A Missouri land surveyor seal must be a 1 3/4 inch circle with two concentric rings, the wording State of Missouri and Professional Land Surveyor, the name on your license, and your license number led by PLS. Embossed, inked and computer-generated versions qualify if they match that design exactly. Sealed work also takes your signature and the original sealing date. This page covers face, devices, documents, digital signatures and lapse.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) and the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Professional Landscape Architects. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 1 3/4 inches, given as one figure. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) |
| Border | Two concentric circles. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) |
| State wording | State of Missouri. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) |
| Profession wording | Professional Land Surveyor. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) |
| Name and number | The name on your license, and your license number with PLS ahead of the digits. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(1) |
| Devices | A rubber stamp, an embosser or a computer-generated image, each one a faithful copy of the section (1) seal in size, design and content. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060 |
| Signature and date | At a minimum, your signature plus the day on which the document was first sealed. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(3) |
| Documents | Every final technical submission. The statute names plats and surveys in its own text. | § 327.411.1,.3,.4, RSMo |
| Digital signature | No technology is named. The signature must be exclusive to its user and in that user's sole control, verifiable, and bound to the document so that any data change breaks it. | 20 CSR 2030-3.060(3) |
| Lapse, revocation or surrender | Silent. Neither source says what happens to the seal, and neither calls for it to be destroyed or handed back. | § 327.411, RSMo, and 20 CSR 2030-3 (silent) |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read land surveyor seal requirements by state. Before any of this applies you need the Missouri license itself; how to become a licensed land surveyor covers the routes, the FS and PS exams and any state exam.
What does a Missouri land surveyor seal have to show?
Five elements: two concentric circles, the state wording State of Missouri, the profession title Professional Land Surveyor, the name on your license, and your license number led by PLS. The seal is round and 1 3/4 inches in diameter.
Treat PLS as part of the number. A die showing the digits alone leaves out the prefix the rule attaches to them, so look for PLS on the proof before you approve it. Take your name from your license rather than from letterhead. Our other post on Missouri land surveyor seal requirements and our notes on the Missouri land surveyor stamp cover the same ground from other angles.
How large is the Missouri seal?
One and three-quarter inches in diameter. The rule states that single figure rather than a band of sizes, so every compliant Missouri surveyor seal measures 1 3/4 inches, whatever device applies it.
A seal cut to any other diameter falls outside the rule, however close it looks on a sheet. For more on sizing, see choosing the right size for a Missouri surveyor stamp.
Which devices can a Missouri surveyor use?
A rubber stamp, an embosser or a computer-generated image. Each is permitted on one condition: it must reproduce the seal described in section (1) of the rule exactly, with the same size, the same design and the same content.
For plats that go to recording, the inked rubber stamp is the safer purchase. A recorded plat is photocopied, scanned and put on microfilm, and a raised impression with no ink can drop out along the way. Our guide to picking a Missouri surveyor stamp compares the options in more detail.
What has to be sealed under section 327.411?
All final technical submissions. Plats and surveys are named in section 327.411.1 of the statute itself, so the everyday output of a survey practice falls under the sealing duty without any interpretation needed.
The duty is written for final work, meaning the version you release as finished. Seal that version, and sign and date it in the same sitting so the three never drift apart.
What goes on a Missouri document next to the seal?
At a minimum, your signature plus the day on which the document was first sealed. The rule frames those two items as the floor, so a seal never stands alone on a final submission.
Wherever the seal appears, the signature and sealing date appear with it. On a multi-sheet plat set, that means the pairing repeats on each sheet you seal, which is worth planning into your title block.
How does a Missouri digital signature qualify?
The rule names no technology. Instead, a digital signature has to belong to one person and stay under that person's exclusive control, be verifiable, and be bound to the document so that altering any of its data breaks the signature.
Any product that meets those conditions will do. If you also place a seal image on the file, that image is a computer-generated image under the device rule, so it must match the section (1) design at 1 3/4 inches like any other device.
What happens to the seal if your license lapses or is revoked?
Missouri does not say. Neither section 327.411 nor chapter 2030-3 of the rules states what becomes of the seal after a lapse, a revocation or a surrender, and neither requires you to destroy it or return it.
With no instruction in the text, keep the device locked away when it is not in use, so nobody can apply it to work you did not prepare.
What should you send us for a Missouri seal order?
Your name as it appears on your license and your license number. The rule fixes everything else on the face: the PLS prefix, both wordings, the concentric circles and the 1 3/4 inch diameter.
Tell us which device you want. If the seal will go on plats that are recorded, choose the inked stamp for the reproduction reason above, and add an embosser only if your workflow calls for one. Every device you order is cut to the same design. For a wider view of the seal, see our overview of the Missouri land surveyor seal.
How do you proof a Missouri impression before sealing plats?
Stamp a test sheet and measure the diameter, which should be 1 3/4 inches. Then read the face against your license: both wordings, your name, and PLS ahead of your number.
Photocopy and scan the test sheet as well. If any lettering or either circle fades in the copy, fix it before a plat goes to recording, since a recorded plat lives on as a reproduction.
Frequently asked questions
Can the seal read Registered Land Surveyor, or use LS instead of PLS?
The rule lists Professional Land Surveyor as the wording and PLS as the prefix. Another title or a shortened prefix does not match that list, so a die built with either would not match the design the rule describes.
Does Missouri set a size for the inner circle?
The only measurement in the cited rule is the 1 3/4 inch diameter of the seal. The rule calls for two concentric circles, and the sources behind this page give no separate figure for the inner one.
Can my embosser be smaller than my stamp?
No. Every permitted device has to match the section (1) seal in size as well as design and content, so an embosser, a stamp and a computer-generated image all come out at 1 3/4 inches.
Is the date I write the day I sign or the day I seal?
The rule asks for the date the document was originally sealed. Sign and seal in the same sitting and the two are the same day, which removes any doubt about which date belongs on the sheet.
Does the seal need an expiration date or my firm name?
Neither is among the five elements the rule lists for the face. The seal carries the circles, the two wordings, your name and your PLS number, and nothing more is required on it.
With your license number in front of you, choose your device from the Missouri stamps and seals collection, and we will cut it to the 1 3/4 inch design with your PLS number.
