A New York professional geologist seal is a circle roughly 1 3/4 inches across, with the Great Seal of New York in the middle, your licensed name above it, your license number alone beneath it, and STATE OF NEW YORK and LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST around the band. An embosser, rubber stamp or electronic version may carry it. This page covers the design, signing, alterations and proofing.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 8 NYCRR § 68.13 and the New York State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes. Each professional geologist has a seal approved by the board. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1) |
| Shape and diameter | A circle of about 1 3/4 inches. | 8 NYCRR § 68.13 |
| Center of the seal | The Great Seal of New York, inside the inner circle. | 8 NYCRR § 68.13 |
| Name and number | Licensed name above the Great Seal; license number below it with no added letters or numbers. | 8 NYCRR § 68.13 |
| Outer band | STATE OF NEW YORK on top, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST along the bottom. | 8 NYCRR § 68.13 |
| Devices | Rubber stamp, embossing seal or electronic version. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1) |
| Signature | A personal signature on the original, alongside the seal, when filed with public officials. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1), (2) |
| Documents covered | Geologic drawings and reports filed with public officials. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1), (2) |
| Electronic standard | No cryptographic standard is named. | 8 NYCRR § 68.13 (silent) |
| Renewal | The license itself never expires. Registration renews every three years. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209 |
What are the five parts of the seal, and where does each sit?
Five elements, each placed by 8 NYCRR § 68.13. Two run around the outer band, and three stack inside the inner circle from top to bottom, with the Great Seal of New York in the middle.
- STATE OF NEW YORK: the top arc of the band
- Your name, spelled exactly as licensed: set over the central emblem
- The Great Seal of New York: the middle of the seal
- Your license number: set under the emblem
- LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST: the bottom arc of the band
The number stands alone: the rule allows no other letters or numbers with it. That leaves no place for a PG prefix, a registration expiry date, your firm's name or a certificate of authorization number. For how other states lay out the same credential, see our geologist seal rules across all 54 jurisdictions.
How precise is the 1 3/4 inch figure?
The rule calls for a circle approximately 1 3/4 inches in diameter. The word approximately leaves a little room, but a noticeably smaller circle crowds the Great Seal and the lettering around it.
Section 68.13 applies to anyone whose first application for licensure was made on or after July 1, 1984, and it uses the same figure for every profession it covers.
Which devices can carry the design?
Three, under N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1): a rubber stamp, an embossing seal or an electronic version. All three show the single design that § 68.13 prescribes.
Choose by how the work leaves your office. An inked stamp prints on a copy; an embossed impression carries no ink, so test how it reproduces before relying on it for a report that will be copied or filed. A notary stamp is a separate device under separate rules; see our New York notary stamp and statement rules.
Why do engineers, surveyors and geologists share one layout?
Because § 68.13 writes a single seal for all three professions and changes only the bottom legend. The rule lists four permitted bottom legends, and a geologist takes LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST.
The rule supplies a combined legend for a person licensed as both engineer and land surveyor, but none that joins engineer and geologist. Compare the sister versions in our pages on the New York PE seal built around the Great Seal and the New York land surveyor seal layout and size.
How is a sealed geologic document signed?
With your personal signature, on the original. Section 7209(1) requires documents filed with public officials to be stamped with the seal and to carry the licensee's personal signature, applied to the original itself rather than reproduced from a copy.
Place the signature so it does not cover your name or license number on the impression. The seal and the signature do different jobs, and each should stay readable on the filed original.
Must a date appear next to the seal?
No. Neither Education Law § 7209 nor 8 NYCRR § 68.13 requires a date next to the seal. Dating comes up in the statute only when someone changes an item that has already been sealed.
Adding a date is your choice. The seal rule itself does not ask for one.
When does a geologist's sealing duty attach?
When geologic drawings and reports go to public officials for filing. That is the point at which § 7209(1) requires a professional geologist to stamp and sign them.
Professional engineers carry a sealing duty over geologic drawings and reports under the same subsection, so a geologic report inside an engineering submission can attract both.
What does the law require when a sealed report is altered?
A set procedure, written partly for geologic material. Under Education Law § 7209(2), a sealed item carries a warning stamp stating that changing it is a violation unless the change is made under the direction of a licensed professional.
Whoever makes the change must apply their own seal and write "altered by" with their signature, then record when the alteration was made and describe it specifically. The warning is a separate stamp from the round seal, since § 68.13 leaves no room for it inside the circle.
Is an electronic version acceptable, and under what standard?
It is acceptable, as one of the three forms § 7209(1) allows. What New York does not do is name a cryptographic standard for it, and § 68.13 is silent on that point.
Since the rule sets no protocol, agree the file format and signing method with whoever will receive the report before you file it electronically.
What should you check on the proof?
Confirm a circle of about 1 3/4 inches, the Great Seal in the middle, your licensed name spelled correctly over it, and the license number alone under it. The band should read STATE OF NEW YORK on top and LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST beneath.
When the seal arrives, stamp a test sheet and copy it to confirm every line reads clearly. If you want the § 7209(2) warning on your documents, plan it as its own stamp.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a hydrogeologist or engineering geologist seal in New York?
No. Section 68.13 gives the geologist one bottom legend, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST, with no specialty variant.
I hold PE and geologist licenses. Can one seal cover both?
No combined legend exists for that pairing. Section 68.13 provides one for engineer and land surveyor, not for engineer and geologist, so each license needs its own seal.
Does the seal change when I renew my registration?
No. The license does not expire; registration renews on a three year cycle under § 7209. The seal shows only your license number and no expiration date, so the same device serves through every renewal. Surrender after lapse, retirement or revocation is not addressed in § 7209 or in 8 NYCRR Part 68.
Does my geology firm get its own seal?
No. The firm holds a certificate of authorization, issued by the Department under Education Law § 7210 for three years, but receives no seal. Nothing in the statute puts that certificate number on sealed documents.
Do architects and landscape architects use this design?
No. Section 68.13 covers engineers, land surveyors and geologists only. See our pages on the New York architect seal and the New York landscape architect seal for those professions.
With your licensed name and number confirmed, order a 1 3/4 inch seal from our New York stamps and seals collection.
