An Arizona professional engineer seals with an ink seal measuring 1-1/2 inches across, built around a 1-1/8 inch inner circle, with each circle held to within 1/16 inch. Its face reads Registered Professional Engineer and Arizona U.S.A., names your branch, and shows your registered name, your registration number and the words "date signed". This page covers wording, size, devices, signing, sealed documents and lapse.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) and the State Board of Technical Registration. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed wording | Registered Professional Engineer, and Arizona U.S.A. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) |
| Name and number | The name you are registered under, plus your registration number. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) |
| Branch | Your branch of engineering is named on the face. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) |
| Date wording | The two words "date signed" are part of the seal. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) |
| Size and shape | Circular. Outside diameter 1-1/2 inches and inner circle 1-1/8 inches, each within 1/16 inch either way. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) |
| Device | The rule calls for an ink seal, which an inked rubber stamp meets. | A.A.C. R4-30-303(A), R4-30-304(E)(1), R4-30-304(F) |
| Signing and dating | Applied together with the seal on each document you seal. | A.A.C. R4-30-304(E), R4-30-304(G) |
| Documents sealed | Nine categories, from every drawing or map sheet through public works projects needing each professional's signature. | A.A.C. R4-30-304(A), R4-30-304(D) |
| Electronic seal | No cryptographic standard and no particular technology is named. | A.A.C. R4-30-304(C), R4-30-304(E)(1), R4-30-304(G) |
| Expired, revoked or suspended | Using the seal is unlawful. A nonregistrant who causes or allows illegal use of your seal also breaks the law. | A.R.S. § 32-125(C), (D) |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in professional engineer seal requirements by state.
What wording goes on an Arizona professional engineer seal?
Six items make up the face: the legend Registered Professional Engineer, Arizona U.S.A., your engineering branch, your registered name, your registration number and the words "date signed". All six come from A.A.C. R4-30-303(A).
Two of those items are easy to lose on a stock engineer layout. The branch has to be named, so a seal that reads only professional engineer with no branch is incomplete for Arizona. The words "date signed" belong on the seal itself; they are cut into the stamp rather than added by hand later.
Spell your name the way your registration shows it, and copy the number digit for digit. For a buyer's view of the same face, see our post on Arizona PE stamp rules for engineers.
What size and shape is the Arizona engineer seal?
The seal is circular, with an outside diameter of 1-1/2 inches and a 1-1/8 inch inner circle. Each figure carries a tolerance of 1/16 inch in either direction under A.A.C. R4-30-303(A).
This is a set size with a narrow allowance, not a floor you can build up from. A seal enlarged to stand out on a title block falls outside the tolerance, and so does one shrunk to fit a tight margin. The inner circle has its own fixed size too, so the lettering inside it has to be set to fit that space.
For layout ideas that stay inside those two circles, see our post on Arizona PE stamp design.
Which device satisfies Arizona's ink seal rule?
A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) calls for an ink seal. The physical device that matches that wording is an inked rubber stamp, which makes it both the compliant choice and the sensible purchase for an Arizona engineer.
Whatever style of inked stamp you pick, the impression has to hold the full-size circles described above. The rules cited here name an ink seal and do not name an embosser as the seal. If you want a raised impression for other reasons, our guide to the Arizona engineer embosser stamp covers that product; the ink seal remains the device the rule describes.
How do the seal, signature and date fit together in Arizona?
Arizona treats the three as a single unit. Every document you seal carries the seal, your signature and the date together, and the provisions behind that pairing are A.A.C. R4-30-304(E), R4-30-304(G).
In practice, never release a sheet that has one of the three without the others. A sealed but unsigned drawing, or a signed seal with no date, is not what the rule describes. For exactly where the signature sits relative to the impression, read the rule text itself before your first set goes out.
Our earlier piece on the Arizona engineering seal is a companion read on day-to-day use.
Which Arizona documents must carry the engineer seal?
A.A.C. R4-30-304(A) sets out nine categories of documents that take the seal. They run from every sheet of drawings or maps through to public works projects that call for each professional's signature.
The nine categories, in plain terms:
- Every drawing or map sheet.
- Each sheet used as the original for reproducing a finished set.
- For each set of project specifications, the cover, title, index or contents page, or else the first sheet.
- That same lead page on each addendum and each change order.
- That same lead page on bound supplemental details.
- That same lead page on reports, specifications and other professional papers.
- Signature lines on letters and on other professional documents.
- Shop drawings that call for professional services.
- Public works projects that require every professional's signature.
Notice how often the rule targets a lead page rather than every page. Drawings and reproduction originals are sealed sheet by sheet, while specifications, addenda, change orders, bound details and reports are sealed at the front. The full citation for this list is A.A.C. R4-30-304(A), R4-30-304(D).
Does Arizona set rules for electronic seals?
Arizona's rules specify neither a cryptographic standard nor any particular technology for electronic sealing, per A.A.C. R4-30-304(C), R4-30-304(E)(1), R4-30-304(G). Beyond that, the rules cited on this page do not address an electronic seal.
That leaves no Arizona technology specification to buy against. Order the ink seal first, since it is the device the rule describes by name, and treat any electronic process as a separate question to settle from the rule text.
What happens to the seal if your Arizona certificate expires or is suspended?
Using the seal becomes unlawful once your certificate has expired, or while it stands revoked or suspended. A.R.S. § 32-125(C) states that rule plainly, so the stamp goes out of use the day the certificate stops being valid.
Subsection (D) reaches people who are not registered. A nonregistrant who causes or allows someone else's seal, signature or stamp to be used illegally also acts unlawfully, so keep the stamp where only you can reach it. Our article on the Arizona professional engineer stamp has more on the stamp itself.
What should you send when ordering an Arizona engineer seal?
Send your registered name, your registration number and your engineering branch. The fixed wording, Registered Professional Engineer, Arizona U.S.A. and "date signed", goes on every Arizona engineer seal, and the size follows the 1-1/2 inch specification.
Check the branch wording against your registration before you send it. The branch is cut into the face, so an error there means a new stamp rather than a quick fix.
How do you check an Arizona impression before using it?
Stamp a test sheet and measure it. The outer circle should fall between 1-7/16 and 1-9/16 inches and the inner circle between 1-1/16 and 1-3/16 inches, which is the stated size plus or minus 1/16 inch.
Then read the face for all six items, confirming the words "date signed" are present and your branch is named. Sign and date the test sheet as you would a real document, so you can see the seal, signature and date working together.
Frequently asked questions
Do the words "date signed" replace writing the date?
No. The words are part of the seal face under A.A.C. R4-30-303(A). Each sealed document still carries the date along with your signature and the seal.
Is "Arizona" alone enough, or does the seal need "Arizona U.S.A."?
The element the rule lists is Arizona U.S.A., so set it in that form rather than shortening it to the state name.
Can the legend read Professional Engineer without the word Registered?
The legend listed in A.A.C. R4-30-303(A) is Registered Professional Engineer. Use that wording on an Arizona seal.
Is the Arizona seal the same for every branch of engineering?
The fixed wording and the size are the same for all. The face also names your engineering branch, so the finished seal shows the branch you give us.
Would a 1-5/8 inch seal from another state work in Arizona?
No. A 1-5/8 inch outside diameter is 1/8 inch over the 1-1/2 inch figure, twice the 1/16 inch tolerance the rule allows.
Order your 1-1/2 inch ink seal from our Arizona stamps and seals collection, with your registered name, registration number and branch ready to enter.
