The North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists, not a supplier, issues the geologist seal: each licensee obtains it from the Board's secretary at a cost the Board sets. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 requires your signature and the seal on covered geologic documents. The chapter states no size, no date rule and no electronic option. This page covers the face, sealing duties, inactive status and corporate seals.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 and the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who supplies the seal | The Board's secretary, once your license issues, in the design the Board authorizes. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 |
| Charge | Cost plus $7.50. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13; 21 NCAC 21.0107(a)(9) |
| Items on the face | Your name and the state's licensed geologist legend. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 |
| License number | Not among the seal's listed elements. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 |
| Size and shape | No diameter appears in the statute or the Board's rules. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 (silent) |
| Signature | Required with the seal, and each marks your responsibility. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 |
| Date | No date rule. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 |
| Documents covered | Geologic drawings, reports and other papers you prepare or approve for delivery to anyone or for public record in the state. | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 89E-6, 89E-7, 89E-13, 89E-18 |
| Electronic seal | Not provided for in the chapter or the rules. | N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 89E (silent) |
| License expiry | Licenses expire on July 1, with a $50 late payment penalty until August 1. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-12 |
Who issues the North Carolina geologist seal, and at what charge?
The Board does. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-13 directs each licensee, once the license issues, to obtain the seal from the Board's secretary at a cost the Board prescribes, made to the design the Board authorizes.
The Board's fee schedule at 21 NCAC 21.0107(a)(9) sets the charge at cost plus $7.50. Because the device comes from the Board, there is no layout for you to design and no proof for you to approve. Geologists who also hold licenses elsewhere can compare other states in our geologist seal rules for all 54 jurisdictions.
Which two items does the statute put on the seal?
Your name and a legend that pairs Licensed Geologist with State of North Carolina, the two phrases joined by a hyphen in the statute. Section 89E-13 leaves every other feature of the face to the design the Board authorizes.
This is a professional seal, not a notary device. Notaries in North Carolina are commissioned and follow their own seal rules, covered in our page on the four lines on every North Carolina notary seal.
Why is no license number listed for the seal?
Because § 89E-13 does not name one. The statute lists the licensee's name and the legend as the seal's content and stops there, so the number is not a statutory element of the seal.
North Carolina's engineers and land surveyors work under G.S. 89C-16(c), which does put the license number on the face. One board's practice does not carry over to another; see our pages on North Carolina PE stamp requirements and signing and sealing rules for North Carolina land surveyors.
Is a diameter or shape set anywhere in the rules?
No. Section 89E-13 gives no diameter, and nothing in 21 NCAC 21 adds one. Because the Board supplies the seal, its physical size is whatever the Board's authorized design makes it.
The practical result is that size is never your decision. Your part is to use the device as issued, on the documents the statute covers.
How do the signature and seal work together?
Both are required, and each carries weight. Section 89E-13 has covered documents signed by the geologist and impressed with the geologist's seal, and it treats the signature and the seal as separate marks of your responsibility.
The statute does not ask you to sign across the impression, and it sets no date rule. Other North Carolina boards write their own signing rules; compare our page on the North Carolina architect seal and hand signing.
Which geologic papers carry the signature and seal?
Any drawing, report or other geologic paper involving geologic work that you prepare or approve for delivery to anyone, or for public record, in North Carolina. The duty also reaches a nonresident geologist exempted under the chapter.
That reach covers private deliverables, not only public filings. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-6 sets out the exemptions, § 89E-7 sets limitations, and § 89E-18 lists prohibited and unlawful acts.
Is there any provision for sealing digital files?
None. Chapter 89E is silent, and so is 21 NCAC 21: neither provides for a digital or electronic geologist seal, and no standard is named. Section 89E-13 speaks of a document impressed with the seal, wording that points to a physical impression.
Neighboring boards did write such rules, 21 NCAC 56.1103(e) for engineers and surveyors and 21 NCAC 26.0207(h) for landscape architects, and neither reaches geologists. Treat an electronic geologist seal as unaddressed rather than authorized. For the landscape architecture side, see our page on the North Carolina landscape architect seal.
What does inactive status mean for your sealing rights?
They end while the license is inactive. Under 21 NCAC 21.0303(d), a geologist on inactive status loses the right to seal and certify documents with the seal until the license is active again.
Inactive status also has a limit: after five years, the license expires unless the Board has given permission to remain inactive longer. How an inactive geologist is to be described is covered in the questions below.
How does the July 1 expiry cycle work?
Every license expires on July 1 under 21 NCAC 21.0107(b). A $50 late payment penalty applies between July 1 and August 1, and reinstatement after that date falls under 21 NCAC 21.0302.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89E-12 governs how licenses are issued, renewed and replaced. Apart from the inactive status bar, the rules read here state no separate rule on using the seal after a license lapses.
What seal does a registered geological corporation use?
A second Board seal. Under 21 NCAC 21.0402(d), each registered corporation or limited liability company obtains a Board approved seal showing the entity's name and its North Carolina registration number, plus the phrase registered geological corporation or registered geological limited liability company, whichever applies.
The charge is again cost plus $7.50, set by 21 NCAC 21.0107(a)(10). Section 89E-13 still requires the individual geologist's own signature and seal on covered documents, so the entity seal adds to that duty rather than replacing it.
How should you check the seal once the Board delivers it?
Against your license. Confirm that your name reads exactly as licensed and that the legend pairs Licensed Geologist with State of North Carolina, then make a test impression on scrap paper before the first covered document.
Check that the impression is clean and complete, and lay out your title blocks and report signature pages with room for both the seal and your signature.
Frequently asked questions
May a commercial stamp maker produce this seal?
Section 89E-13 sends licensees to the Board's secretary for the seal, and 21 NCAC 21.0107(a)(9) prices it on that basis. The official device comes from the Board.
What does the cost plus $7.50 charge cover?
The Board passes on what the seal costs and adds a flat $7.50, as 21 NCAC 21.0107(a)(9) sets out. The corporate seal is priced the same way under (a)(10).
How is an inactive geologist to be described?
Under 21 NCAC 21.0303(f), a reference to an inactive geologist reads Retired Geologist or N.C. Geology License No. __ (inactive).
Must an exempted nonresident geologist sign and seal North Carolina documents?
Yes. Section 89E-13 extends the signing and sealing duty to papers prepared or approved by a nonresident geologist exempted under chapter 89E. The exemptions themselves are in § 89E-6.
Do corporate registrations run on the same July 1 cycle?
Yes. Registration for a geological corporation or limited liability company renews every year on the same July 1 cycle as individual licenses.
If you also hold a geology license in another state, our guide to geologist seal rules in all 54 jurisdictions sets out each jurisdiction's requirements.
