South Dakota · Architect seal requirements
South Dakota Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in South Dakota seal under SDCL § 36-18A-44 (Seal of licensees—Contents—Signature); ARSD 20:38:37:01 (Seals), administered by the South Dakota Board of Technical Professions. The rule allows “Architect” or “Licensed Architect” or “Registered Architect”. An outer circle with a diameter measuring at least one inch and no greater than two inches, and an inner circle with a diameter measuring five-eighths of the diameter of the outer circle.
The seal contents and dimensions live in SDCL § 36-18A-44. ARSD 20:38:37:01, the administrative rule usually cited for South Dakota seals, governs use of the seal and states neither contents nor size. The board's Blue Book on dlr.sd.gov is still the 2020 edition, though its § 36-18A-44 text matches the current statute.
South Dakota Architect seal
- Legend (any one)
- “Architect” · “Licensed Architect” · “Registered Architect”
- Diameter
- An outer circle with a diameter measuring at least one inch and no greater than two inches, and an inner circle with a diameter measuring five-eighths of the diameter of the outer circle.
- Expiration date
- Architects use the same seal statute as engineers — name, South Dakota, license number and the title "Architect".(SDCL § 36-18A-44)
- Signature date
- "The licensee's signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal." § 36-18A-45 adds that the seal, signature and date shall be placed so they can be legibly reproduced on all final drawings, specifications, reports, plats and plans presented to a client or a public agency.(SDCL § 36-18A-44; § 36-18A-45)
- City on seal
- One statute governs all four professions the board licenses, and its four contents are exhaustive. No place of business on the architect's seal any more than on the engineer's.(SDCL § 36-18A-44)
- The statutory title is "Architect". "Registered" and "Licensed" are optional prefixes, not required wording.(SDCL § 36-18A-44)
- Architects use the same seal statute as engineers: the name, South Dakota; the licensee's name; the license number; and the title, within the same outer and inner circle geometry.(SDCL § 36-18A-44)
- Architects are licensed by the same board as engineers, land surveyors and landscape architects.(SDCL § 36-18A-36)
South Dakota architect seal questions
Does a South Dakota architect seal have to say "Registered Architect"?▾
No. The statute lists the appropriate title for this profession as "Architect", and then provides that titles may be prefixed with the words Licensed or Registered. "Registered Architect" and "Licensed Architect" are therefore permitted forms rather than required ones, and a seal reading simply "Architect" alongside the licensee's name, the license number and the words South Dakota satisfies § 36-18A-44. The same statute governs engineers, land surveyors and landscape architects, so the prefix is optional for all four of the sealing titles. (SDCL § 36-18A-44)
Can a South Dakota architect who is also an engineer use one seal?▾
Yes. Section 36-18A-44 requires the seal to contain "[t]he appropriate title or combination of titles: Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect", so a licensee holding more than one of those licenses may show the combination on a single seal instead of keeping one seal per profession. The combination is coherent because a single board issues all of them: § 36-18A-36 has the board grant a license as a professional engineer, architect, land surveyor, landscape architect, petroleum release assessor or remediator, or for any two or more of these titles. (SDCL § 36-18A-44; § 36-18A-36)
Must a South Dakota architect seal work on a project exempt from licensure?▾
Yes. ARSD 20:38:37:01 provides that any exempt project services performed by a licensed professional shall be sealed — the exemption goes to whether a licensed professional was required, not to whether one who does the work must seal it. The same rule reaches forward into the contract administration phase: work performed during construction administration shall also be signed and sealed if it affects the intent of or changes the life safety aspects of the project. The only things it excuses are review drafts and presentation documents, such as renderings or drawings used to communicate conceptual information only. (ARSD 20:38:37:01)
Who seals the title sheet on a South Dakota multi-discipline project?▾
The prime professional coordinating the disciplines — in addition to, not instead of, everyone else. SDCL § 36-18A-45(3) provides that in the case of documents for projects which involve multiple licensees of more than one technical profession, the title or index sheet shall be sealed, signed and dated by the prime professional in responsible charge of coordinating the various technical professions involved in the project, and that in addition each sheet shall be sealed, signed and dated by the licensee or licensees who prepared it or are in responsible charge of it. ARSD 20:38:37:02 narrows who that coordinator can be — the prime professional is the licensed architect or professional engineer who leads the design team, and one is required for any project involving multiple disciplines — so on a mixed project the title sheet often falls to the architect. Sealing it is a distinct act from sealing your own sheets and does not stand in for them. (SDCL § 36-18A-45(3); ARSD 20:38:37:02)
Generate a South Dakota Architect seal to this specification
Board approved
Your South Dakota Architect seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in SDCL § 36-18A-44 (Seal of licensees—Contents—Signature); ARSD 20:38:37:01 (Seals). Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
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