West Virginia · Architect seal requirements
West Virginia Architect seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Architects in West Virginia seal under W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6 (Design and Use of Architect's Seal), effective June 1, 2026; W. Va. Code § 30-12-7, administered by the West Virginia Board of Architects. The seal reads “REGISTERED ARCHITECT”. Figure A dimensions the outer circle at 1-13/16 inches. The caption notes that the figure as printed is not reproduced to scale; the labeled dimension is the prescribed one.
The architects' rule changed on June 1, 2026. The operative text is 2 CSR 1 as filed with the Secretary of State on April 6, 2026 under HB 4265, effective June 1, 2026 and sunsetting August 1, 2031; it is the first version to name electronic and digital seals and to state digital-signature criteria, and Figure A with its 1-13/16-inch dimension carries over unchanged from the version effective July 1, 2020. The Board posts both the clean final filing and a marked-up copy of the same rule, and the marked-up copy still shows the superseded "Effective Date – April 30, 2025" rather than the current one. The engineers' statute and rule state the same legend in different case: W. Va. Code § 30-13-16(c) prints it as "registered professional engineer, state of West Virginia", while W. Va. Code R. § 7-1-7.2 requires the words "State of West Virginia" and the words "Registered Professional Engineer." Separately, 23 CSR 5 § 4.2.b sends prior surveyor seals to "WV Code §30-13A-19(a)", but § 30-13A-19 is the display-of-license section; the rule-making authority for seals is § 30-13A-6(a)(12), and § 30-13A-6(b) keeps rules in effect on July 1, 2010 — this 2008 rule among them — in force until they are amended, modified, repealed or replaced. The engineers' Board FAQ lists "Q8. Does the seal have to be a specific size?", but the FAQ answers are served by page postback and are not delivered with the page, so that answer could not be read; nothing in § 30-13-16 or 7 CSR 1 supplies a diameter.
West Virginia Architect seal
- Legend
- “REGISTERED ARCHITECT”
- Diameter
- Figure A dimensions the outer circle at 1-13/16 inches. The caption notes that the figure as printed is not reproduced to scale; the labeled dimension is the prescribed one.
- Expiration date
- The design lives entirely in Figure A, which carries "STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA", the architect's name, "No." with the registration number and "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" — no license date.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1, Figure A)
- Signature date
- "A signature and date are required with the seal application", and the registrant shall superimpose signature and date across the face and beyond the circumference of the seal.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b, § 2-1-9.6.2.c)
- City on seal
- No subsection states the seal's contents in words; Figure A is the whole design and shows no city or place of business.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1, Figure A)
- Each registered architect shall procure a seal as shown in Figure A. The rule states the design only by that drawing — no subsection lists the seal's contents in words.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1)
- Figure A puts "STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA" on the top arc of the outer band and "ARCHITECT" on the bottom arc, with a star at the left and right, and inside the inner circle the architect's name, "No." with the registration number, and "REGISTERED" along the inside bottom.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1, Figure A)
- Rubber stamp, embossed, transparent self-adhesive, electronic or digital seals may be used, and original manual, electronic or digital signatures may be used. A signature and date are required with the seal application.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b)
- A digital signature on a document transmitted in its native format — AutoCAD, Revit, Word or Excel — must be unique to the person using it, capable of verification, under that person's sole control, and linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b.2)
- For a document transmitted as a PDF or similar format that is not easily altered, an electronic (scanned) signature is acceptable if it is an accurate depiction of the licensee's actual signature. Providing adequate security for the distributed file is the sealing architect's responsibility.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b.3)
- The registrant shall superimpose his or her signature and date across the face and beyond the circumference of the seal on all required documents.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.c)
- The seal goes on the index sheet of each set of drawings — on each sheet individually when there is no index sheet — on the index sheet of each set of specifications, and on the cover or index sheet of all other technical submissions.(W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.a.1 through .a.3)
- A municipal building inspector may not accept technical submissions that are not stamped as the statute requires, and a building permit issued on submissions that do not conform is invalid.(W. Va. Code § 30-12-7(b))
West Virginia architect seal questions
Which board sets the West Virginia architect seal?▾
The West Virginia Board of Architects, continued by W. Va. Code § 30-12-1, and not the engineers' board. West Virginia runs three separate boards for the three design professions and each seal comes from a different provision: the architect's from the Board of Architects' rule, W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6, under the seal section of the architects' statute, W. Va. Code § 30-12-7; the engineer's from W. Va. Code R. § 7-1-7.2; the surveyor's from W. Va. Code R. § 23-5-4.2. The engineers' rule with its "Registered Professional Engineer" legend and its four enumerated contents has no application to an architect's seal. (W. Va. Code §§ 30-12-1, 30-12-7; W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6)
How big is a West Virginia architect seal?▾
One and thirteen-sixteenths inches across the outer circle — an odd figure, and the only place it appears is a dimension line drawn on Figure A at W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1. No subsection of the rule states a size in words, and the caption "Figure A (not to scale)" governs the printed picture rather than the labeled dimension. The 1⅝-inch figure that circulates for West Virginia is the surveyor's outer circle under W. Va. Code R. § 23-5-4.2.c.1, and the engineers' rule prescribes no diameter at all. (W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1, Figure A; § 23-5-4.2.c.1)
Where does "REGISTERED" go on a West Virginia architect seal?▾
Inside the inner circle, not on the outer band next to "ARCHITECT". Figure A is the entire design — no subsection of 2 CSR 1 states the seal's contents in words — and it arcs "STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA" across the top of the outer band with "ARCHITECT" across the bottom and a star at each side, then places the architect's name, "No." with the registration number, and the word "REGISTERED" within the inner circle. Setting "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" together on the band, with the name in the middle only, is a rearrangement of the drawing the rule adopts; it is also the reverse of the engineers' sample, where the registrant's name runs along the outer band. (W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.1, Figure A)
Does a West Virginia architect seal every sheet of the drawings?▾
Only when there is no index sheet. W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.a.1 puts the seal on the index sheet of each set of drawings, and calls for sealing each sheet individually only where no index sheet is included; where multiple registrants or consultants contributed, each seals the part of the work under his or her responsible control, either on the index sheet or on each sheet. Specifications follow the same pattern under § 2-1-9.6.2.a.2, sealed on the index sheet of each set, and § 2-1-9.6.2.a.3 sends every other technical submission to its cover or index sheet. (W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.a.1 through .a.3)
Can a West Virginia architect use a digital seal?▾
Yes, under the rule effective June 1, 2026 — and that is new. W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b now permits rubber stamp, embossed, transparent self-adhesive, electronic or digital seals and original manual, electronic or digital signatures, and sets the four criteria a digital signature must satisfy on a document sent in its native format such as AutoCAD, Revit, Word or Excel: unique to the person using it, capable of verification, under that person's sole control, and linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed. On a PDF or similar format modified so that it is not easily altered, a scanned signature that accurately depicts the licensee's own signature is accepted instead. This is the first version of the rule to name electronic and digital seals or to state digital-signature criteria at all, and the Board publishes a marked-up copy carrying an earlier effective date alongside the clean final filing — so the version an architect finds first may not be the one in force. (W. Va. Code R. § 2-1-9.6.2.b, .b.2, .b.3)
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