Nebraska Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them

Neither. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(1) puts four things on the seal — State of Nebraska, the licensee's name, the license number, and the word Architect — and the Board lists seals identifying an architect as "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" or "REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECT" as not compliant with the Act. "Licensed Architect" is the wording of the certificate of licensure under § 81-3437(1), a different section governing a different document. The Board's published layout puts "ARCHITECT" at the top of the seal and "STATE OF NEBRASKA" at the bottom. (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-3437.01(1), 81-3437(1); Board licensee seal guidance)

From the Board. The statute leaves the design of the seal to the Board, and the Board sends each newly licensed architect a seal letter showing the approved design along with the statutory requirements for its use. The Board states that seals must include other design elements as shown on that letter — so the four items named in § 81-3437.01(1) are the required wording, not the complete artwork, and a seal drawn only from the statute may still not match what the Board approved. The Board does allow a middle initial in place of the full middle name, and permits the seal to be affixed in any color so long as it is legible. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(1); Board licensee seal guidance)

The first and the last. Rule 6.1.5 requires specifications, reports, studies and other documents prepared as architectural services to be sealed on the title page and/or the first page as well as the last page of the document — a back-of-the-book seal that most jurisdictions never ask for. Rule 6.1.5.1 offers relief on large specifications involving several licensees: rather than coordinate the first and last page of every section, the architect may affix the seal on separate sheets placed at both the front and the back of the specification, listing each section the architect prepared. Drawings follow a different rule again — the seal goes on each sheet of the originals. (110 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 6, Rules 6.1.5, 6.1.5.1, 6.1.4)

There is no Nebraska seal to use. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(5) directs a temporary permit holder to use the seal of his or her state of licensure and to affix the signature and the temporary permit to all the work, and the Board supplies a template to sit beside that seal, carrying the permit holder's name, temporary permit number, expiration date, state of licensure and license number, and the project name. The out-of-state seal is only half the requirement — without the Board's template beside it the documents are not properly sealed for the Nebraska project. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(5); Board licensee seal FAQ (Licensee Seal; Temporary Permits))

Either, since the 2026 amendment. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(2), as amended by LB1212, places the licensee's signature and the date of the seal's application across or adjacent to the seal, in a manner that does not obscure the licensee's name or the license number. The Board's own Rule 6.1.6 still reads "signed across the face of the seal", and the Board's guidance still describes that placement, adding that where signing across renders the seal, signature or date illegible the licensee should use professional judgment so that all three appear as one unit and are legible. Note also what is dated: the date of the seal's application, not the date the drawing was produced. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3437.01(2), Laws 2026, LB1212, § 10; 110 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 6, Rule 6.1.6; Board licensee seal guidance)