A North Carolina architect seal is round, between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 inches across, with two concentric circles: the outer holds North Carolina and the name on your license, the inner holds Registered Architect and your license number. You sign across it by hand and add the date of affixation. This page covers size, wording, signing, sealed pages, devices, electronic seals and renewal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2). Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | Anything from 1 1/2 inches up to 1 3/4 inches, in a circular outline. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2), (a)(3) |
| Outline | Two circles that share a center. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2) |
| Outer circle | North Carolina, plus your name in the form on your license. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2) |
| Inner circle | Registered Architect, plus your license number. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2) |
| Devices | Rubber stamp, embossed seal, computer generated seal, or another permanent addition of a similar kind. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2) |
| Signature and date | Signed across the seal and dated with the day it was affixed, both written by hand. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2), (a)(9), (e) |
| Drawings | On one original set: the cover sheet and every design drawing. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(5), (a)(6), (a)(7), (a)(8), (c) |
| Specifications and other submissions | The index page that identifies each set of specifications, and the index page of any other technical submission. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(5), (a)(6), (a)(7), (a)(8), (c) |
| Electronic seal | Permitted, and tied to a named federal standard, which few boards do. | 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(e) |
| Renewal and current license | Section 83A-11 governs expiration and renewal; section 83A-12 prohibits practice without a current license. | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 83A-11, 83A-12 |
North Carolina is one row in our architect seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side. The seal assumes you already hold the North Carolina license; how to become a licensed architect covers the degree, AXP and ARE routes.
How large can a North Carolina architect seal be?
Any diameter from 1 1/2 inches through 1 3/4 inches, and the outline is circular. The range comes from 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2) and (a)(3), so a seal inside those limits meets the size rule.
A range gives you a real choice. The larger end leaves more room for a long licensed name and for a signature crossing the face; the smaller end fits a tight title block. Pick the size that suits the sheets you issue most often.
What goes in the outer and inner circles?
The outer circle holds North Carolina and your name as licensed. The inner circle holds Registered Architect and your license number. The two concentric circles are themselves one of the listed elements.
Use the name exactly as it reads on your license, including any middle initial, because the rule ties the name to the license. Our post on showing your credential with a North Carolina architect stamp covers how the finished face reads.
How do you sign and date across the seal?
By hand. Your signature runs across the seal, and you write the date of affixation with it. Both requirements come from 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2), (a)(9) and (e).
Because the signature crosses the face, leave the center of the impression clear enough for ink to read on top of it. Date each impression on the day you apply it; that is the date the rule asks for, not the date the drawing was started or revised.
Which pages receive the seal?
The seal is applied to one original set. It goes on the cover sheet and every design drawing; for specifications, on the index page that identifies each set; and for any other technical submission, on that submission's index page.
So a set of specifications or another technical submission takes the seal on one index page, while drawings are sealed sheet by sheet. The provisions cited for this list run from (a)(5) through (a)(8) and include paragraph (c), so read them together if a submission does not fit neatly into drawings or specifications.
Which devices does the rule accept?
Four forms: an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a seal generated by computer, or a comparable permanent addition to the document. All appear in 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(a)(2).
The handwritten signature across the seal is the practical filter. Choose a device whose impression still leaves your signature and date legible when they are written over it. For sources, see our note on where to find architect stamps in North Carolina.
How does North Carolina handle electronic seals?
Electronic sealing is permitted under paragraph (e), and North Carolina does something most boards do not: it ties electronic sealing to a named federal standard in the rule text.
This page does not restate that standard or its technical terms. If you plan to issue sealed files electronically, read 21 N.C. Admin. Code 02.0206(e) in full and set up your signing software to meet the standard it names.
What does North Carolina law say about renewal and current licensure?
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 83A-11 governs expiration and renewal, and § 83A-12 prohibits practice without a current license. The seal rule itself does not separately address using the seal after a lapse.
Read together, the two sections put the weight on keeping the license current. Track your renewal date so sealed work never goes out while your license is not current.
What should a North Carolina seal order include?
Your name as licensed, your license number, a diameter between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 inches, and your device. The words North Carolina and Registered Architect are set by rule, so there is nothing to choose there.
If you want more than one device, give a diameter for each; both only need to fall inside the range. Our overview of North Carolina architect stamps walks through the options.
How do you proof a North Carolina impression?
Measure the outer edge to confirm it falls between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 inches. Then check each circle: North Carolina and your licensed name outside, your number and Registered Architect inside.
Finally, sign across a test impression by hand and date it, the way you will on a cover sheet. If the signature buries the license number, adjust the pen or the ink density before a sealed original leaves the office.
If you also hold a North Carolina geologist license, the North Carolina geologist seal rules set out what that seal must carry.
Frequently asked questions
Can I order a 1 5/8 inch seal?
Yes. A 1 5/8 inch seal sits inside the range of 1 1/2 through 1 3/4 inches that the rule sets, so it meets the size requirement.
Can the signature sit beside the seal instead of across it?
The rule places the handwritten signature across the seal. Signing beside the impression does not follow that placement.
Do I seal every page of a specification book?
No. The seal goes on the index page that identifies each set of specifications, not on every page of the book.
Does the seal say Licensed Architect or Registered Architect?
Registered Architect, placed in the inner circle with your license number.
Can a printed signature replace the handwritten one?
The rule describes the signature and the date as handwritten. For electronically sealed files, paragraph (e) governs, so read it before relying on anything other than a hand signature.
Pick a rubber stamp or embosser sized to the rule from our North Carolina stamps and seals collection, and send your name exactly as licensed.
