different overall diameter departs from it entirely.
Which formats can produce the seal?
Three: a metal impression, a rubber stamp or a printed seal. The design paragraph of Section XI.D names all three itself, so an embosser, an inked stamp and a printed image are each within the rule.
The format does not change the design. Each one has to show the same three items within the same 1.5-inch and 1-inch circles. For style considerations, see our look at Arkansas architect stamp styles.
How does Arkansas treat electronic documents?
Through a release legend, not through a signature technology. Section XI.D's use provision answers the electronic question with a release legend, and the seal provisions set no separate electronic seal standard.
For your order, that means the rule does not call for a separate digital seal product. What the design paragraph names are its three formats, and the electronic release question is handled by the legend in the use provision rather than by the device you buy.
What happens to the seal if a registration lapses?
Not addressed. The seal provisions of Section XI.D say nothing about what happens to the seal when a registration lapses, and they say nothing about surrendering it either.
Because the rule is silent, this page does not supply an answer. The one firm point is that the three face items include no date, so nothing printed on the seal itself marks a registration period.
What should you have ready before ordering?
Your name exactly as registered and your license registration number. The legend and the 1.5-inch and 1-inch circles are fixed by the rule, so the only other decision is format: metal impression, rubber stamp or printed.
- Name, copied from your registration record
- License registration number
- Format: embosser, inked stamp or printed image
If you are still working through registration, our walkthrough on completing an Arkansas architect seal application comes first. For the presentation side, see Arkansas architect stamps and your professional image.
How do you check the seal before first use?
Make a test impression or a test print, then measure and read it. The outer circle should come to 1.5 inches and the inner circle to 1 inch, and the face should carry your registered name, your number and the full legend.
- Outer diameter 1.5 inches, inner diameter 1 inch
- REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF ARKANSAS both present
- Name spelled as registered
- Registration number correct, digit by digit
- For a printed seal, the printout measured at full size
For more on the device itself, see our overview of Arkansas architect seals.
Arkansas geologists seal under a separate rule; see the Arkansas geologist seal and stamp requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Does an Arkansas architect seal show an expiration date?
No. The three items Section XI.D requires on the face are your name, your registration number and the legend, and none of them is a date.
Can I order a 1.75-inch or 2-inch seal instead?
The design paragraph states 1.5 inches and 1 inch. A seal at another diameter is not the design that paragraph describes.
Should I use my registered name or the name I practice under?
Your name as registered. That is the form Section XI.D asks for, so copy it from your registration record rather than from a business card.
Does the legend have to be in capital letters?
Section XI.D gives the legend as REGISTERED ARCHITECT and STATE OF ARKANSAS. Matching that form exactly is the safe choice when you order.
Does renewing my registration mean a new seal?
Nothing on the face refers to a registration period, because the three required items include no date. The seal rules also say nothing about lapse, so there is no stated trigger for replacing it.
With your registered name and number in hand, choose your format in our Arkansas architect stamps and seals collection.
