Arkansas · Architect seal requirements
Arkansas Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in Arkansas seal under ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D) (Design and Use of Architect's Seal), effective February 7, 2022, administered by the Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers. The rule allows “Registered Architect” or “State of Arkansas”. Two concentric circles, 1.5" and 1" in diameter.
The Board's rules were recodified into the Code of Arkansas Rules of 2024, which is what renumbered the seal rule out of the Board's pre-2024 article numbering into 17 CAR § 285-602. The substance is unchanged from the text effective June 1, 2022. Seals previously acquired in compliance with then current rules need not be changed.
Arkansas Architect seal
- Legend (any one)
- “Registered Architect” · “State of Arkansas”
- Diameter
- Two concentric circles, 1.5" and 1" in diameter.
- Expiration date
- The seal contains the architect's name, license registration number and the words REGISTERED ARCHITECT − STATE OF ARKANSAS, and nothing else.(ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D) and XI(D)(1)(a))
- Signature date
- Architects affix seal, actual signature and date of affixation to all original contract documents.(ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D)(2)(a))
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D)(1)(a))
- The seal shall contain the name of the registered architect, license registration number, and the words "REGISTERED ARCHITECT − STATE OF ARKANSAS".(Section XI(D))
- The space between the two circles bears the words "Registered Architect" and "State of Arkansas"; the space within the inner circle bears the name and registration number.(Section XI(D)(1)(a))
- Metal impression, rubber stamp, or printed. Any method that legibly reproduces the architect's seal is permitted.(Section XI(D)(1)(a)-(b))
- Architects affix their seal, actual signature, and date of affixation to all original contract documents, including index sheets identifying all drawings covered and cover and index pages identifying all specification pages covered.(Section XI(D)(2)(a))
- Presentation documents — renderings or drawings used to communicate conceptual information only — are not required to be sealed, signed, or dated.(Section XI(D)(2)(a))
Arkansas architect seal questions
Which Arkansas board writes the architect seal rule?▾
Not the engineering and surveying board. Architects are registered by the Arkansas State Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers, and their seal is governed by Section XI(D) of that board's Administrative Rules. 17 CAR § 285-602, the seal rule quoted in most Arkansas summaries, belongs to the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors and does not reach an architect's seal. (ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D) (effective February 7, 2022))
Can an Arkansas architect use a two-inch seal?▾
No. The architect's design is fixed at two concentric circles of 1.5" and 1" in diameter, and the rule requires the seal to comply "in all respects, in size and format" with that description. The one-and-a-quarter-to-two-inch range published for Arkansas engineers and surveyors comes from a different board's rule and gives an architect no latitude. (ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D)(1)(a); contrast 17 CAR § 285-602(d)(2)(A))
Does an Arkansas architect's seal say "Licensed Architect"?▾
No. The prescribed words are "REGISTERED ARCHITECT - STATE OF ARKANSAS", set in the space between the two circles as "Registered Architect" and "State of Arkansas", with the name and registration number inside the inner circle. The seal says REGISTERED even though the same rule calls the figure beside it a license registration number, and it is the engineers and surveyors next door whose seals carry "licensed". (ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D) and XI(D)(1)(a); contrast 17 CAR § 285-602(a)(1), (b)(1))
Can an Arkansas architect use a computer-generated signature on sealed documents?▾
Yes, which reverses the usual position: on original documents the rules expressly permit signature reproductions such as rubber stamps, computer-generated signatures or other facsimiles. What may not be delegated is the seal — using it is "an individual act whereby the architect must personally inscribe the seal," and the architect is responsible for its security when it is not in use. (ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D)(2)(g)-(h))
Can an Arkansas architect remove the seal from documents already issued?▾
Only in one situation. Once documents bearing the seal are issued from the architect's office the seal shall not be removed, except where the client requests electronic drawing files to be used as reference documents; then a prescribed statement is substituted for the seal, naming the firm and address holding the record copy and stating that the electronic document is released for reference, coordination and/or facility management and shall not be used for construction. (ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D)(2)(d))
Generate a Arkansas Architect seal to this specification
Board approved
Your Arkansas Architect seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in ASBALAID Administrative Rules, Section XI(D) (Design and Use of Architect's Seal), effective February 7, 2022. Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
Every format you need is included — PNG, PDF, SVG and CAD — ready to place in Bluebeam, Acrobat or AutoCAD.