New Jersey · Architect seal requirements
New Jersey Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in New Jersey seal under N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7 (Issuance of certificates and seal presses); N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3 (Signing and sealing construction documents); N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5 (Digital signatures and seals); N.J.S.A. 45:3-3, administered by the New Jersey State Board of Architects. The seal reads “State of New Jersey Registered Architect”. Chapter 27 prescribes no diameter, no minimum and no maximum. The Board issues the seal press itself, so the design is settled by the Board rather than described in the rule, and N.J.S.A. 45:3-3 leaves to the Board the rules for affixing to and endorsing on architects' plans the seal, name, license number and title of the architect.
N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(a) states no diameter itself; it requires that the design of the seal "shall be authorized by the Board." The Board supplies that design in a document it still hosts, "Guidelines on Seals and Title Blocks," which gives the authorized design as "ROUND: 1½" DIAMETER," "METAL-TYPE, EMBOSSING," and prints an illustration captioned "1 1/2 INCHES" showing STATE OF NEW JERSEY in the outer ring. That sheet is undated, is no longer linked from the Board's own applications or regulations pages, cites the title block rules by their pre-2006 numbers (13:40-1.1 through 1.3, recodified in 2006 as 13:40-8.2 and 8.3), and its "metal-type, embossing" specification predates the November 16, 2015 amendment that first allowed a digital seal. It is nonetheless the only published statement of the design the Board authorizes, so the diameter here comes from it and the caveat comes with it. New Jersey publishes no free official text of the Administrative Code: the Office of Administrative Law directs the public to LexisNexis, and both boards' regulations pages link instead to "the Justia unofficial code (that may not be current)," so the rule text here is taken from the boards' own adopted rules as published in the New Jersey Register. Both chapters are in force: N.J.A.C. 13:40 was readopted effective February 24, 2025 (57 N.J.R. 716(a)), and N.J.A.C. 13:27 was readopted effective October 21, 2024 with a new expiration date of October 21, 2031 (56 N.J.R. 2245(a)). The engineers' and surveyors' digital seal rule was loosened effective January 6, 2020 (52 N.J.R. 46(a)): former N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A(a)1iv was deleted, taking with it the requirement that a digitally sealed document be available in read-only format when transmitted, and the tamper condition became new (a)2, which asks only that modification after sealing be evident. The architects' equivalent, N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5, was adopted effective May 1, 2017 (49 N.J.R. 1093(a)) and still carries both of the older conditions; the Board of Architects' own compilation of Chapter 27 is stamped "Last Revision Date: 8/1/2011" and still prints 13:27-6.5 as "(RESERVED)."
New Jersey Architect seal
- Legend
- “State of New Jersey Registered Architect”
- Diameter
- Chapter 27 prescribes no diameter, no minimum and no maximum. The Board issues the seal press itself, so the design is settled by the Board rather than described in the rule, and N.J.S.A. 45:3-3 leaves to the Board the rules for affixing to and endorsing on architects' plans the seal, name, license number and title of the architect.
- Expiration date
- The Board issues the seal press itself and the rule fixes its contents as the architect's name, license number and the legend "State of New Jersey Registered Architect."(N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a))
- Signature date
- Construction documents and specification title pages "shall be dated, signed and sealed by the architect in responsible charge"; the title block separately carries the date when signed.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(a); N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.2(a)5)
- City on seal
- "State of New Jersey" is part of the legend; no city or place of business appears on the seal.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a))
- Upon approval by the Board and payment of all fees, an architect shall be issued a certificate of licensure and seal press. The seal shall contain the name of the architect, the architect's license number and the legend "State of New Jersey Registered Architect."(N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a))
- Each license number, certificate and seal press containing such license number issued by the Board to an architect shall remain the property of the State of New Jersey, and a replacement or duplicate press is obtained from the Board on payment of the fee set at N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.11.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(b), (c) and (d))
- Construction documents and the title pages of the specifications for filing with a public agency or for the owner's legal documentation requirements may be digitally signed and sealed if the digital signature and seal meet the requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5, and an architect using a seal press shall seal construction documents only with seal presses purchased or exchanged through the Board.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(c))
- Those construction documents and specification title pages shall be dated, signed and sealed by the architect in responsible charge in one of two ways: by signing and dating the original documents, including tracings, reproducible drawings or those generated electronically, and then affixing the seal to opaque prints or reproductions of the originals, or, in lieu of signing and dating the originals, by signing, dating and sealing the opaque copies.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(a))
