Texas · Architect seal requirements
Texas Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in Texas seal under 22 TAC § 1.102 (Type and Design), administered by the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. The seal reads “Registered Architect”. No smaller than one and one-half (1.5) inches in diameter. The architect rule sets a floor and no ceiling — the inverse of the engineer rule.
Texas is one of the few states where the board publishes the seal artwork itself and warns that a non-compliant seal is an enforcement matter. Note that the size rule is a ceiling, not a floor.
Texas Architect seal
- Seal rule
- 22 TAC § 1.102 (Type and Design)
- Legend
- “Registered Architect”
- Diameter
- No smaller than one and one-half (1.5) inches in diameter. The architect rule sets a floor and no ceiling — the inverse of the engineer rule.
- Expiration date
- The sample seal in the rule carries "REGISTERED ARCHITECT", the architect's name, a five-pointed star, the registration number and "STATE OF TEXAS".(22 TAC § 1.102(b))
- Signature date
- Every construction document takes the seal, the signature across the face of or directly under or adjacent to the seal, and the date.(22 TAC § 1.103(a)(1); § 1.102(c))
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(22 TAC § 1.102(b))
- The design shall be the same as the sample seal shown in the subsection, except that the Architect's name and registration number are substituted: "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" around the top of the outer band, the Architect's name on the inner arc, a five-pointed star in the center, the registration number below the star and "STATE OF TEXAS" around the bottom.(22 TAC § 1.102(b))
- The seal must produce a clearly visible and legible image when the document is copied or reproduced. An impression or embossing seal may not be used unless it does.(22 TAC § 1.102(a))
- The seal, the signature and the date of signing may be affixed electronically or by any other means the Architect selects, so long as all three reproduce legibly.(22 TAC § 1.102(c))
- On every Construction Document the signature goes across the face of the seal's image or directly under or adjacent to it, together with the date.(22 TAC § 1.103(a)(1))
- Architects are licensed by the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, not by TBPELS. The two boards' seal rules differ on both design and dimension.(22 TAC Part 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter F)
Texas architect seal questions
Which board sets the seal rules for a Texas architect?▾
The Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. The architect's seal is prescribed by 22 TAC § 1.102, in Subchapter F of the architecture rules at Part 1 of Title 22 — a different part of the Administrative Code from Chapter 137, the engineering chapter administered by TBPELS at Part 6. Nearly every summary of "Texas seal requirements" hands the architect's rule to the engineering board, and because the two rules differ on both the design and the dimension, the mix-up produces a non-compliant stamp rather than a harmless citation error. (22 TAC § 1.102; 22 TAC Part 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter F)
Is there a maximum size for a Texas architect's seal?▾
No. The architect rule states a floor — the diameter shall be no smaller than one and one-half (1.5) inches — and no ceiling, which is the exact inverse of the engineer rule's "no larger than two inches in diameter" with no floor. 1.5 inches is the smallest a Texas architect may use, and there is nothing above it to breach. (22 TAC § 1.102(b); cf. 22 TAC § 137.31(b))
Where does "State of Texas" go on a Texas architect's seal?▾
On the bottom arc. The sample seal in the rule reads "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" around the top of the outer band, the architect's name on the inner arc beneath it, a five-pointed star in the center, the registration number below the star, and "STATE OF TEXAS" around the bottom. The Board-authorized engineer seal is the other way round — state name on top, profession on the bottom — so a template borrowed from the engineering side has the two bands reversed. Note also that the architect is "REGISTERED" where the Texas engineer is "LICENSED". (22 TAC § 1.102(b); cf. 22 TAC § 137.31(b))
Is a Texas architect's electronic seal accepted?▾
Yes, provided it reproduces. Section 1.102(c) lets the seal, the signature and the date of signing be affixed electronically or by any other means the architect selects, so nothing has to be applied by hand. The condition attached to all three is legibility on reproduction, and § 1.102(a) puts that test in its plainest form where it bars an impression or embossing seal: the seal must produce a clearly visible and legible image when the document is copied or reproduced. A blind emboss fails it, and so does a placed image that reads on screen but drops out when the sheet is copied or printed. (22 TAC § 1.102(a), (c))
What must an unsealed Texas architectural drawing say?▾
A specific sentence. An architectural drawing or specification issued for a purpose other than regulatory approval, permitting or construction must carry the architect's name, the date it is issued including the month, day and year, and this statement in a conspicuous location: "Not for regulatory approval, permitting, or construction." An architect may not issue a regulated document at all unless it is either sealed, signed and dated, or labeled that way — the rule leaves no unmarked third category. (22 TAC § 1.103(b)(1); § 1.101)
Generate a Texas Architect seal to this specification
Board approved
Your Texas Architect seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in 22 TAC § 1.102 (Type and Design). Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
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