A New York landscape architect seal is a circle about 1 3/4 inches across: Registered Landscape Architect tops the outer band and State of New York runs along the bottom. The Great Seal of New York fills the center, with your licensed name over it and your license number under it. It may be embossed, inked or electronic; you sign the original. Below: layout, devices, signing, filing and registration.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Outer band | Registered Landscape Architect along the top; State of New York along the bottom. | 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 |
| Name | Your name in its licensed form, set above the Great Seal. | 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 |
| Center emblem | The Great Seal of New York, occupying the middle of the seal. | 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 |
| License number | Directly under the Great Seal. | 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 |
| Shape and diameter | A circle of roughly 1 3/4 inches. | 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 |
| Devices | An embosser, an inked rubber stamp, or an electronic seal. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 |
| Signature and date | Your personal signature on the original; no date is prescribed. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 |
| Documents | Working drawings and specifications that go to public officials for filing; the rules add two more duties for sealed work. | N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 7326, 7327 |
| Electronic method | No protocol is named. | 8 NYCRR Subpart 79-1 (silent) |
| License and registration | The license has no expiration; registration renews every three years. | N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in landscape architect seal requirements by state.
What must a New York landscape architect seal show?
Five items, fixed by 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4: an outer band reading Registered Landscape Architect over the top and State of New York along the lower edge, then your licensed name, the Great Seal of New York at the center, and your license number.
Placement is part of the rule. Your name goes above the Great Seal and your license number below it, so the center reads name, state emblem and number from top to bottom. The outer band is a ring around that inner circle, and it carries the two legends. Our walkthrough on creating a professional New York landscape architect stamp shows how the pieces fit together.
How large is the seal, and what shape?
Round, and approximately 1 3/4 inches across, under 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4. The rule gives that one figure for the circle and does not state it as a minimum or a maximum.
Order the die at that figure. A noticeably smaller circle crowds the Great Seal and the two band legends, and a much larger one moves away from the size the rule describes. Our guide to choosing the right New York landscape architecture seal size goes further into sizing.
Can you use an embosser, a rubber stamp or an electronic seal?
Yes, any of the three. N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 allows an embosser, an inked rubber stamp, or an electronic seal, so the choice turns on how your drawings are delivered and how they will be reviewed and copied.
An embosser leaves a raised impression with no ink, while a rubber stamp prints one that copies and scans more readily. If you prefer the raised mark, our article on the New York landscape architect seal embosser covers that device.
Does New York prescribe a format for electronic seals?
No. An electronic seal is one of the permitted devices, but 8 NYCRR Subpart 79-1 names no protocol for applying it. On method, the landscape architecture rules are silent.
With no protocol set, the practical guide is the submission requirements of the office receiving your files. Whatever format you use, keep the five required items legible at the size the page is viewed.
Do you sign or date next to the New York seal?
You sign; a date is not required. N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 pairs the seal with your personal signature on the original document, and it prescribes no date. The signature has to be your own, applied to the original.
The statute ties the personal signature to the original, so sign that document yourself rather than relying on a printed or copied signature. Adding a date is up to you, since none is prescribed.
Which documents must carry the seal?
Working drawings and specifications that you file with public officials, under N.Y. Educ. Law §§ 7326, 7327. Beyond the seal and signature on those documents, New York adds two further duties at rule level that apply to sealed material.
This page does not list those two duties, because the source it relies on notes them without setting them out. Read the landscape architecture rules in 8 NYCRR Subpart 79-1 before issuing sealed work so that nothing attached to the seal is missed.
Does the license expire, or the registration?
The registration. Under N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327, the license itself does not lapse with time, while registration comes up for renewal on a three-year cycle. The seal carries your license number rather than any registration date.
Keep the two ideas apart when you plan. The license is the credential behind the number on your seal, and the three-year registration cycle is the schedule you track to stay current.
Can you keep using the seal if registration lapses?
The seal rules cited here do not address it. Neither N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 nor 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4, as summarized for this page, says what happens to use of the seal when a registration lapses.
The seal rules leave the question open, so the cautious course is to hold off on sealing until your registration is current again, and to keep the seal secured in the meantime.
What should you supply when ordering?
Your name exactly as licensed, your license number, and your device choice: an embosser, a rubber stamp or an electronic seal. The two band legends and the Great Seal are fixed by rule, so you do not choose them.
Confirm the size at approximately 1 3/4 inches and check that the name matches your license record letter for letter. Our article on acquiring a New York landscape architect stamp covers getting the stamp in more detail.
How do you check a new New York seal before first use?
Stamp or emboss a test sheet and read it against the rule: the band should read Registered Landscape Architect over the top and State of New York underneath, with your name over the Great Seal and your license number beneath it.
Then photocopy or scan the test. The Great Seal is the most detailed part of the face, and fine lines can fill in on a copy. For more on the finished mark, see our feature on the New York landscape architect stamp.
If you also hold a New York geologist license, the New York geologist seal rules set out what that seal must carry.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a new seal when my registration renews?
None of the five items 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4 lists for the face is a registration date, and the license behind your number does not expire. A renewal on its own therefore gives the required face nothing to update.
How close to 1 3/4 inches does the seal need to be?
The rule states the figure as approximate and gives no tolerance around it. Stay as close to 1 3/4 inches as you can, since the rule offers no alternative size.
Can I use a shortened form of my name on the seal?
The rule calls for your name as licensed. Use the form that appears on your license, not a nickname or a shortened version, so the seal and the license record match.
Does an embossed seal work on drawings filed with public officials?
Yes. An embosser is one of the devices N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 allows, so it meets the seal requirement. A raised mark without ink can be hard to see on a copy, which matters when a filed set is reproduced.
Do I need a physical seal if I only submit electronically?
N.Y. Educ. Law § 7327 lists the electronic seal as one of three acceptable devices, alongside the embosser and the rubber stamp. Nothing cited here requires you to hold more than one of them.
Ready to order a seal laid out to 8 NYCRR § 79-1.4? Browse our New York stamps and seals collection.
