A Michigan surveyor seal must follow figure 301 in R 339.17301 and show your name, your full license number, and a surrounding legend with State of Michigan and Licensed Professional Surveyor. No size is set, and embossed, printed and electronic seals are all lawful. An expired, suspended or revoked license stops you from applying it. This page covers the face, devices, signing and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 and the State Board of Professional Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| When the seal is used | On each plan, specification, plat or report you issue that is filed with a public authority, together with your signature. | Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 339.2007(2), 339.2008 |
| Name | Matches the name on your state issued professional surveyor license. | Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 |
| License number | The complete number, exactly as your license prints it. | Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 |
| Legend | Both State of Michigan and Licensed Professional Surveyor, set in the legend around the seal. | Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 |
| Design | Conforms to figure 301, the drawing R 339.17301 includes. | Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 |
| Dimensions | No diameter in the general rules or the statute, and no shape stated. | Mich. Admin. Code R 339.17301 (silent) |
| Devices | Embossed, printed and electronic seals are equally lawful. | Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 339.2007(3), 339.2008(1) |
| Electronic seal | Allowed by statute. No technology is specified. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.2007(3) |
| Date | Seal and signature are paired; there is no dating rule. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.2007(2), (3) |
| Expired, suspended or revoked license | Neither the seal nor your signature may be applied until renewal, reinstatement or reissue. | Mich. Comp. Laws § 339.2007(2) |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in land surveyor seal requirements by state. The route to a Michigan surveying license, from education through the exams, sits in the national table on land surveyor licensing requirements.
What goes on the face of a Michigan surveyor seal?
Five things under R 339.17301: your name and your full license number as your license shows them, a legend around the edge reading State of Michigan and Licensed Professional Surveyor, and a design that conforms to figure 301.
The legend wording is written into the rule, so copy it exactly. A seal lettered with any other professional title does not match what R 339.17301 asks for, however close it looks. For finished examples built to this rule, see Michigan land surveyor seal designs.
How exact does the license number have to be?
Exact and complete. The rule asks for your full license number as it appears on your license, so every character printed there belongs on the seal. A shortened or reformatted number no longer agrees with the credential it is meant to identify.
Copy the number from the license itself, not from memory or an old invoice, and read it again on the proof. Getting accuracy right on a Michigan surveyor seal has more on accuracy checks.
What does figure 301 control?
The design. R 339.17301 requires the seal to conform to figure 301, a figure printed in the rule itself. That figure, rather than a supplier's generic layout, is the reference for how the face of a Michigan surveyor seal is arranged.
The figure governs design, not dimensions. Nothing in the rule turns figure 301 into a required measurement, so its arrangement guides the artwork while the size stays open.
Which filings need the seal and signature?
Plans, specifications, plats and reports that you issue and that are filed with a public authority. That duty comes from MCL 339.2007(2), read together with MCL 339.2008.
Two facts trigger it: you issued the document, and it is filed with a public body. Build the seal and signature into the release checklist for anything headed to a public authority, so the step is never left to memory.
Do you have to sign and date next to the seal?
You sign; there is no dating rule. MCL 339.2007(2), (3) calls for the seal together with your signature and stops there, so a date is not part of the statutory pairing for a Michigan surveyor.
Treat seal and signature as one step at the moment you release a document. A filed plat with the impression but no signature, or the reverse, falls short of the pairing the statute describes.
What happens when your license expires or is suspended?
You stop applying the seal. MCL 339.2007(2) forbids putting the seal or your signature on anything once the license has expired or been suspended or revoked, and the bar lifts only after renewal, reinstatement or reissue.
The statute targets the act of applying the seal. Put the device away and keep it off every document until the license is back in effect. Penalties to avoid when using a Michigan surveyor seal has more on the risks.
What size does Michigan require?
None. A full reading of the Professional Surveyors General Rules, R 339.17101 through R 339.17509, and of MCL 339.2007 and MCL 339.2008 turns up no diameter, and the shape is not stated either. Size is your choice.
Choose one that keeps the full license number and both legend phrases legible, especially on plats that will be copied or reduced. A number set too small is often the first detail to blur.
Which devices can you use?
Any of three. MCL 339.2007(3) and 339.2008(1) treat embossed, printed and electronic seals as equally lawful. You can match the device to how each document is produced and filed rather than being held to one format.
An embosser gives the embossed form. An inked stamp puts a printed impression on paper, which tends to hold up on copies and scans better than a raised mark with no ink. How to obtain a Michigan professional land surveyor stamp has more on getting the stamp.
Can you seal electronically in Michigan?
Yes. MCL 339.2007(3) permits an electronic seal. Build the electronic version with the same elements R 339.17301 lists for the seal: your name, the full license number, both legend phrases and the figure 301 design.
Start the electronic image from the same approved artwork as your physical device. That keeps the name, the number and the layout identical on paper and on screen, so a reviewer comparing two filings sees the same seal.
What should you send with your order?
Your name and full license number exactly as printed on your license, confirmation that the legend reads State of Michigan and Licensed Professional Surveyor, the devices you want, and a size. Working from the license itself removes guesswork.
Say which forms you need, embossed, printed or both. If you already seal electronically, mention it, so the physical artwork can match the image you use in files.
How should you check the first impression?
Test it on scrap before a filed document. Compare the name and every digit of the number with your license, confirm both legend phrases, and hold the impression beside figure 301 to check the arrangement of the face.
Then copy or scan the test sheet. If the number blurs or the legend breaks up, fix the device now rather than after a plat has been filed with it.
Frequently asked questions
A supplier quoted a Michigan diameter. Where did it come from?
Not from the rules. Neither the general rules for professional surveyors nor MCL 339.2007 and 339.2008 contains a diameter, so a figure presented as a Michigan requirement is a manufacturing convention.
Does the seal need an expiration date?
No date appears among the elements in R 339.17301. The listed elements are your name, your full license number, the two legend phrases and the figure 301 design.
Can I seal work I prepared before my license was suspended?
No. The bar in MCL 339.2007(2) is on applying the seal or signature while the license is expired, suspended or revoked, whenever the work was done. It ends only on renewal, reinstatement or reissue.
Is an embossed seal alone enough on a filed plat?
The law counts an embossed seal as lawful. A raised impression without ink can fade out of copies and scans, though, so a printed seal is the practical choice for anything that will be reproduced.
Does State of Michigan go in the center of the seal?
No. Both phrases, State of Michigan and Licensed Professional Surveyor, belong to the legend that rings the seal under R 339.17301, not to the middle of the face.
Does Michigan name a technology for electronic seals?
No. MCL 339.2007(3) permits an electronic seal without specifying any method, so the statute leaves the choice of software to you.
When your name, number and legend are confirmed against your license, pick a device from our Michigan surveyor seals and stamps and request a proof before production.
