West Virginia architects must seal, sign and date each technical submission they prepare personally or under direct supervision. The rule at W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 presents the seal design as a Figure instead of a list of words and states no size. The seal may be applied with an inked stamp or an embosser. Covered here: design, devices, signing, electronic rules and open questions.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6. Sources read September 2026. Updated 8 November 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal design | Given as a Figure in the rule rather than as a written list of wording. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Diameter | No size is prescribed. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Shape | Not stated in words. | Not addressed in the cited rules |
| Physical devices | A rubber stamp with ink, or an embosser. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Signature | Required alongside the seal. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Date | Required alongside the seal. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Documents | Each technical submission you prepare or directly supervise. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Digital signature | Four tests for a native-format file: unique to one user, verifiable, in that user's sole control, and voided by any data change. | W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 |
| Seal after a registration ends | The rule is silent on expiration, suspension, revocation and retirement. | W. Va. Code St. R. tit. 2 ser. 1 (silent) |
| Number reissue | Unstated whether a registration number is reissued. | W. Va. Code St. R. tit. 2 ser. 1 (silent) |
To compare West Virginia with every other jurisdiction, see our table of architect seal requirements by state. How an architect reaches licensure in West Virginia, from education through the ARE, appears in the national table on architect licensing requirements.
How does the West Virginia rule define the seal's design?
By picture. W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 prescribes the architect seal through a Figure instead of a list of required words, so the design you have to match is the drawing in the rule, not a sentence you can quote.
That has a practical effect on ordering. The Figure is the authority, and any written description of the face, including the one in the next section, comes second to it. When a proof and the Figure disagree, follow the Figure.
What is on the face manufactured for West Virginia architects?
The seal manufactured for West Virginia architects has a serrated outer border, STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA along the upper arc, REGISTERED ARCHITECT along the lower arc, and a star on each side level with the horizontal centerline. This describes production artwork, not rule text.
At the center of that manufactured face sits your place name, split over two lines, with your registration number beneath it, styled as No. 1234. The center block is enclosed by a dotted inner ring. These details show what is made for the state today; they are not presented here as legal requirements, and the Figure in the rule remains the reference.
Does West Virginia set a size or shape?
No. The rule prescribes no size and states no shape in words, leaving the Figure in W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 to carry the design. Any diameter on a West Virginia architect seal comes from manufacturing practice rather than from a published measurement.
This page does not quote a diameter, because the rule gives none. When you order, ask what size the seal will be before you approve the proof, and check that the border, both arcs of lettering and the center block all stay readable at that size.
Which devices can apply a West Virginia seal?
Two physical devices qualify under W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6: a rubber stamp used with ink, and an embosser. The rule also permits an electronic seal, covered below, so a practice can hold a physical device for paper and an electronic version for files.
The two physical devices behave differently: an inked stamp prints a flat mark on the page, and an embosser raises an impression in the paper. Decide based on how your submissions are distributed, and check how each impression looks after scanning or copying.
Are a signature and date required with the seal?
Yes, both. Under W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 the seal must be accompanied by a signature and a date, so in West Virginia an impression alone does not finish a sealed technical submission.
Sign and date each sealed submission at the moment you apply the seal, and keep the three close together so a reviewer can see they belong to one another. Doing all three in one sitting also avoids sets that go out stamped but unsigned.
Which West Virginia documents need the seal?
Every technical submission that you prepared yourself or that was produced under your direct supervision, under W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6. Both routes to authorship bring the work inside the sealing duty.
In practice, if a technical submission came from you, or from staff working under your direct supervision, it takes your seal together with your signature and the date. Keep that trio consistent from one submission to the next.
What does the rule demand of a digital signature?
W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 applies four tests when an electronic document is in native format. Each digital signature has to belong to one user only, be verifiable, stay under that user's sole control, and be linked to the file so that altering the data invalidates it.
Use those four tests as a checklist when you evaluate signing software. A signature that can be copied onto another file, or that survives an edit to the document, fails the last two tests. The rule also permits an electronic seal, so the seal image and the digital signature can travel together in the same file.
What happens to the seal when a registration ends?
No answer is given. Per W. Va. Code St. R. tit. 2 ser. 1 (silent), nothing directs what happens to the seal when a registration expires, is suspended or revoked, or the architect retires, and whether the same registration number returns is left open.
With no stated rule, nothing here tells you to return or destroy the device, and nothing tells you that a returning registrant keeps the same number. Keep the stamp, any embosser and any electronic seal file under your own control.
What should you confirm before ordering a West Virginia seal?
Confirm your registration number, what the place name line should hold, and the size you want, then compare the proof with the Figure in W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6. Choose the device too: an inked stamp, an embosser, or both.
Check the registration number digit by digit on the proof, since a wrong digit is easy to miss. If the proof shows anything that differs from the Figure, raise it before production rather than after.
How do you check a new West Virginia impression?
Stamp or emboss a test sheet and lay it beside the Figure in the rule. The arrangement should match the Figure, and every line, including the registration number, should be readable without effort.
Then sign and date the test sheet the way you will on live submissions, and scan it to see how the impression, signature and date reproduce together. For an electronic seal, place the image on a sample file and run the same visual check.
Frequently asked questions
What should the place name line say?
The manufactured face shows your place name, split over two lines at the center, above the registration number. The rule text used for this page does not define that line, so compare it with the Figure in W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6 before you approve a proof.
Is the No. 1234 number format required by the rule?
It is the format on the manufactured face. The rule prescribes its design through a Figure, so check the number line against that Figure rather than treating the artwork as the standard.
Can I own both an inked stamp and an embosser?
Yes. Both are permitted devices under W. Va. Code St. R. § 2-1-9.6, and the rule does not limit you to one of them.
Is an electronic seal allowed, or only a digital signature?
Both are covered. The rule permits an electronic seal, and it sets four tests for the digital signature on a native-format electronic document.
Will I get the same registration number back after a lapse?
No answer is given. Whether a registration number is reissued goes unaddressed; see W. Va. Code St. R. tit. 2 ser. 1 (silent).
Once your registration number and the place name line are confirmed against the Figure, order from our West Virginia stamps and seals collection.
