An Indiana landscape architect seal must measure 1 5/8 to 1 7/8 inches across its outside edge and show your name and registration number in the design printed in the rule. Your original signature goes directly beside the impression, never across it, unless you sign elsewhere under a certification line. This page covers the face, size, application methods, signing, covered documents and registration status.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d), (e), (f). Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | As it is inscribed on your certificate. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d), (e), (f) |
| Registration number | Required. The LA letters may be left off the number. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d), (e), (f) |
| Border | Either a milled edge or a pair of concentric circles, per the design set out in the rule. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d), (e), (f) |
| Size | At least 1 5/8 inches and no more than 1 7/8 inches, measured across the outside. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d) |
| Ways to apply | Embossed, applied electronically, rubber stamped, or fixed to the document by another permanent method, always matching the subsection (d) design. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(e) |
| Electronic seal | Allowed as one of the application methods. No digital signature criteria, certificate authority or transmittal legend applies. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(e) |
| Signature position | Your original signature directly beside the seal and not across it. Alternatively, sign anywhere on the sheet with the line "This document is certified by _____" completed by your signature. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(h) |
| Date | The signature rule sets no date requirement. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(h) |
| Documents covered | When landscape architectural plans, drawings and specifications go to a governmental body for review: the specification title or cover page and every drawing sheet. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(i), (j), (k), (l) |
| Registration status | Use of the seal is limited to periods when your registration is in good standing and current. | 804 IAC 1.1-2-5, 804 IAC 1.1-2-6, 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(g) |
Indiana is one row in our landscape architect seal requirements by state table, which sets each jurisdiction's rule side by side.
What must an Indiana landscape architect seal contain?
Your name as it appears on your certificate, your registration number, and either a milled edge or a pair of concentric circles, all arranged in the design shown in the rule. 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d), (e), (f) sets these together.
One allowance applies to the number: the letters LA may be dropped from it. Everything else follows the printed design, so the face is laid out from subsection (d) rather than from a sample you have seen elsewhere. Our post on Indiana landscape architect stamp requirements is a companion read on the same elements.
What size range does Indiana allow?
The outside diameter must be no smaller than 1 5/8 inches and no larger than 1 7/8 inches. 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(d) states this range specifically for the landscape architect seal, so it is not borrowed from another profession's rule.
Anything inside that quarter-inch band complies. A face near the top of the range gives your name and number more room; one near the bottom fits tighter title blocks. Our post on Indiana landscape architect stamp sizes has more on choosing within the range.
How may the seal be applied to an Indiana document?
Four ways, under 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(e): embossed, applied electronically, rubber stamped, or fixed by some other permanent method. Whichever you use, the impression has to conform to the design shown in subsection (d).
That gives you a free choice of device as long as the face is right. An inked rubber stamp and an embosser both fit, and so does an electronic image of the same design. The word permanently in the fourth option tells you the rule expects a lasting mark. Our post on Indiana landscape architect stamp design is a companion read on the face itself.
Where does your signature go relative to the Indiana seal?
Directly beside it, and not across it. 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(h) calls for your original signature adjacent to the seal, and the rule adds in parentheses that it is not to cross the seal. Leave clear space next to the impression for it.
Check your title block before the first set goes out. If the template has the signature line passing over the space reserved for the impression, move one or the other so the two sit side by side, with no ink from the signature running into the seal.
Can you sign somewhere else on the sheet?
Yes, with a certification line. Under 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(h), you may sign at another spot on the sheet, provided that signature carries the inscription "This document is certified by _____". That alternative lets you keep a separate signature area in your title block.
Use the wording exactly as the rule gives it, with your signature completing the line. The alternative changes where you sign, not whether you sign, so build the line into the title block template once and it will appear on every sheet.
Which Indiana documents need the seal and signature?
When landscape architecture plans, drawings and specifications have to go to a governmental body for review, 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(i) puts the seal and signature on each drawing sheet and on the specifications' title or cover page.
For a review submittal, that means every drawing in the set, not only the cover. The specifications need the seal and signature once, on their title or cover page. Our post on Indiana stamp and seal regulations for landscape architects is a companion read for planning a submittal.
Is an electronically applied seal acceptable in Indiana?
Yes. Electronic application is one of the four methods 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(e) lists. The rule adds no separate standard for it: article 1.1 sets no criteria for digital signatures, requires no certificate authority, and prescribes no legend for files you transmit.
The design rule still applies. Subsection (e) ties every method, electronic included, to the design shown in subsection (d), so an electronic seal image has to match that design just as an embossed or stamped impression does.
When does an Indiana landscape architect have to stop using the seal?
Whenever the registration is not current or not in good standing. 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(g) confines use of the seal to the period in which your registration is both current and in good standing.
That makes your renewal date a hard stop for sealing. A set finished while you were current still cannot be sealed on a day when your registration has lapsed, so keep renewal ahead of any submittal date.
What should you give us when ordering an Indiana seal?
Your name exactly as inscribed on your certificate, your registration number and whether to include or drop the LA letters, a size between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches, and your choice of milled edge or two concentric circles.
Then pick the device: embosser, inked stamp or both, built from the same artwork. If you plan to use the certification line alternative, keep that wording on your title block template rather than on the seal. Our post on the professional landscape architect stamp in Indiana is another view of the ordering choices.
How do you check an Indiana impression before first use?
Make a test impression and measure its outside diameter against the 1 5/8 to 1 7/8 inch range. Then read the name and number against your certificate and sign beside the impression, not over it, to confirm the spacing works.
Copy or scan the test sheet and check that the edge, the name and the number all read on the copy. Keep the sheet with your registration records.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to date the seal in Indiana?
The signature rule at 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(h) sets no date requirement. It governs where the signature goes, not whether a date sits beside it.
What counts as otherwise permanently affixed?
The rule does not say. It names embossing, electronic application and rubber stamping, then allows any other permanent method without giving examples of one.
Is a milled edge better than two concentric circles?
Neither is preferred. The rule allows either border, so choose the one that suits your title block and your device.
Is the size measured across the lettering or the border?
Across the outside. The rule states the range as an outside diameter, so measure edge to edge at the outermost line of the impression.
If I sign elsewhere on the sheet, do I still need the seal?
Yes. The certification line alternative in subsection (h) moves the signature only. The seal still goes on each sheet the rule covers.
With your certificate details ready, choose an embosser or inked stamp from our Indiana stamps and seals collection sized between 1 5/8 and 1 7/8 inches.
