An Arkansas land surveyor seal is round, 1 1/4 to 2 inches across, and carries the name and number from your license plus the legend "licensed professional surveyor." Its border is a milled edge, which an inked stamp may swap for two concentric circles. Each sealed page is also signed and dated. This page covers the seal face, sealed documents, devices, electronic signatures and renewal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(b)(1), (d)(2) and the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers & Professional Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | The name printed on your license, plus the license number issued to you. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(b)(1), (d)(2) |
| Legend | The words licensed professional surveyor. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(b)(1), (d)(2) |
| Border | A milled edge. A rubber stamp can use two concentric circles in its place. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(b)(1), (d)(2) |
| Diameter and outline | Circular, no smaller than 1 1/4 inches and no larger than 2 inches across. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(d)(2)(A), (B), (C) |
| Devices | Embossing seal, inked rubber stamp or electronic application. All three are lawful. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(d)(2), (d)(3)(B), (d)(5) |
| Signing | A signature and a date go on every page you seal. On paper, the signature need not cross the seal. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(b)(2), (d)(5) |
| Sealed documents | Final drawings and plats on every page, a report on its signature page, and a specification on its cover sheet. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(a)(4), (b)(2), (d)(3)(A) |
| Electronic signature | Must belong to the signer alone and stay in the signer's sole control, be verifiable, and be bound to the file so that altering its data voids the signature. | 17 Code Ark. R. § 285-602(d)(5) |
| Renewal cycle | Surveyor, dual registrant and certificate of authority licenses expire every two years, and a renewal notice is mailed a month or more ahead. | 17 Code Ark. R. §§ 285-602(d)(3)(A), 285-701 |
| Sealing after expiration | Not addressed. The cited rules set the renewal cycle but say nothing about using a seal once a license has expired. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
Arkansas is one row in our land surveyor seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side. The route to a Arkansas surveying license, from education through the exams, sits in the national table on land surveyor licensing requirements.
What goes on an Arkansas land surveyor seal?
Four elements make up the face. Two identify you: the name on your license and your license number. The third is the legend licensed professional surveyor, and the fourth is the border: a milled edge, though a rubber stamp may use two concentric circles instead.
Take the name and number from your license, not from a business card or letterhead. The legend is fixed wording, so read it closely on the proof. None of the four elements is a date; the date belongs on the page.
Which pages does an Arkansas surveyor have to seal?
All of your final drawings and plats, page by page. Reports are sealed on the signature page and specifications on the cover sheet, so a long report or specification takes one impression rather than one per page.
The per-page rule is where the count adds up. A plat set of twelve sheets needs twelve impressions, each with its own signature and date. Build that into your issue checklist so no sheet leaves the office unsealed.
How do the signature and date work with the seal?
Each page you seal is also signed and dated. On paper, Arkansas does not require the signature to pass across the seal, so writing it next to the impression meets the rule as well as writing over it.
Treat seal, signature and date as one act. A page stamped but left unsigned, or signed with no date, is short of what the provision asks for. Electronic files have their own signature standard, set out further down this page.
What size and shape does Arkansas allow?
A circle between 1 1/4 inches and 2 inches in diameter. Any diameter inside that band complies, which lets you size the seal to your title block and sheet layout instead of forcing one figure.
The band applies to each device separately. An embosser and an inked stamp can be different diameters as long as both sit inside the limits. A smaller seal fits a crowded title block; a larger one gives the name and legend more breathing room.
Which sealing devices are legal in Arkansas?
Three: an embossing seal, an inked rubber stamp and electronic application. Each is a valid way to apply the Arkansas seal, so choose by how your drawings and plats are produced, issued and filed.
An embosser presses a raised impression framed by the milled edge. A rubber stamp prints in ink and may show that edge as two concentric circles. Electronic application carries its own signature test, covered in the next section.
How does an Arkansas surveyor seal a document electronically?
Electronic sealing is permitted, and the digital signature that accompanies it must pass three functional tests: it belongs to the person who applied it and stays under that person's exclusive control, it can be verified, and it is bound to the file so any data change invalidates it.
The rule describes what the signature must do rather than naming a product, so any tool that meets all three tests qualifies. Keep your credentials to yourself. A signature that a colleague can apply on your behalf fails the control test.
What happens when your license comes up for renewal?
An Arkansas professional surveyor license runs on a two-year cycle, so it expires every other year. The board mails a renewal notice no later than one month before the expiration date, which gives you time to renew before it passes.
The cited rules do not say whether a seal may be used after a license expires. Because the text leaves that open, the practical answer is to renew ahead of the date so the question never reaches a plat on your desk.
What should you send when you order?
Your name exactly as it reads on your license, your license number, your choice of device, and a diameter between 1 1/4 and 2 inches. The legend is set by rule, so there is nothing to decide there.
For a rubber stamp, say whether you want the milled edge or two concentric circles. If you are ordering an embosser and a stamp together, give a diameter for each one, since they do not have to match.
How do you check an impression before the first plat goes out?
Make a test impression on the stock you issue plats on and read it against your license: name, number and legend, letter by letter. Then measure across the outer edge to confirm it falls between 1 1/4 and 2 inches.
Look at the border all the way around, whether it is a milled edge or a pair of circles. Sign and date the test page as you would in practice, so you can see the three elements sit together cleanly before real work goes out.
Arkansas geologists seal under a separate rule; see the Arkansas geologist seal and stamp requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Can the seal say land surveyor instead?
The legend the rule lists is licensed professional surveyor. A die lettered with a different title, land surveyor included, does not carry that wording, so order the legend exactly as the rule gives it.
Does the date go on the seal itself?
No. None of the four elements required on the face is a date. The date goes on the page, written with your signature each time you seal a sheet, report signature page or specification cover.
Do I need a new seal when I renew?
Renewal does not touch anything on the face. Name, number, legend and border stay the same from one two-year period to the next, so a seal that matches your license can keep serving after you renew.
Do dual registrants and firms renew on the same schedule?
Yes. The two-year expiration applies to professional surveyor licenses, dual registrant licenses and certificates of authority alike, and the renewal notice goes out at least a month before each one lapses.
Does an electronically sealed document also need a physical impression?
Electronic application is one of the three lawful ways to seal in Arkansas, so a document sealed electronically does not also need an embossed or inked impression. The digital signature still has to meet all three tests.
With your license in hand, pick an embosser or stamp from our Arkansas stamps and seals collection and we will set your name, number and legend to the rule.
