A Louisiana architect seal carries four required items: your name and license number, the legend "Registered Architect, State of Louisiana", and a pelican, which the rule designates as the state emblem. The seal is round and roughly 1-3/4 inches across, and it can be a rubber stamp or a computer generated image. This page covers the face, size, devices, sealed documents, signing, renewal and ordering.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name and license number | Both appear on the face, identifying the architect who holds the seal. | LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B |
| Legend | The face carries the phrase Registered Architect, State of Louisiana. | LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B |
| State emblem | Required, and the rule settles which one: the pelican. | LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B |
| Shape and diameter | A circle close to 1-3/4 inches wide. The figure is stated as approximate. | LAC 46:I § 1303.B |
| Accepted devices | A rubber seal or a computer generated seal. No other form is named and no conditions are added. | LAC 46:I § 1303.C |
| Electronic seal | The computer generated option is the whole of it. No digital signature standard sits alongside. | LAC 46:I § 1303.C |
| Signature and date | Silent. The chapter asks only that the seal be applied and says nothing about signing or dating. | LAC 46:I ch. 13 (silent as to signature and date) |
| Documents to seal | Contract drawings and specifications needing an architect, prepared by you or under your responsible supervision, including bid, proposal and permit sets. | LAC 46:I § 1305.A, B, C |
| License term | An individual license runs out and loses validity every December 31 unless renewed. Renewing on time is your responsibility. | LAC 46:I § 1301.A, B, D, E |
| Seal use after lapse | Not addressed. The renewal section dates the license, not the seal. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
For the same rule in the other 53 jurisdictions, read architect seal requirements by state. How an architect reaches licensure in Louisiana, from education through the ARE, appears in the national table on architect licensing requirements.
What has to appear on a Louisiana architect seal?
Four items: your name, your license number, the state emblem, and the legend Registered Architect, State of Louisiana. LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B lists all four together and removes any guesswork about the emblem by naming the pelican.
Naming the bird has a direct effect on your order. A plain round template with lettering alone leaves out one of the four listed items, so the pelican has to be requested and drawn into the die. It is not an optional ornament that a maker may leave off to save space.
The wording deserves the same care. Spell the legend out as the rule gives it, with both the credential and the state named. More background sits in our Louisiana architect seal guidelines.
Which Louisiana documents need the seal?
All contract drawings and specifications that call for an architect's services and that you prepared or that were prepared under your responsible supervision. LAC 46:I § 1305.A, B, C counts sets issued for bids or proposals, and anything submitted for a permit, as contract documents.
The practical effect is that sealing starts before the permit stage. A set released for pricing goes out sealed, and the specifications carry the seal just as the drawings do. See how these duties fit within the wider Louisiana architect seal regulations.
What size and shape does the rule set?
A circle about 1-3/4 inches in diameter. LAC 46:I § 1303.B fixes the round outline and gives the diameter as an approximate figure rather than an exact one, so the rule sets a target size, not a machined dimension.
Only the circle is described. A square, oval or shield outline falls outside the rule even with every required item printed on it, so treat the round shape as fixed and the size as the thing to get close to.
Which devices does the rule accept?
Rubber seals and computer generated seals. LAC 46:I § 1303.C accepts those two forms in one short sentence and attaches no further conditions, approvals or format rules to either of them.
An office that issues paper prints and electronic files can use both: a rubber stamp for the prints and a computer generated image for the files, each carrying the same four items. For more on the physical option, read about Louisiana architect stamps.
Does a computer generated seal cover electronic submittals?
Yes, as far as chapter 13 goes. LAC 46:I § 1303.C lets an architect use a computer generated seal, and the chapter adds nothing on digital signatures, verification methods or file formats.
The image is still your seal, so it needs the name, license number, legend and pelican just as the rubber version does. Printing it at its intended size is the simplest way to confirm the diameter has not shrunk to fit a crowded title block.
Do you have to sign or date next to the seal?
Not under this rule. Chapter 13 is silent on signature and date. It asks only that the seal be applied, and it has nothing to say about signing it, dating it or where either would go.
The provisions read for this page were §§ 1301, 1303, 1305 and 1307 of LAC 46:I, and none of them adds a signing step. On the rule's account alone, the die needs no signature line or date box built into it.
What happens when a Louisiana architect license expires?
An individual license lapses at the end of every calendar year, on December 31, and stops being valid unless renewed. LAC 46:I § 1301.A, B, D, E makes renewal a yearly step and places the duty to renew on time on the architect.
The rules read here do not separately address using the seal after a lapse. Keep the December 31 date in view if you expect to seal documents late in the year, since the license behind the seal depends on it.
What should you send with a seal order?
Everything on the face plus the format. The maker needs your name and license number as they should read, the legend, the pelican, a circular die near 1-3/4 inches, and whether you want rubber, digital or both.
- Your name, spelled as you want it on the seal
- Your license number, checked against your license
- The legend: Registered Architect, State of Louisiana
- The pelican as the state emblem
- A circular die at approximately 1-3/4 inches
- Rubber stamp, computer generated image, or both
If you are still weighing formats, our piece on investing in a Louisiana architect seal is a useful next read.
How can you check an impression before relying on it?
Stamp a spare sheet and read it against LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B one item at a time: name, number, both parts of the legend, and the pelican. Then measure the circle against the 1-3/4 inch figure in LAC 46:I § 1303.B.
Photocopy the test sheet and read the copy as well, because fine detail such as the pelican can fill in when an impression is reproduced. For the computer generated version, print at full size and run the same checks.
Louisiana geologists seal under a separate rule; see the Louisiana geologist seal and stamp requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Can an embossing seal be used for Louisiana architect work?
The device sentence in LAC 46:I § 1303.C names rubber seals and computer generated seals and nothing else. An embosser is not among them, and the rule says nothing either way about one, so the two named forms are the ones it plainly accepts.
How much leeway does "approximately 1-3/4 inches" allow?
The rule does not put a number on it. LAC 46:I § 1303.B uses the word approximately and states no tolerance, so a die made at 1-3/4 inches is the reading that needs no interpretation.
Does the seal show an expiration date or a firm name?
No. The contents list in LAC 46:I § 1303.A, B has four items, and neither of those appears among them. Because nothing on the face is dated, the yearly renewal does not change any item the rule requires on the seal.
Can the legend be abbreviated to save space?
The rule calls for the legend Registered Architect, State of Louisiana. A shortened form such as an initialism is not those words, so spell the legend out in full and size the lettering to fit.
Can one design serve as both the rubber stamp and the digital seal?
Yes. LAC 46:I § 1303.C accepts both forms and does not ask them to differ. Each has to carry the four listed items, so one approved layout used for both keeps paper and electronic sets consistent.
When your details are ready, choose a device from our Louisiana stamps and seals and include the four required items, pelican and all, with your order.
