A Colorado architect seal is a two circle design with fixed wording and two published diameters. The outer circle runs nominally 1-5/8 inches and the inner circle nominally 15/16 inches, with your license number centered inside the smaller one. The arcs read COLORADO LICENSED and ARCHITECT. This page covers the face, the sizes, the devices Colorado authorizes and what the renewal cycle does to your seal.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1) and the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes, and it is applied per sheet of architectural drawings. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A) |
| Name | Your name appears on the face. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1) |
| License number | Centered inside the inner circle. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1) |
| Arc wording | COLORADO LICENSED and ARCHITECT. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1) |
| Use after a lapse | Not addressed. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Outer circle | Nominally 1-5/8 inches, which the rule also gives as 41 mm. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1), with Rules 1.5(A)(1) and 1.6(A)(1) |
| Inner circle | Nominally 15/16 inches, which the rule also gives as 24 mm. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.7(A)(1), with Rules 1.5(A)(1) and 1.6(A)(1) |
| Devices authorized | Three are named: a crimp device, a rubber stamp and a computer generated seal. The wording permits holding more than one. | C.R.S. § 12-120-417 |
| Electronic seal | Permitted. Colorado names two technologies instead of leaving only a set of criteria. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.2(B) |
| Renewal cycle | Architect, professional engineer and professional land surveyor licenses all expire on October 31 in odd numbered years. | 4 CCR 730-1, Rule 1.3(A)(3), with Rule 1.4 |
To compare Colorado with every other jurisdiction, see our table of architect seal requirements by state. Still working toward the license? The architect licensing path by state sets out what Colorado asks for first.
Does Colorado require an architect to seal drawings?
Yes. Rule 1.7(A) puts the seal on architectural drawings sheet by sheet, so a single impression on a cover page is not what the rule describes.
Because the duty is per sheet, the device gets heavy use across a set. That is a practical argument for a mechanism that inks easily and prints consistently on the hundredth impression. The Colorado architect stamp laws in detail cover how the sealing duty is framed.
What appears on the face of a Colorado architect seal?
Four items, all fixed by Rule 1.7(A)(1). Two are text arcs, one is your name and one is the number that sits at the center of the design.
- Your name
- Your license number, set at the center of the inner circle
- COLORADO LICENSED on one arc
- ARCHITECT on the other arc
Nothing here is a preference. The legend and the designation are given as words rather than as a style suggestion, and the number has an assigned position rather than a free placement. A closer look at Colorado architect stamps is useful when you are comparing a proof against the rule.
How large is the seal, and why are there two circles?
The outer circle is nominally 1-5/8 inches, given in the rule as 41 mm. The inner circle is nominally 15/16 inches, given as 24 mm. The word nominally is doing real work there, since it tolerates ordinary manufacturing variation rather than demanding an exact figure.
The inner circle is not decoration. It is the space the license number occupies, which is why a single ring design does not match the Colorado specification no matter how well the wording is set. The same two figures appear in the parallel rules for professional engineers and professional land surveyors, so one geometry covers all three of the board's professions.
Which devices does Colorado authorize?
Three, named individually: a crimp device, a rubber stamp and a computer generated seal. The statute lists them rather than leaving the choice implicit, which makes Colorado clearer on this point than most states.
The wording also permits holding more than one, so an architect who wants an embossed impression for originals and an inked die for the sets that get copied is not choosing between them. How the Colorado professional architect stamp options compare goes through the trade offs between the three.
Are electronic seals allowed in Colorado?
Yes. Rule 1.2(B) permits electronic sealing, and Colorado goes a step further than most states by naming two technologies rather than only stating criteria a method has to meet.
That specificity is worth checking before a firm standardizes its electronic workflow, because a method chosen for convenience may not be one of the two the rule names. An electronic route is also separate from the physical device, so holding one does not relieve you of the other.
Where does the seal go in a drawing set?
On each sheet of architectural drawings. The rule then identifies which version of the document receives it: the record set, the final reproducible or the final reproduction, and the final electronic record document.
The common mistake is sealing a working print and treating the job as done. What the rule points at is the final version of the document, so the impression belongs on the copy that becomes the record rather than on an interim plot. More on how architectural stamping works in Colorado covers the sequence in practice.
What does the Colorado renewal cycle do to your seal?
Colorado runs one statewide expiration date rather than rolling anniversaries. Architect, professional engineer and professional land surveyor licenses all expire on October 31 in odd numbered years, which makes the cycle two years long and shared across the three professions.
Nothing on the Colorado seal face carries an expiration date, so a renewal does not force a reorder the way it does in states that print one. What changes is your authority to apply the device, not the artwork on it.
Can you keep sealing after a license lapses?
Use of the seal after a lapse is not addressed in the cited rules. Colorado sets the expiration date and the renewal cycle but does not spell out the consequence of an impression applied after that date.
Read the silence conservatively. A seal states a current credential on its face, and the cited text gives no permission to apply one outside a live license. Our overview of Colorado architect stamps sets out the same boundary for buyers planning a renewal.
What should you give a supplier when you order?
Your name as it is licensed, your license number, and confirmation of the device you want. Everything else on the face is fixed by the rule, so there are no wording decisions left to make.
Send the number separately from the artwork and read it back before production. A digit in the inner circle is small, and a small error there is easy to approve and expensive to catch on a sealed set.
How do you check the impression before using it?
Print it, then measure. The outer ring should come out at about 1-5/8 inches and the inner ring at about 15/16 inches, and the license number should sit centered inside the smaller ring rather than crowding its edge.
Read the two arcs next, letter by letter, against COLORADO LICENSED and ARCHITECT. Then copy the sheet, because an inner circle that fills in on a photocopy takes your license number with it and that is the one element a plan reviewer looks for.
Frequently asked questions
Does the word nominally give you room on the dimensions?
It allows for ordinary manufacturing variation rather than authorizing a different size. Build to 1-5/8 inches outside and 15/16 inches inside and the tolerance takes care of itself.
Where is the signature and date requirement for architects?
In Rule 1.7(A)(1), the same subsection that fixes the face. Colorado words it differently for architects than it does for engineers and land surveyors, and more plainly, so read the architect subsection rather than the parallel ones.
Can an architect own both an embosser and a stamp?
Yes. Three device types are authorized by name and the wording permits holding more than one, so an embossed original and an inked set are both available to you.
Is a single ring seal acceptable in Colorado?
No. The rule describes an outer circle and an inner circle, and the inner circle is where your license number goes. A single ring design has nowhere to put it.
Does the seal have to show an expiration date?
No. The four required items are your name, your license number, and the two arcs. No date appears among them, which is why a Colorado renewal does not by itself require new artwork.
Do engineers and land surveyors use the same dimensions?
The same two figures appear in the parallel rules at 1.5(A)(1) and 1.6(A)(1), so the geometry is shared. The arc designation is what separates the three professions.
Confirm your license number and the spelling of your name, then order from our Colorado architect stamps and seals built to the two circle design the rule sets out.
