Georgia · Architect seal requirements
Georgia Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in Georgia seal under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9) (Description of SEAL), administered by the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers. The seal reads “Registered Architect - State of Georgia”. 1 3/4 inches in diameter. The seal must comply in all respects with the sample in the rule, including size and format.
Georgia is unusual in specifying both circles: the outer at 1½ inches and the inner at 1 inch. The Board furnishes the seal design at licensure.
Georgia Architect seal
- Legend
- “Registered Architect - State of Georgia”
- Diameter
- 1 3/4 inches in diameter. The seal must comply in all respects with the sample in the rule, including size and format.
- Expiration date
- The rule fixes the seal at 1¾ inches and specifies the lettering it carries and the point size of each: "State of Georgia", "Registered Architect", the architect's name and the certificate number. No expiration date.(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9))
- Signature date
- The architect's signature shall be applied with the issue date and purpose appropriately identified on the document; para (3) treats later revisions made under the architect of record's responsible control as though "originally signed, sealed and dated".(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(1), (3))
- City on seal
- The only place named on the seal is the state.(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 50-2A-.01(9))
- The seal carries the name of the Registered Architect, the certificate number, and the words "REGISTERED ARCHITECT - STATE OF GEORGIA".(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9))
- The rule prescribes the typography as well as the wording: State of Georgia in 10 pt bold, Registered Architect in 7 pt bold, the name in 10 pt and the certificate number in 7 pt.(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9))
- A seal containing a firm name or a corporate name is not acceptable.(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(5))
- The seal and signature may be applied electronically. An architect of record who wants to restrict electronic access to them may instead substitute the notation "These documents have been properly sealed and signed by (named) architect of record. Original permitted sets of these documents are on file with (name permitting authority) and are kept at the job site."(Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(2))
Georgia architect seal questions
Does the Georgia PELS board govern architect seals?▾
No. The Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board licenses engineers and land surveyors and its seal chapter is 180-12. Architects are registered by the Georgia State Board of Architects and Interior Designers, a licensing board under the Secretary of State, and their seal is prescribed by Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9) — a separate chapter with a different diameter, a different legend and a prescribed typeface. Attributing the architect seal to the engineering board imports the wrong geometry and the wrong words. (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9); 180-12-.01)
How big is a Georgia architect's seal?▾
1 3/4 inches in diameter, exactly. Rule 50-2A-.01(9) requires that the seal "shall comply in all respects with the sample below, including size and format", so the figure is not a floor and not an approximation. The 1 1/2 inch outer circle and 1 inch inner circle Georgia is often quoted for come from 180-12-.01 and belong to the engineer and land surveyor seal the other board furnishes; they have nothing to do with an architect's. (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9); 180-12-.01)
Does Georgia prescribe the font on an architect's seal?▾
Yes, and the point sizes with it. Rule 50-2A-.01(9) fixes "type font and size as indicated: State of Georgia/Ariel black, 10 pt.; Registered Architect/ Ariel black, 7 pt.; Name/ Ariel, 10 pt.; Certificate Number/ Ariel, 7 pt." The rule prints "Ariel" where Arial is meant. Very few seal rules anywhere reach typography, and because the same paragraph demands compliance in all respects with the sample, a seal set in another face or at other sizes is not conforming artwork. (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9))
Does a Georgia architect's seal say "State of Georgia"?▾
Yes. The required wording is "REGISTERED ARCHITECT - STATE OF GEORGIA" as one hyphenated phrase, together with the name of the Registered Architect and the certificate number. This is one of the places the two Georgia boards genuinely diverge: the facsimiles the engineering and land surveying board furnishes carry only the single word GEORGIA, so copying an engineer's or surveyor's Georgia seal wording onto an architect's seal produces a non-conforming seal, and vice versa. (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(9); Board guidance, PE Seals and Stamps and PLS Seals and Stamps)
When may a Georgia architect seal prototypical drawings?▾
Only on written authority. Rule 50-2A-.01(7)(c) permits the seal to be affixed to prototypical drawings only where "the originating Architect has given the Georgia Architect of Record full authority in writing to make revisions following a substantive review and inspection of the documents with regard to the laws and regulations of Georgia." The neighboring paragraph, (7)(b), is the only other route to sealing work the architect did not prepare or responsibly control: documents prepared by a Registered Interior Designer, which the architect must have thoroughly reviewed or supervised under O.C.G.A. § 43-4-33. (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 50-2A-.01(7)(b), (7)(c))
Generate a Georgia Architect seal to this specification
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