Virginia · Architect seal requirements
Virginia Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in Virginia seal under 18VAC10-20-760 (Use of seal), administered by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects. The seal reads “ARCHITECT”. Two inches in diameter, the same fixed size as every other seal illustrated in the rule.
18VAC10-20-740 is "Professional responsibility", not the seal rule, and 18VAC10-20-750 is repealed; the seal provision is 18VAC10-20-760. The APELSCIDLA board's general review of 18VAC10-20 took effect May 1, 2026 (Virginia Register Vol. 42, Issue 16), which also repealed 18VAC10-20-780 and added 18VAC10-20-785. Any copy of the chapter dated before that is stale.
Virginia Architect seal
- Seal rule
- 18VAC10-20-760 (Use of seal)
- Legend
- “ARCHITECT”
- Diameter
- Two inches in diameter, the same fixed size as every other seal illustrated in the rule.
- Expiration date
- The architect design is the same layout with "ARCHITECT" on the bottom arc — no "Registered" or "Licensed" prefix and no date.(18VAC10-20-760 F)
- Signature date
- Subsections A through D apply to architects on the same terms as to engineers.(18VAC10-20-760 A, B 1)
- City on seal
- The address requirement in B 1 attaches to the final document, not to the seal.(18VAC10-20-760 B 1, F)
- The illustrated architect design carries "COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA" on the top arc, the professional's name and "Lic. No." with the number in the center, and "ARCHITECT" on the bottom arc.(18VAC10-20-760 F)
- The word on the seal is "ARCHITECT" alone. No "Registered" or "Licensed" prefix appears in the illustrated design.(18VAC10-20-760 F)
- The number shown is the last six digits of the license number, and the sealing, signing and dating requirements of subsections A through D apply to architects on the same terms as to engineers.(18VAC10-20-760 A-D, F)
Virginia architect seal questions
Does a Virginia architect's seal say "Registered Architect"?▾
It says "ARCHITECT" and nothing more. The illustrated design carries "COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA" on the top arc, the professional's name over "Lic. No." and the number in the center, and the single word "ARCHITECT" on the bottom arc. There is no "Registered", no "Licensed" and no "R.A." — and since the original seal must conform in detail to the illustration, adding the adjective is a departure from the prescribed design rather than a harmless flourish. (18VAC10-20-760 F)
Can a Virginia architect's seal be 1½ inches?▾
No. The rule fixes one dimension — the original seal must conform in detail and size to the illustrated design and must be two inches in diameter — with no minimum and no maximum around it. The "minimum 1½ inches, maximum 2 inches" range quoted for Virginia is in no part of the section, and the architect's seal has to measure the full two inches exactly as the engineer's does. (18VAC10-20-760 F)
Does exempt work need a Virginia architect's seal?▾
Yes, when a licensed architect performs it. All work performed by a professional licensed or certified by this board, including work that is exempt from licensure under § 54.1-402 of the Code of Virginia, must be sealed, signed and dated on the same terms as any other final document. The exemption relieves the project of the requirement that a licensee do the work; it does not relieve a licensee who does the work of sealing it. (18VAC10-20-760 E, B)
Does a Virginia architect seal the cover sheet of a combined set?▾
Only if the architect is the professional responsible for compiling the project — and then it is a second, separate obligation. Each professional seals, signs and dates the final documents for the work component they completed or directly supervised; the professional responsible for the compilation of the project must additionally seal, sign and date the cover sheet of the aggregate collection of final documents. That compiling duty is easy to lose on a multi-discipline set where every consultant has already stamped their own sheets. (18VAC10-20-760 B 1, B 2)
Generate a Virginia Architect seal to this specification
Board approved
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