A Wisconsin land surveyor seal must show your name, your credential number and your city, and its overall diameter must fall between 1-5/8 and 2 inches. Since June 1, 2025, A-E 2.02(3) lets it be embossed, inked, digitally printed or embedded in an electronic file. Public filings take one of three seal and signature pairings. This page covers each rule, then ordering and testing.
Engineer Seal Stamps compliance desk. Checked against Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) and the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors. Sources read September 2026.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Your name, written the way your credential shows it. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) |
| Credential number | Required on the face of every seal. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) |
| City | Your city is the third listed item. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) |
| Overall diameter | No smaller than 1-5/8 inches and no larger than 2 inches. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) |
| Shape | Not stated. The rule measures the seal only by its overall diameter. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1) |
| Seal formats | Four qualify: embossed, inked with a stamp, printed digitally, or embedded digitally in an electronic file. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(3), as repealed and recreated by CR 24-028, eff. 6-1-25 |
| Electronic seal | Allowed. No particular technology, software or vendor is named. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(3), (7)(b)3, as created or recreated by CR 24-028, eff. 6-1-25 |
| Signing public documents | Pick one of three pairings: physical seal with a handwritten signature, digital seal with a handwritten signature, or digital seal with an electronic signature. Every signature shows your name and the date, and a handwritten one is in permanent ink. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(7)(b), (c) |
| Sheets that take the seal | Each sheet, unless the bound-volume exception lets the title or index sheet stand for the whole volume on the conditions the rule sets. | Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(5), (6), (7)(c) |
| Late renewal | Renewal stays open for five years after expiration if you pay the renewal fee. Sealing during the lapse is not addressed. | Wis. Admin. Code §§ A-E 2.045, A-E 2.05 |
To compare Wisconsin with every other jurisdiction, see our table of land surveyor seal requirements by state. The seal follows the license; the education routes and exams that lead to a Wisconsin license are compared in how to become a licensed land surveyor.
Which three items does Wisconsin put on a land surveyor seal?
Your name as it appears on your credential, your credential number and your city. All three are listed in Wis. Admin. Code § A-E 2.02(1), the same provision that sets the permitted diameter for the seal.
Because the city is one of only three listed items, treat it as seriously as the number. For a second walk through them, read our overview of what a compliant Wisconsin land surveyor seal needs.
How large may the seal be?
Its overall diameter must be at least 1-5/8 inches and at most 2 inches. Any figure inside that band meets A-E 2.02(1). The rule gives no separate shape requirement; it describes the seal only by overall diameter.
A size toward the top of the band leaves more room for a long name or a long city. More on this in our guide to choosing a size for a Wisconsin land surveyor stamp.
What seal formats does the 2025 version of the rule allow?
Four. Wisconsin repealed and recreated A-E 2.02(3) through CR 24-028, effective June 1, 2025, and the new text lets the registration seal be embossed, inked with a stamp, printed digitally or embedded digitally in an electronic file.
All four carry the same standing under the rule, so you can hold a physical device for paper and a digital version for electronic sets. For layout ideas, see our post on Wisconsin land surveyor seal design.
How do you sign and date a document filed as a public document?
Use one of the three pairings in A-E 2.02(7)(b): a physical seal with a handwritten signature, a digital seal with a handwritten signature, or a digital seal with an electronic signature. In each one the signature carries your name and the date.
A handwritten signature must be in permanent ink. Since the date travels with the signature, set up your title block so there is space for both next to the impression.
Does every sheet need its own seal?
By default, yes. A-E 2.02(5) makes one exception for a bound volume: the credential holder who prepared it, or who directed and controlled its preparation, may sign, seal and date just its title or index sheet.
Two conditions attach. That title or index sheet has to identify every other sheet clearly, and any sheet prepared under a different credential holder still gets that person's own signature, seal and date. Our Wisconsin professional land surveyor stamp guide has more on day-to-day stamping.
Can a Wisconsin surveyor seal electronically?
Yes. A-E 2.02(3) and (7)(b)3, in the form created or recreated by CR 24-028, permit electronic sealing. Neither provision names a technology, a software product or a vendor, so the choice of tool is left to you.
Whatever tool you choose, the pairing rule still applies: a digital seal goes with either a handwritten signature in permanent ink or an electronic signature, and both forms show your name and the date.
What happens if your credential is not renewed on time?
You have a five-year window. Under A-E 2.05(1), a credential that missed its renewal date can still be renewed on payment of the fee, provided no more than five years have passed since it expired.
Neither A-E 2.045 nor A-E 2.05 says whether you may keep sealing while the credential is lapsed. Renewing before the renewal date keeps that open question from ever reaching your drawings.
What should you have ready when ordering a Wisconsin seal?
Your name exactly as credentialed, your credential number, your city, a diameter between 1-5/8 and 2 inches, and the format you want, whether an embosser, an ink stamp or both.
Spell the city the way you want it to read on the face, and check the credential number digit by digit. Background on the device itself is in our feature on the Wisconsin land surveyor stamp.
How do you test a new seal before the first sealed sheet?
Make a test impression on the stock you issue and check four points: your name, credential number and city are present and spelled correctly, and the overall diameter measures between 1-5/8 and 2 inches with a ruler.
Next, sign and date a sample the way your chosen pairing requires, in permanent ink if the signature is handwritten, and confirm the seal and signature both read on a scan or photocopy.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 2 inch seal too large for Wisconsin?
No. Two inches is the top of the allowed range, so a seal at exactly 2 inches overall diameter complies. Anything larger falls outside A-E 2.02(1).
My current seal is 1-1/2 inches. Can I keep using it in Wisconsin?
Not under A-E 2.02(1). The minimum overall diameter is 1-5/8 inches, and 1-1/2 inches is 1/8 inch short of it, so you need a larger seal.
Can I wet-stamp a plat and then sign it electronically?
Not on a document filed as a public document. The three pairings in A-E 2.02(7)(b) match a physical seal only with a handwritten signature in permanent ink. An electronic signature appears only alongside a digital seal.
Does the date go on the seal or with the signature?
With the signature. Each pairing describes a signature that includes your name and the date. The seal items listed in A-E 2.02(1) are your name, credential number and city, and a date is not one of them.
Can I order both an embosser and an ink stamp with the same design?
Yes. Embossed and inked seals are both on the list of four formats in A-E 2.02(3) as recreated in 2025, so holding one of each is consistent with the rule.
When your details are ready, choose a seal from our Wisconsin stamps and seals collection and enter your name, credential number and city as your credential shows them.
