New York · Geologist seal requirements
New York Geologist seal requirements: proper sizing, signing and sealing of documents
As of
New York licenses professional geologists through the State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology, and geologists sit under the same seal provisions as engineers and land surveyors. Education Law § 7209(1) requires a board-approved seal carrying the geologist's name and the words "Licensed Professional Geologist", and 8 NYCRR § 68.13 fixes the design for anyone first applying on or after July 1, 1984: circular, approximately 1 3/4 inches, "STATE OF NEW YORK" in the outer band above and "LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST" below, with the licensee's name over the Great Seal of New York and the license number beneath it. All geologic drawings and reports filed with public officials must be stamped and personally signed on the original.
New York requires something almost no other state does: a separate alteration-warning stamp alongside the seal. Documents filed with public officials also need a personal signature on the original. Licensure of professional geologists was added to Education Law Article 145 by Chapter 475 of the Laws of 2014, which folded geology into the existing State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying; § 7209 and 8 NYCRR § 68.13 were amended to name geologists rather than written afresh, which is why the geologist seal follows the engineer/land surveyor pattern dating from 1984.
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New York Geologist seal
- Seal requirements
- N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1)–(2); 8 NYCRR § 68.13
- Legend
- “STATE OF NEW YORK / LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST”
- Diameter
- Prescribed. 8 NYCRR § 68.13 requires seals to be "circular in shape, approximately 1 3/4 inches in diameter" for applicants initially applying for licensure on or after July 1, 1984.
- Expiration date
- 8 NYCRR § 68.13 enumerates the seal's contents and closes with "no other letters or numbers" — the design admits the licensee's name and licence number only, so no expiration or renewal date belongs on a New York geologist's seal.(8 NYCRR § 68.13)
- Signature date
- § 7209(1) requires the personal signature of the professional geologist on the original when filed with public officials but prescribes no date, and 8 NYCRR § 68.13 adds none. A date is required only on an altered document under § 7209(2).(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1), (2); 8 NYCRR § 68.13)
- City on seal
- Neither § 7209(1) nor 8 NYCRR § 68.13 calls for a city, address or place of business; § 68.13 permits "no other letters or numbers" beyond the licensee's name and licence number.(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1); 8 NYCRR § 68.13)
- "Every professional engineer, land surveyor and professional geologist shall have a seal, approved by the board," containing "the name of the professional geologist and the words 'Licensed Professional Geologist'", and such other words or figures as the board may deem necessary.(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1))
- "All geologic drawings and reports prepared by such professional geologist or by a full-time or part-time subordinate under his or her supervision, shall be stamped with such seal and shall also be signed, on the original with the personal signature of such ... professional geologist when filed with public officials."(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1))
- No official of the state or of any city, county, town or village charged with the enforcement of laws, ordinances or regulations may accept or approve geologic drawings or reports that are not stamped with the seal of a New York licensee, or of an out-of-state practitioner authorised by the department.(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(1))
- "For those applicants initially applying for licensure on or after July 1, 1984, seals used by licensed professional engineers, land surveyors and professional geologists shall be circular in shape, approximately 1 3/4 inches in diameter, bearing the legend at the top of the outer band, 'STATE OF NEW YORK' and at the bottom ... 'LICENSED PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST' as the case may be. In the inner circle above the Great Seal of New York shall be shown the name of the licensee, and below the Great Seal the license number with no other letters or numbers."(8 NYCRR § 68.13)
- If an item bearing the seal of a licensed professional geologist is altered, the altering party "shall affix to the item his or her seal and the notation 'altered by' followed by his or her signature and the date of such alteration, and a specific description of the alteration."(N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(2))
New York geologist seal questions
What do licensees most often get wrong about New York seals?▾
Does the seal reproduce the Great Seal of New York? § 68.13 positions the licensee's name above it and the license number below it — a plain circular stamp with text only does not meet the prescribed design. (8 NYCRR § 68.13) Is anything else printed on the seal? § 68.13 allows the name and license number "with no other letters or numbers", which rules out an expiration date, a firm name or an address. (8 NYCRR § 68.13) Are you altering a sealed geologic drawing or report? § 7209(2) requires the altering party to affix their own seal plus the notation "altered by", a signature, the date and a specific description of the alteration. (N.Y. Educ. Law § 7209(2))