In Tennessee the seal says Registered Engineer, not Professional Engineer. It shows your registered name, your registration number, and either State of Tennessee or Tennessee. Under the board rules, the seal goes on original drawing sheets and on cover or index pages of specifications, calculations and reports, and the signature is applied in wet ink. Below is what the rules say and where they end.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306(b) and the State Board of Examiners for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal mandate | Yes. A registered engineer seals the documents the board rules list. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306(b) |
| Legend | Registered Engineer, which is not the wording used on a Professional Engineer die. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306(b) |
| Wording on the die | State of Tennessee or Tennessee; the words Registered Engineer; the registration number; and your name as registered. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306(b) |
| How you sign | Wet ink, and the rules are strict about it. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(3), (8)(b) |
| Drawings and plans | Each original sheet of a working drawing or plan set, bound or unbound, including tracings and other reproducible sheets. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(2), (4), (5), (9) |
| Specifications and reports | Specifications are sealed at their original cover or index pages, the ones identifying which pages the set covers. Design calculations and reports put up for review take the seal at those same front pages. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(2), (4), (5), (9) |
| Device types | The board rule names four. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(8)(a) |
| Electronic use | Permitted. No product is named, but criteria are. | Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(8)(a), (b) |
| Published dimensions | None. No diameter and no shape is published, and 2 inches is a manufacturing convention rather than a stated rule. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Lapsed certificate | The seal's life ends with the certificate, and use after a lapse is prohibited. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306(a), (b) |
To compare Tennessee with every other jurisdiction, see our table of professional engineer seal requirements by state.
Does Tennessee require a seal on engineering documents?
Yes. A registered engineer holds a seal and applies it to the documents the board rules list, which run from original drawing sheets through the front pages of specifications, calculations and reports.
The requirement sits in statute, and the board rules fill in which sheets are covered. Taken together they leave little room for judgment about what gets sealed. A practical walk through the same ground is in our piece on Tennessee PE stamp requirements in practice.
What does the statute put on the seal?
Four items, and one of them trips up buyers who order from a national template. The legend reads Registered Engineer, so a die that says Professional Engineer carries wording the statute does not use.
- Your name as registered.
- Your registration number.
- Registered Engineer, in those words.
- State of Tennessee, or simply Tennessee.
Either form of the state line satisfies the requirement, so the choice between them is a layout decision. The legend is not a choice. For more on the artwork itself, see what a Tennessee engineer stamp looks like and where to buy one.
What size is a Tennessee engineer seal?
The state publishes no dimension and no shape. Nothing read for this page states a diameter, a tolerance or an inner-ring measurement, which leaves the size to the manufacturer rather than to a rule you can cite.
Two inches is what the trade commonly cuts for Tennessee, and that is a production convention rather than something a reviewer can be pointed at. The consequence is worth holding onto: do not adopt a neighboring state's published dimension on the assumption that Tennessee shares it, because Tennessee has not published one to compare.
Which devices does the board rule allow?
Four device types are named in rule 0120-02-.08(8)(a). The source read for this page records that count rather than the list, so confirm the exact four against the rule text before you commit to a format.
What is settled is that the signature goes on in wet ink, which favors a device that accepts a pen over the impression. An inked die does that. A longer overview of the options sits in our walk through Tennessee PE stamp guidelines.
How is the signature applied?
In wet ink, and the rules are strict about it. The date of signature goes on with the signature rather than being built into the seal artwork.
Plan the layout around that. A seal pressed into a tight title block with no room for a signature and a date creates a problem at the moment you are trying to release the drawing. Leave working space next to the impression.
Which documents carry the seal?
Original drawing sheets and the front pages of the written work. The rules name each category rather than leaving it to judgment, and they reach reproducible sheets as well as the sheets you draw on.
- Every original sheet in a set of working drawings or plans, bound or unbound, with tracings and other reproducible sheets included.
- Specifications, at their original cover or index pages, the ones identifying which pages the set covers.
- Design calculations and reports put up for review, at those same front pages.
Specifications and reports are therefore sealed at the front rather than page by page. Drawings are not: each original sheet is covered. Our piece on what the Tennessee engineering seal does on a document follows that distinction through a submittal.
What does Tennessee expect of an electronic seal?
An electronic seal is permitted. Tennessee names no product for it and instead sets criteria, so the question is whether your electronic result meets those criteria rather than which software produced it.
Read that alongside the wet ink requirement for signatures rather than as a replacement for it. The two provisions sit in the same rule and are meant to be applied together.
What happens to the seal when the certificate lapses?
The statute ends the seal's life with the certificate. Use after a lapse is prohibited, so the die stops being usable at the same moment the registration does.
That makes renewal dates a device question as well as a paperwork question. Work that is still open when a certificate lapses cannot simply be sealed later under the old registration.
What should you send the stamp maker?
Your registration certificate, which carries the name spelling and the registration number, plus the state line you want on the die. Those are the items a supplier cannot supply for you.
Make the legend explicit on the order so nobody substitutes the more common national wording. A closer look at the finished die is in our review of the Tennessee professional engineer stamp.
How do you check the impression before you sign?
Press a test impression on plain paper and read the four items back: name as registered, registration number, the words Registered Engineer, and the state line. Confirm the legend letter for letter.
Then sign the test sheet in wet ink the way you will sign the real one, and copy it. If the signature obscures the registration number, adjust where you sign before the drawing rather than after.
Which board regulates Tennessee engineers?
That is the State Board of Examiners for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors. Both the statutory seal requirement and the board rules expanding it trace back to that board.
For the geologist side of practice in Tennessee, read what a Tennessee geologist seal requires.
Frequently asked questions
Can a die that reads Professional Engineer be used in Tennessee?
The statute sets the legend as Registered Engineer. A die reading Professional Engineer does not carry the wording the statute names, which is the most common reason Tennessee artwork has to be redrawn.
Does the seal have to say State of Tennessee in full?
No. State of Tennessee and Tennessee both satisfy that line, so the shorter form is available when space on the die is tight.
Is there a published diameter to order against?
No. Nothing read for this page states a size, so two inches is a manufacturing convention rather than a rule. Do not borrow a dimension from another state to fill the gap.
Does every page of a specification set need the seal?
No. The seal goes on the original cover or index pages that identify which specification pages are covered, not on each page of the set.
Can the seal stay in use while a certificate is lapsed?
No. The seal's life ends with the certificate and use after a lapse is prohibited, so the die goes out of service with the registration.
Does an electronic seal need a particular product?
No product is named. Tennessee sets criteria instead, so the test is whether the electronic result meets them.
Confirm the legend and registration number against your certificate, then order from our Tennessee stamps and seals collection.
