A South Dakota architect seal must be a circle from 1 to 2 inches across, with an inner circle exactly five-eighths the width of the outer one. The face carries South Dakota, your name, your license number and Architect, optionally prefixed Licensed or Registered. Your signature and date go beside or across it. This page covers wording, sizing, devices, signing, sealed work and electronic files.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against SDCL 36-18A-44 and the State Board of Technical Professions. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State | The face names South Dakota. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Licensee | Your own name as the license holder, plus your license number. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Title | Architect, with Licensed or Registered allowed in front. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Outer circle | No less than 1 inch and no more than 2 inches across. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Inner circle | Five-eighths of whatever outer diameter you pick. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Devices | Rubber stamp, embosser, computer-made seal, or another facsimile the board accepts. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Signature and date | Placed next to the seal or over it. | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45.1 |
| Documents | Final drawings, plans, plats, specifications, reports, land surveys, calculations and design information given to a client or a public or governmental agency, in every original and reproduction. | SDCL 36-18A-45 |
| Electronic signing | A functional standard; no particular product is required. | SDCL 36-18A-45(1), 36-18A-45.1 |
| After a lapse | Not addressed. You carry responsibility for the seal's security and proper use, and misuse can bring discipline. | ARSD 20:38:37:01 |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. How an architect reaches licensure in South Dakota, from education through the ARE, appears in the national table on architect licensing requirements.
What does a South Dakota architect seal have to say?
Four items under SDCL 36-18A-44: the title Architect, your license number, your name as the licensee, and the state name South Dakota. You may put Licensed or Registered in front of that title, so three wordings satisfy the statute.
Settle the title wording before you order rather than accepting whatever a template shows. Architect on its own, Licensed Architect and Registered Architect all fit the rule, and the choice belongs to you. Whichever you pick, use it on your physical seal and on any computer-generated version so every document you issue reads the same way.
Your name should match your license record, and the number should come straight from your South Dakota license. A related read is our guide to South Dakota architect stamp requirements.
How big are the two circles?
The outer circle can measure anywhere from 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter, and the inner circle must be exactly five-eighths of the outer size you choose. SDCL 36-18A-44 sets a range plus a ratio, so the inner circle moves whenever the outer one does.
Worked figures make a proof easy to check. A 1 inch outer circle needs a 5/8 inch inner circle. A 1 1/2 inch outer circle needs a 15/16 inch inner circle. A 2 inch outer circle needs a 1 1/4 inch inner circle. A pairing that breaks the five-eighths ratio misses the statute even when the outer size sits inside the allowed range.
Write both figures on the order so nobody substitutes a stock inner ring. Our article on South Dakota architect stamp size goes over the same measurements.
Which devices can apply a South Dakota seal?
SDCL 36-18A-44 names four classes: a rubber stamp, an embosser, a seal produced by computer, or some other facsimile the board finds acceptable. That last class reaches only as far as the board is willing to accept a given device.
The device choice also runs into SDCL 36-18A-45, which ties compliance to legibility: seal, signature and date must sit where any reproduction still shows them clearly. Your seal will appear on originals and also on copies, tracings and electronic submittals. For a physical device, the lower-risk pick is an inked rubber or self-inking stamp, made large enough that the inner circle prints crisply.
For background on the seal types themselves, see our overview of South Dakota architectural seals.
Where do the signature and date go?
Next to the seal or across it; SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45.1 accept either placement. Signing through the impression is optional in South Dakota, so a signature and date beside the seal work, provided all three reproduce legibly.
Choose one placement and keep it consistent across a set. If you sign across, check that the wording inside the circles still reads on a photocopy. If you sign beside it, keep the signature close enough that a reviewer can see it belongs with that seal.
Which documents need a South Dakota seal?
Final drawings, plans, plats, specifications, reports, land surveys, calculations and design information, once presented to a client or a public or governmental agency. SDCL 36-18A-45 covers the originals and every copy, tracing, electronic submittal or other reproduction of them.
Two points follow. The duty attaches to final work and travels with that work into its reproductions, so a copy handed to a client is a sealed document too. And the list runs well beyond drawings, so the seal belongs on a calculation package presented to an agency just as it does on a plan sheet.
How does South Dakota treat electronic signatures?
Electronic sealing is permitted, and the standard in SDCL 36-18A-45(1), 36-18A-45.1 is functional rather than proprietary: the statutes describe what an electronic signature has to achieve instead of naming a product you must use.
This page does not reproduce those criteria. Read SDCL 36-18A-45(1), 36-18A-45.1 before choosing signing software, and confirm the product meets each requirement stated there. The computer-generated seal image follows the same wording and circle rules as a physical seal under SDCL 36-18A-44.
What happens to the seal if a license lapses?
The cited South Dakota provisions do not say. What ARSD 20:38:37:01 does say is that keeping your seal secure and using it properly are your responsibility, and that improper use, or failing to sign and seal final work, is grounds for disciplinary action.
That places custody of every form of the seal on you: the stamp, any embosser and the computer-generated image. Keep each one where nobody else can apply it, whatever your license status.
What should a South Dakota seal order specify?
Your name as it appears on your license, the license number, your chosen title (Architect, Licensed Architect or Registered Architect), and an outer diameter between 1 and 2 inches with the inner circle at five-eighths of it. South Dakota appears on every version.
State the inner circle size in writing rather than leaving it to a default. Then name the device: rubber stamp, self-inking stamp, embosser or a computer-generated file, or a combination if your practice issues both paper and electronic sets.
How should you test a new impression?
Stamp a test sheet, sign and date it the way you will on live work, then photocopy or scan it. SDCL 36-18A-45 turns on legible reproduction, so the copy is the real test, not the original.
Measure the outer and inner circles on the original and confirm the five-eighths ratio. Then read every item on the copy: South Dakota, your name, your number and your title should all be clear, with the signature and date readable beside or across the seal.
Frequently asked questions
Does the state line have to read State of South Dakota?
The element SDCL 36-18A-44 lists is the name South Dakota. Order it in that form so the face matches the statute.
Is an inner circle that looks close to five-eighths good enough?
The statute states an exact ratio, not an approximation. Measure the proof: with a 1 1/2 inch outer circle, the inner circle should be 15/16 of an inch.
Can I use an embossed seal?
Yes, an embossed seal is one of the four named classes. Because SDCL 36-18A-45 depends on legible reproduction, test how a raised impression copies before relying on it alone.
What does the other facsimile category cover?
Only what the board finds acceptable. The category widens the list of devices; it does not relax the wording or the circle rules that SDCL 36-18A-44 sets for the seal.
Is an expiration date required on the face?
It is not among the four items SDCL 36-18A-44 lists, which are South Dakota, your name, your license number and your title.
With your title wording and circle sizes decided, order from our South Dakota stamps and seals collection and test the first impression on a photocopy.