- A digital signature and seal shall carry the same weight, authority and effect as a handwritten signature and pressure seal where the process satisfies the NIST Digital Signature Standard, FIPS PUB 186-4 (2013), and the digital signature and seal are unique to the licensee, verifiable by a trusted third party or some other approved process as belonging to the licensee, under the licensee's direct and exclusive control, and linked to the document so that the digital signature and seal is invalidated if any data in the document is changed. Once applied, the document shall be available in read-only format if it is to be digitally transmitted.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5(a)1)
- The pictorial representation of the digital signature and seal shall be readily available to the Board upon request, shall contain the same words and shall have substantially the same graphic appearance and size as when the image of the digitally transmitted document is viewed at the same size as the document in its original form.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5(c))
- The Department of Community Affairs told construction officials that the bottom line is that paper submissions must have a pressure seal and electronic submissions must have a digital seal, which means nothing requiring a seal should be sent by facsimile.(NJ DCA, Division of Codes and Standards, memorandum to Construction Officials, May 22, 2017)
- A title block shall appear on all construction documents and site plans, distinct and separate from any other title block, and shall carry the architect's name, license number, a space for the handwritten signature of the architect in responsible charge, and the date when signed.(N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.1; N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.2)
New Jersey architect seal questions
Can a New Jersey architect use a digital seal instead of the Board-issued press?▾
Yes. N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(c) lets an architect seal construction documents with a digital signature and seal meeting N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5. A press is not something an architect can buy from a supplier: the Board issues it with the license, it remains the property of the State of New Jersey, and presses may only be obtained or exchanged through the Board. (N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(c); N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a) and (b))
Does a New Jersey architect's seal say "Registered Architect"?▾
The legend is the whole phrase "State of New Jersey Registered Architect," not "Registered Architect" with the state added as a separate element. N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a) gives it as a single legend to sit alongside the architect's name and license number. Note the word too: Chapter 27 issues a certificate of licensure and calls the holder a licensee throughout, yet the seal reads "Registered," where the other board's chapter gives engineers and land surveyors legends beginning "Licensed." (N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a); cf. N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(a))
What diameter must a New Jersey architect's seal be?▾
None is prescribed. Chapter 27 states no diameter, no minimum and no maximum, and fixes only what the seal carries: the architect's name, the license number and the legend "State of New Jersey Registered Architect." N.J.S.A. 45:3-3 leaves to the Board the rules for affixing the seal, name, license number and title to architects' plans, and the Board settles the design by issuing the seal itself rather than by describing it in the rule — so the design to reproduce is the Board's own, and there is no dimension to read out of the regulation. The 1½-inch figure quoted for New Jersey comes from the Guidelines on Seals and Title Blocks published by the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors — a different board, describing a different seal. (N.J.A.C. 13:27-4.7(a); N.J.S.A. 45:3-3; cf. State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Guidelines on Seals and Title Blocks)
Do New Jersey architects follow the same digital seal rule as engineers?▾
No, and the architects' rule is the stricter of the two. N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5(a)1 still requires that the digital signature and seal be linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed, and that once applied the document be available in read-only format if it is to be digitally transmitted. The engineers' and surveyors' rule lost both of those conditions effective January 6, 2020, when N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A was amended to ask only that modification after sealing be evident. Digital-sealing guidance written for New Jersey engineers therefore understates what an architect must do. (N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.5(a)1; cf. N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A(a)2)
Does a New Jersey architect seal the original drawings or the prints?▾
Under either route the rule offers, the seal lands on an opaque print rather than on the reproducible original. N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(a) requires construction documents and specification title pages to be dated, signed and sealed in one of two ways: the architect signs and dates the original documents, including tracings, reproducible drawings or those generated electronically, and then affixes the seal to opaque prints or reproductions of the originals; or, in lieu of signing and dating the originals, the architect signs, dates and seals the opaque copies. (N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.3(a))
Does a New Jersey architect need a title block as well as a seal?▾
Yes, and it has to stand on its own. N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.1(a) and (c) put a title block on all construction documents and site plans, and on documents submitted for public approval or permit application, distinct and separate from any other title block, box, plaque or similar device on the drawings. It carries the architect's name, license number, a space for the signature of the architect in responsible charge, and the date when signed, so the seal by itself does not satisfy it. Paragraph (f) adds the trap: no non-licensed person's name may appear within the title block, other than the name of the owner or lessee of the building. (N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.1(a), (c) and (f); N.J.A.C. 13:27-6.2(a)5)
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