Ohio prescribes its architect seal exactly: a circular device two inches across, with a concentric inner circle of one and three eighths inches. The annular space carries fixed wording, and your name and registration number sit horizontally in the middle. A four part block goes around the impression. This page covers the face, that block, electronic use and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A). Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | A certificate holder must obtain a seal of the design the architects board prescribes. | Ohio Rev. Code § 4703.12(A) |
| Wording, upper arc | The words state of Ohio sit at the top of the annular space. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Wording, lower arc | The words registered architect sit at the bottom of the same space. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Name and number | Your name and your registration number are placed horizontally in the inner circle. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Shape and diameter | Circular, two inches in diameter. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Inner circle | A second circle of one and three eighths inches, drawn concentric to the outer one. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Devices allowed | Four device families are named in the rule and all four are permitted. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(A) |
| Signature and date | A four part block goes around the seal, and the expiration date sits beside the impression. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(B), (C) |
| Documents to seal | Working drawings and specifications produced by the certificate holder, or under that holder's supervision. | Ohio Rev. Code § 4703.12(A) |
| Electronic seal | Allowed in place of an original seal and signature once five stated conditions are met. | Ohio Admin. Code 4703-3-01(B), (D) |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. The seal follows registration; the degree, experience and exam routes that lead to a Ohio license are compared in how to become a licensed architect.
Does an Ohio architect have to hold a seal?
Yes. A holder of a certificate of qualification obtains a seal of the design the architects board prescribes, and the working drawings and specifications that holder produces, or supervises, carry the imprint.
The design is not a supplier's decision. Rule 4703-3-01(A) fixes the geometry and the wording, so an Ohio order is a matter of reproducing a published specification rather than picking a layout you like. For a longer treatment of the same rule, see the design requirements behind Ohio architecture seals and stamps.
What wording does rule 4703-3-01(A) put on the face?
Four items, and none of them is optional. Two wording arcs sit in the annular space between the circles, and the inner circle holds the two pieces of information that belong to you alone.
- The words state of Ohio, across the top of the annular space
- The words registered architect, across the bottom of it
- Your name, set horizontally inside the inner circle
- Your registration number, also horizontal, inside the inner circle
Ohio kept the word registered where many states moved to licensed, so a die reading licensed architect does not match the published design. A run through the design choices open to Ohio architects shows how little room the rule leaves.
What size and shape must the seal be?
Circular, two inches in diameter, with a second circle of one and three eighths inches drawn concentric to it. Both figures are published, so a device measuring anything else is wrong before a word of it is read.
That fixed diameter is worth stating to whoever makes the seal, because a device sized by eye to suit a title block will miss it. The two circles also set how much room the wording has, which is why the annular space is the first thing to look at on a proof.
Which devices may an Ohio architect use?
The rule names four device families and permits every one of them. The choice is about how you work, not about compliance, because the face has to come out the same whichever device presses it.
What no device buys you is latitude on the design. An embossed impression, an inked one and an electronic image all have to carry the same two arcs, the same name and the same registration number at the same geometry.
What goes around the impression when you sign?
Ohio sets a four part block around the seal. The expiration date of your registration belongs beside the impression rather than inside the die, which is the single most useful thing to know before ordering.
Keeping the date out of the face means the device outlives a renewal cycle. A date cut into the die turns the seal into a consumable and gives a plan reviewer a reason to question an otherwise current impression.
Which documents carry the imprint?
Working drawings and specifications. Section 4703.12(A) attaches the duty to documents prepared by the certificate holder or under that holder's supervision, so the test is authorship and control rather than the size or type of project.
Supervision is doing real work in that sentence. Drawings produced by staff under a certificate holder fall inside the duty, which is why practices settle who seals what before a set goes out. A fuller walk through the Ohio architect stamp regulations sets out the same ground.
Does Ohio allow an electronic seal?
Yes. Rule 4703-3-01(D) lets an electronic seal and signature stand in place of an original seal and signature, provided five conditions are met at once.
- It gives a unique identification of the architect
- It is verifiable
- It stays under that architect's direct and sole control
- It is linked to the document so that a change to any data in the file after the seal was applied is readily determined and shown on screen
- The graphic image is readily available and produced in a manner the board accepts, carrying the same wording and substantially the same appearance and size as the physical seal at original document size
Read together, those conditions ask for control and tamper evidence, and they tie the electronic image back to the physical design. An electronic version that drops the annular wording or shrinks away from the published proportions fails the last condition.
What do the cited rules say about a lapsed registration?
Nothing. Use of the seal after a registration lapses is not addressed in the rules read here. What the rules do address is the expiration date carried beside the impression, which is the element that goes out of date first.
That silence is worth naming rather than filling. The practical handle you have is the block around the seal, so keep the date beside the impression current and treat the die itself as unchanged by a renewal.
What do you need ready before you order?
Two things: your name and your registration number, each exactly as the board records them. Everything else on an Ohio architect seal is fixed by rule, which means those two lines are the only places an order can go wrong.
Check the spelling and the number against your certificate rather than from memory, and state the two inch diameter when you place the order. How Ohio architect stamps line up with certification covers where those details come from.
How do you check an impression before you use it?
Press it onto paper and measure. The outer circle should come out at two inches and the inner one at one and three eighths, with both wording arcs sitting in the annular space between them.
Then read the middle. Your name and registration number should run horizontally inside the inner circle, spelled as the board holds them. A closer look at the Ohio professional architect seal shows what a correct impression looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Can the expiration date be built into the die?
The published face carries the two wording arcs plus your name and registration number. The expiration date belongs to the block around the seal, beside the impression, which is where it can be kept current without recutting anything.
Does the rule set a type size for the lettering?
The rule publishes two diameters and the wording. No type size is given, so the lettering has to fit the annular space and the inner circle legibly at the stated dimensions.
Is a border part of the required design?
Yes, in effect. The design is two concentric circles, the outer at two inches and the inner at one and three eighths, so the ring between them is the structure the wording sits in rather than decoration.
Must an electronic seal look like the pressed one?
Yes. Rule 4703-3-01(D) asks for identical wording and for an appearance and size that stay substantially alike when a document is viewed at its original size.
Does the rule name which four devices are allowed?
It names four device families and permits all of them. The rule is specific about the face and open about the mechanism, so the decision comes down to how and where you apply the seal.
Ohio leaves two lines to your order and fixes the rest of the design. Send your name and registration number exactly as the board holds them when you order from the Ohio stamps and seals collection.
