Kentucky · Architect seal requirements
Kentucky Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in Kentucky seal under 201 KAR 19:265 § 1 (Individual seals; office titles); KRS 323.095, administered by the Kentucky Board of Architects. The seal reads “Architect”. Two concentric circles, the outer circle exactly 1 9/16 inches in diameter and the inner circle exactly 1 inch. The regulation fixes both figures; there is no permitted range.
The design of the Kentucky engineer's and land surveyor's seal is not printed in the code. 201 KAR 18:104 § 5 says only that stamps and seals "shall be similar in design and conform to the size restrictions established in Approved Stamps and Seals, 1999," and § 6 incorporates that document by reference, inspectable or obtainable only at the Board's office at 160 Democrat Drive, Frankfort. It is not published online. Everything stated here about the engineer's and surveyor's seal layout therefore comes from the statutory legend in KRS 322.340(1) and from the two sample seals the Board itself publishes on its Approved Stamps and Seals page, not from the incorporated document. The Board's legal name in KRS 322.230 is the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors; 201 KAR 18:104 § 6(2) calls it the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, its own site opens with "Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors", and the site header brands it "Kentucky Board of Engineers & Land Surveyors" — three renderings of one board. Both seal regulations are stable: neither 201 KAR 18:104 nor 201 KAR 19:265 has a proposed version pending, though 201 KAR 18:104 carries a seven-year expiration date of February 14, 2027 and will lapse then unless the Board recertifies or amends it. 201 KAR 18:150 does have an amendment pending under 2025 RS HB 6; it leaves § 11(1) untouched and changes § 11(2) only by adding the height of sixteen point type in inches. Architects are a separate matter: 201 KAR 19:265 prescribes the architect's seal in full but contains no electronic or digital seal provision, and although KRS 323.095(2) and KRS 323.210(5) empower the Kentucky Board of Architects to adopt one, no regulation in 201 KAR ch. 19 does so as of August 2026 — so Kentucky architects, unlike Kentucky engineers and surveyors, have no published rule authorizing a digital seal.
Kentucky Architect seal
- Legend
- “Architect”
- Diameter
- Two concentric circles, the outer circle exactly 1 9/16 inches in diameter and the inner circle exactly 1 inch. The regulation fixes both figures; there is no permitted range.
- Expiration date
- The regulation prescribes every element: name and "Architect" in the annulus, "Registered" / "No." / certificate number and "Commonwealth of Kentucky" inside.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(b), (c), (d))
- Signature date
- The architect shall sign, date, and imprint with the seal all documents prepared by or under the architect's supervision.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1)
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(b), (c), (d))
- Each architect registered for practice within the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall sign, date, and imprint with the architect's seal all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect's supervision.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1)
- The seal is two concentric circles: the outer circle one and nine-sixteenths (1 9/16) inches in diameter and the inner circle one (1) inch in diameter.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(a))
- The upper portion of the annular space between the two circles shall bear the name of the registrant, and the lower portion shall bear the word "Architect".(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(b), (c))
- The upper half of the space enclosed by the inner circle shall consist of three lines: the word "Registered," then the abbreviation "No.," then the number of the registrant's certificate.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(d)1)
- The lower half of the inner circle shall contain, in three lines, the words "Commonwealth of Kentucky."(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(d)2)
- The names and registration numbers of two or more registered architects from the same office may be combined on one seal, but the names of persons who are not registered architects shall not be permitted on such a combination.(201 KAR 19:265 § 1(2))
- All working drawings, specifications and reports prepared by, or under the supervision of, the individual, partnership or firm shall be imprinted with this seal, and no architect shall imprint the seal on work not prepared personally or under his immediate supervision.(KRS 323.095(3), (4))
Kentucky architect seal questions
Does a Kentucky architect's seal read "Registered Architect"?▾
Not as one phrase. 201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(c) puts the single word "Architect" in the lower portion of the annular space between the two circles, with the registrant's name in the upper portion, and § 1(1)(d)1 puts "Registered" inside the inner circle — the first of three lines, above the abbreviation "No." and then the number of the registrant's certificate. The two words never touch on a conforming Kentucky architect's seal. (201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(b), (c), (d)1)
Does a Kentucky architect's seal say "State of Kentucky"?▾
No — it says Commonwealth. 201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(d)2 requires the lower half of the inner circle to contain, in three lines, the words "Commonwealth of Kentucky". "State of Kentucky" is what appears on the sample seals published by the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, a different board under a different statute; it is not the architect's wording. (201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(d)2; Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Approved Stamps and Seals)
Is there a size range for a Kentucky architect's seal?▾
No, both dimensions are exact. 201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(a) fixes the outer circle at one and nine-sixteenths (1 9/16) inches in diameter and the inner circle at one (1) inch, and both circles are required, so a single-ring seal does not conform however well drawn. The 1⅜-to-1⅝-inch range published for Kentucky belongs to the engineering seal, stated by the engineers' and land surveyors' board, and has nothing to do with an architect. (201 KAR 19:265 § 1(1)(a); Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Approved Stamps and Seals)
Can a Kentucky architect use a digital seal?▾
No regulation authorizes one. 201 KAR 19:265 is the Kentucky Board of Architects' seal regulation, and the only place "electronic" appears in it is the necessity clause, which records that KRS 323.210(5) authorizes the board to promulgate administrative regulations establishing rules for the use of seals and signatures in electronic transactions. As of August 2026 the board has promulgated none: the regulation itself prescribes only the dimensions and design of the seal, and no other regulation in 201 KAR Chapter 19 supplies an electronic or digital seal provision. The digital-signature conditions commonly quoted for Kentucky come from 201 KAR 18:104 § 3, which is the engineers' and land surveyors' board's rule for its own licensees. (201 KAR 19:265 (Relates to KRS 323.095; Necessity, Function, and Conformity); KRS 323.210(5); 201 KAR 18:104 § 3)
Can one Kentucky architect's seal carry two architects' names?▾
Yes, within one office. 201 KAR 19:265 § 1(2) permits the names and registration numbers of two or more registered architects from the same office to be combined on one seal, and forbids the names of any persons who are not registered architects from appearing on such a combination. The duty in § 1 is unchanged by the combination: each architect registered for practice in the Commonwealth shall sign, date and imprint with the architect's seal all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect's supervision. (201 KAR 19:265 § 1, § 1(2))
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