Indiana · Geologist seal requirements
Indiana Geologist seal requirements: proper sizing, signing and sealing of documents
As of
Indiana puts the seal's wording in two places that do not match. IC 25-17.6-6-3 authorises a seal of a design authorized by the board containing the geologist's name, license number and the legend "Professional Geologist", while 305 IAC 1-4-1(a) — the board rule that actually designs the seal — gives the legend as "Licensed professional geologist". The rule is the only source of a dimension: not less than 1 5/8 inches and not more than 1 7/8 inches in outside diameter, embossed or applied by a rubber stamp, with a milled edge or two concentric circles.
Indiana splits the three professions across three boards, all administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency: engineers under 864 IAC 1.1, architects and landscape architects under 804 IAC 1.1, and surveyors under 865 IAC 1. Each of the three seal rules prescribes its design by incorporating a picture rather than by listing words, so the wording has to be read off the figure: all three figures carry "REGISTERED", "No." above a rule line, "STATE OF" and "INDIANA" inside the inner circle in addition to the profession wording in the outer band. The legend recorded here for each profession is the profession wording its own source fixes — "professional engineer" by statute for engineers, "registered architect" by statute for architects, and "LAND SURVEYOR" from the figure for surveyors, whose statute prescribes no wording at all. Only the surveyor rule regulates electronic signatures in detail — 865 IAC 1-7-4(c) demands unique identification, verifiability, direct control and a retained permanent digital copy — while the engineer rule accepts an electronic signature with no such conditions and the architect rule still speaks of the person's "original signature" beside the seal. Because 864 IAC 1.1-7-2, 1.1-7-3 and 1.1-7-4 were renumbered by the Legislative Services Agency as 865 IAC 1-7-1, 1-7-2 and 1-7-3 when surveyors were separated from the engineers' title, older material citing "864 IAC 1.1-7" for a surveyor's seal now points at the engineer rule; the code's chapter heading at IC 25-21.5-2 likewise still reads "State Board of Registration for Land Surveyors" even though IC 25-21.5-2-1 establishes the state board of registration for professional surveyors. Rule text here was read in the 2026 Edition of the Indiana Administrative Code and in the 2026 Indiana Code. The board was created in 1996 as the Board of Certification for Professional Geologists and renamed the Indiana Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists by P.L.17-1999, SECTION 5, effective July 1, 1999 — the note still heads Title 305 of the Indiana Administrative Code. The board administers its article with the assistance of the state geologist and the Indiana Geological & Water Survey. 305 IAC 1-4-1 was last substantively amended in 2004 and readopted October 2, 2023.
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Indiana Geologist seal
- Seal requirements
- 305 IAC 1-4-1 (Seal and responsibilities of licensed professional geologists for documents); IC 25-17.6-6-3
- Legend
- “Licensed professional geologist”
- Diameter
- A seal cannot be less than one and five-eighths (1 5/8") inches or more than one and seven-eighths (1 7/8") inches in outside diameter, and shall conform with the design printed in the rule.
- Expiration date
- 305 IAC 1-4-1(a) lists the name, the license number and the legend and nothing else. Subsection (d)(1) bars sealing while a license is suspended or revoked, but no expiry date is placed on the seal itself.(305 IAC 1-4-1(a), (d)(1))
- Signature date
- Neither IC 25-17.6-6 nor 305 IAC article 1 requires a date beside the seal. The rule speaks only of "the seal or signature" being affixed; the only dates in the article are the date of licensure printed on the license certificate and license expiry dates.(305 IAC 1-4-1(f); IC 25-17.6-6-3)
- City on seal
- The rule's list of what the seal bears is name, license number and legend. No place of business is called for.(305 IAC 1-4-1(a))
- A licensed professional geologist may purchase a seal from a private vendor that bears the geologist's name, license number, and the legend "Licensed professional geologist".(305 IAC 1-4-1(a))
- The statute states the seal differently: each geologist may, upon licensure, obtain and use a seal or stamp of licensure of a design authorized by the board, containing the geologist's name and license number and the legend "Professional Geologist".(IC 25-17.6-6-3)
- A seal cannot be less than one and five-eighths inches or more than one and seven-eighths inches in outside diameter and shall conform with the design printed in the rule.(305 IAC 1-4-1(a))
- The seal may be embossed or applied by a rubber stamp. It may have a milled edge, as illustrated in the rule, or two concentric circles with the outer and inner circles corresponding with the respective edges of the milling.(305 IAC 1-4-1(b))
- The seal pictured in the rule replaces all previous seal designs.(305 IAC 1-4-1(c))
- The seal shall be affixed to a document or license only if the license is current and has not been suspended or revoked, and the document or instrument is created by the licensed professional geologist or by persons who are regularly employed or directly supervised subordinates of the licensed professional geologist.(305 IAC 1-4-1(d))
- A licensed professional geologist shall cause to be legible the placement of a seal on a document or instrument.(305 IAC 1-4-1(e))
- A licensed professional geologist is responsible for the professional work on any plans, specifications, plats, reports, or other documents to which the seal or signature is affixed; affixing a seal or signature to a document without understanding its contents violates the code of ethics.(305 IAC 1-4-1(f))
- A geologist may not affix the geologist's signature, stamp, or seal, or certify any report or other geological document after the geologist's license has been suspended or revoked, unless the license has been renewed or reissued.(IC 25-17.6-6-5)
Indiana geologist seal questions
Does an Indiana geologist's seal read "Professional Geologist" or "Licensed professional geologist"?▾
The two Indiana sources disagree. IC 25-17.6-6-3 gives the legend as "Professional Geologist" but conditions the seal on a design authorized by the board; 305 IAC 1-4-1(a), the board rule adopted under that delegation, gives the legend as "Licensed professional geologist" and states that the seal pictured in it replaces all previous seal designs. (IC 25-17.6-6-3; 305 IAC 1-4-1(a), (c))
Is the Indiana geologist's seal the same as the Indiana engineer's seal?▾
No. The geologist's seal is designed by a different board under a different rule title — 305 IAC 1-4-1, adopted by the Indiana Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists — not by 864 IAC, the engineering board's chapter. The two have different legends and different dimensions. (305 IAC 1-4-1; IC 25-17.6-3-12)
Who may seal work an Indiana geologist did not personally draw?▾
Only work created by the licensed professional geologist or by persons who are regularly employed or directly supervised subordinates of that geologist may carry the seal. (305 IAC 1-4-1(d)(2))