A Wisconsin geologist seal must carry your name, your city and your license or permit number, and its overall diameter must fall between 1 5/8 and 2 inches. A rubber stamp may stand in for the licensure seal if it matches a board-approved seal in size, design and content. Scanned and electronic seal images are not allowed on public documents. This page covers the face, devices, signing, sealing and renewal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1). Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Your name appears on the face of the seal. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) |
| Number | The number of your license or of your permit, whichever credential you hold. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) |
| City | Your city is one of the three listed elements. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) |
| Diameter | At least 1 5/8 inches overall and no more than 2 inches. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) |
| Shape | Silent. The size is given as a diameter and no shape is named. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) |
| Rubber stamp | Allowed in place of the licensure seal when it copies a board-approved seal exactly in size, layout and wording. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(3), (7) |
| Signing | You sign and date each seal or stamp on a drawing in permanent ink that stands out from the impression and from the sheet. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(6), (7) |
| Documents | Plans, drawings, specifications, reports and other documents in geology practice, sheet by sheet. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(4), (5) |
| Electronic or scanned seal | Prohibited on public documents. | Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(7) |
| Expired license | Renewal is available within five years of expiry once the application is approved and the fee paid. Sealing during a lapse is not addressed. | Wis. Admin. Code §§ GHSS 1.04, GHSS 1.05, GHSS 2.14 |
What must a Wisconsin geologist seal show?
Three things, all named in Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1): your name, your city, and your license or permit number. No other element is on the list, so the proof check is short but has to be exact.
Give us your name in the form you want on every sealed sheet, and your city spelled the way it should print. For a closer look at how these three lines sit on the face, see our overview of the Wisconsin professional geologist seal.
Can a Wisconsin geologist use an electronic or scanned seal?
No. Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(7) prohibits electronic and scanned seals on public documents. On anything headed for public filing, the impression has to come from the licensure seal or a matching rubber stamp, not from an image file.
Plan your document workflow around that. A sheet you assemble on screen still needs a physical impression before it goes on public file, and drawings then take your signature and date in ink as described below. The prohibition is written around public documents specifically.
Can a rubber stamp replace the licensure seal?
Yes. Under Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(3), a rubber stamp may be used as a substitute for the licensure seal, on one condition: it must copy a board-approved seal exactly, with the same size, the same design and the same content.
That makes the rubber stamp the one device the rule names outright. The cited text refers to the licensure seal without describing what kind of device it is, and it does not require you to own both. If you are comparing formats, our page on Wisconsin geologist stamp and seal options sets them side by side.
What diameter does the rule allow?
Anything from 1 5/8 inches up to 2 inches, measured as the overall diameter. Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(1) sets both ends, so a device at either limit or anywhere between them complies.
The rule gives the size only as a diameter and does not name a shape. Because a substitute rubber stamp has to match the board-approved seal in size, settle on one diameter inside the range and have every device you use made to it.
How do you sign and date a sealed Wisconsin drawing?
You sign and date each seal or stamp on a drawing yourself, using permanent ink that stands out against both the impression and the paper around it. Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(7) sets all three conditions: your signature, a date, and contrasting permanent ink.
The rule is specific about who signs, which is the licensed professional, and about the ink. Every seal or stamp impression on a drawing gets its own signature and date.
Which ink passes the contrast test?
Any permanent ink whose color is clearly different from the seal impression and from the sheet. The rule names no particular color. It sets a contrast standard instead, so the right choice depends on the ink in your stamp and the paper you sign.
In practice, signing in the same color your stamp prints will not contrast with the seal. Choose a signing color that differs from your stamp ink, and try it on the paper stock you actually file before you sign a live sheet.
Which geology documents need the seal?
Every sheet of your plans, drawings, specifications, reports and other documents for professional geology practice. Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.03(4) states the duty for each sheet.
Reports sit on the list next to drawings, so a written geology report is covered just as a plan sheet is. For how the stamp fits into day-to-day practice, read our piece on using a Wisconsin professional geologist stamp.
What happens when a Wisconsin geology license expires?
The cited rules do not address sealing during a lapse. They do cover getting back: under Wis. Admin. Code § GHSS 1.05(1), a license can be renewed within five years of expiring, once your application is approved and the renewal fee is paid.
No expiration date appears among the three required elements, so nothing on the face of the seal records whether your license is current. Track your renewal date separately from the device.
What should you send when ordering?
Your name as it should read, your license or permit number, your city, and the overall diameter you want between 1 5/8 and 2 inches. Tell us too whether you want a rubber stamp, the device the rule names as a substitute for the licensure seal.
If you already hold a board-approved seal, send a clean impression of it with the order. A substitute stamp has to match that seal in size, design and content, so your existing seal is the reference we build the proof against.
How should you check the first impression?
Stamp a test sheet and confirm three points: all three elements are present and spelled correctly, the overall diameter measures between 1 5/8 and 2 inches, and a signature in your chosen permanent ink stands out clearly from the impression and the paper.
If the rubber stamp is standing in for a board-approved seal, set the two impressions side by side. Any difference in size, layout or wording means the stamp is no longer an identical substitute and should not go into use.
Every other jurisdiction is compared in our geologist seal rules for all 54 U.S. jurisdictions, with the citation for each.
Frequently asked questions
I hold a permit rather than a license. Which number goes on the seal?
Your permit number. Section GHSS 1.03(1) lists the license or permit number as the element, so a permit holder uses the permit number in that position.
Does the contrast rule cover the date as well as the signature?
Yes. The rule applies its permanent, contrasting ink standard to signing and dating alike, so the date needs to stand out from the impression and the paper just as the signature does.
Does my signature have to cross the impression?
The cited rule does not require it. It requires each seal or stamp on a drawing to be signed and dated in contrasting permanent ink, without fixing the position of the signature.
Can I use a scanned seal on a document that is not filed publicly?
The prohibition in GHSS 1.03(7) is written for public documents. The rules cited on this page do not address scanned or electronic seals on other documents.
What if more than five years have passed since my license expired?
The renewal route in GHSS 1.05(1) applies to applications made less than five years after expiration. The provisions summarized on this page do not describe what applies after that window closes.
Have your name, number, city and chosen diameter ready, then build your stamp from our Wisconsin stamps and seals collection.
