A U.S. Virgin Islands architect must sign and stamp plans and other documents filed with public authorities, using a seal that bears the architect's name and the legend Architect in the design the Board authorizes. Section 286(b) of title 27 sets no size, shape or license number. The building code adds a preparer's name per sheet, not a seal. Below: filing, wording, devices, lapse, firms and what to supply.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against 27 V.I.C. § 286 and the Virgin Islands Board of Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| When sealing applies | Documents you prepare, at the point they are filed with a public authority. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b) |
| Wording | Your name and the legend Architect. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b) |
| Prefix, number, territory, date | None prescribed. No Registered or Licensed prefix is called for. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b) |
| Design, size and shape | The Board authorizes the design. No diameter or shape is set, and no published design was found. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b); no board rules located |
| Stamp or embosser | Neither required nor excluded. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b) |
| Signing | Documents are signed as well as stamped. Chapter 8 sets no dating rule. | 27 V.I.C. § 286(b) |
| Building code sheet rule | Each drawing sheet names its preparer. That section requires no seal. | 29 V.I.C. § 294 |
| Electronic filing | Set agency by agency; there is no Board standard. | 11 V.I.C. §§ 107, 118 |
| License validity | One year; DLCA uses a September 1 to August 31 cycle for permanent licenses; void on departure from the Virgin Islands. | 27 V.I.C. § 287(a), (b); DLCA requirements page |
| Firms | No certificate of authorization. Each person acting for the firm must hold a license and carry individual liability, and DLCA has an Architecture Firm license for the business. | 27 V.I.C. § 291(4); DLCA requirements page |
Licensed in more than one place? Check each jurisdiction in architect seal requirements by state. The seal assumes you already hold the USVI license; how to become a licensed architect covers the degree, AXP and ARE routes.
When does a Virgin Islands architect have to seal a document?
When a document you prepared is issued for filing with public authorities. Section 286(b) covers plans, specifications, reports, maps, plats and surveys, plus other documents you prepare, and each is signed and stamped with your seal.
A permit submission is the everyday example: drawings, specifications and supporting reports alike fall within the list once they are filed.
What wording goes on the seal?
Two items: your name and the legend Architect. Section 286(b) prescribes no Registered or Licensed prefix, and no number, territory name or expiration date either; it requires the seal to follow the design the Board authorizes.
The Board's design is the only place further detail could come from, and no published version of it was found. The statute authorizes three legends, Architect, Engineer and Land Surveyor, and the one on your seal follows the license you hold.
Does the building code require a seal on permit drawings?
No. Under 29 V.I.C. § 294, each drawing sheet has to carry the name of whoever prepared it, whether draftsman, engineer or architect, and the permit application has to identify the person supervising the work. That section is silent on seals and on licensed preparers.
The seal on a Virgin Islands permit set therefore comes from title 27. The two rules work side by side: the building code puts a preparer's name on each sheet, and § 286(b) adds your seal and signature when the set is filed.
Where do the seal's design and size come from?
From the Board, if anywhere. Section 286(b) requires the Board's authorized design, yet chapter 8 sets no diameter or shape, and no published design or promulgated Board rules could be located to fill the gap.
Request the design from the Board before you order. We do not hold a Board-authorized Virgin Islands architect design; the seals shown on this page are built to the specification you bring.
Is an embosser acceptable on filed drawings?
Chapter 8 neither requires nor bars one. Section 286(b) speaks of documents signed and stamped with the seal but never names a device, so neither an inked stamp nor an embosser is specified or excluded.
No Board document settling the question was found either. If the design the Board gives you names a device, that answers it.
Does a sealed document need a signature and a date?
It needs your signature but not a date. Section 286(b) calls for documents to be signed and stamped, and no dating requirement appears anywhere in chapter 8, so a date beside the seal is your own practice choice.
Keep signature and seal together on each filed document; the statute treats them as a pair.
Can you file sealed drawings electronically?
Only where the receiving agency allows it. No Board rule on electronic seals was found. Title 11 gives electronic signatures and records legal effect, and under 11 V.I.C. §§ 107, 118 the choice of whether to take them, and in what form, belongs to each agency.
That makes a sealed PDF a question for the permit office rather than the Board. The agency may also dictate file format, signature type and control processes.
What happens when your license expires or you leave the territory?
An expired license ends your right to seal: § 286(b) bars affixing the seal, or allowing it to be affixed, after expiration. Leaving the territory is its own trigger, because § 287(b) makes the license invalid automatically.
Licenses last one year, and according to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA), permanent licenses follow a September 1 to August 31 cycle. To regain a license after leaving, you need an affidavit, sworn before an authorized official, that you have resumed residence. Separately, § 283 requires U.S. citizenship and a year of residence before you first apply.
Can an architect take on engineering or surveying work?
Incidental work, yes. Under § 291(6), chapter 8 preserves engineering or land surveying work an architect performs when it is incidental to architecture. The seal you use still carries the Architect legend, because § 286(b) matches the legend to the license.
Engineers and surveyors have their own pages on these rules: see the Virgin Islands engineer seal rules and the Virgin Islands land surveyor seal rules, which also explain how § 282(f) draws graduate civil engineers into surveying.
How does an architecture firm practice here?
Without a certificate of authorization, which chapter 8 does not create. Section 291(4) allows practice through a partnership or corporation as long as every individual acting on its behalf holds a license and carries personal liability.
DLCA keeps a separate Architecture Firm license, and 27 V.I.C. §§ 301 and 302 separately call for a business license. None of these firm credentials is a seal element under § 286(b).
What should you gather before ordering?
Your name as licensed, the legend Architect, and the Board's authorized design in writing, including any size or layout it sets. The statute supplies the first two items; everything else on the specification depends on that design.
We make the architect seals shown here to the specification you provide, and we hold no Board-approved design of our own. Stamp a test impression and compare it with the Board's design and your license before the seal goes on a permit set.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to seal drawings I give only to a client?
Section 286(b) ties the duty to documents issued for filing with public authorities. It sets no broader duty for work that stays with a client, and it is silent on whether you may seal such work anyway.
Is there a landscape architect seal in the Virgin Islands?
Not under chapter 8. The chapter defines three professions, and § 286(b) authorizes three legends: Architect, Engineer and Land Surveyor. No Landscape Architect legend appears in the statute.
Can someone else use my seal?
Section 289 makes it a misdemeanor to present or use another person's license or seal, and § 286(b) bars affixing a seal to help anyone evade chapter 8. Keep the seal under your own control.
Are architects represented on the Board?
Yes. The Virgin Islands Board of Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors has seven members within DLCA: the commissioner or a designee as ex officio secretary, plus six members the Governor appoints with legislative consent. At least two appointees must be architects, and no more than three may live on the same island.
Do notary stamps in the territory fall under chapter 8?
No. Chapter 8 is limited to architects, engineers and land surveyors. For notarial devices, read our summary of U.S. Virgin Islands notary stamp rules.
Once the Board's design is in hand, pick a device from our architect seals and stamps and include that design with your order.
