Washington · Geologist seal requirements
Washington Geologist seal requirements: proper sizing, signing and sealing of documents
As of
WAC 308-15-070 requires a Washington geologist's seal to bear the licensee's name, license number and the legend "State of Washington Licensed Geologist", with the specialty noted on the seal if the holder is licensed as an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist. Seals may be physically or digitally produced, but deviations from the seal designs authorised by the director are not allowed. No diameter is prescribed: neither WAC 308-15-070 nor WAC 308-15-075 states a dimension.
WAC 196-23-070 is "Signature", not the seal rule; the seal is WAC 196-23-010 and its usage is WAC 196-23-020. WSR 25-02-004, filed December 18, 2024 and effective January 18, 2025, amended WAC 196-23-010, but it was an expedited, non-substantive rule making that changed pronouns only. The illustrated designs are printed in the certified PDF of the section, not in the HTML version. The authorised seal designs are published as images within WAC 308-15-070 rather than described in words; the Department of Licensing reproduces the same three designs - geologist, engineering geologist and hydrogeologist - on its stamp requirements page. All three carry the identical legend "State of Washington ... Licensed Geologist", with "Engineering Geologist" or "Hydrogeologist" set inside the ring.
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Washington Geologist seal
- Seal requirements
- WAC 308-15-070; WAC 308-15-075
- Legend
- “State of Washington Licensed Geologist”
- Diameter
- No diameter is prescribed. WAC 308-15-070 fixes the seal's contents and forbids deviation from the authorised designs but states no dimension, and WAC 308-15-075, the only other seal section in chapter 308-15 WAC, addresses when to stamp rather than how big the stamp is.
- Expiration date
- WAC 308-15-070 lists the seal's contents exhaustively - name, license number, the legend, and the specialty where applicable - and imposes no expiration or renewal date; the date requirement in WAC 308-15-075(1) attaches to the document, not to the seal.(WAC 308-15-070; WAC 308-15-075(1))
- Signature date
- The stamp/seal, the signature and the date must all be applied to every final geology or specialty geology work product submitted to other parties.(WAC 308-15-075(1))
- City on seal
- WAC 308-15-070 requires only the name, license number, legend and, where applicable, the specialty; no city or business address is called for.(WAC 308-15-070)
- Upon licensure, you must obtain a seal bearing your name, license number, and the legend "State of Washington Licensed Geologist." If you are licensed as an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist, the specialty must be noted on the seal.(WAC 308-15-070)
- Seals may be physically or digitally produced. Facsimiles of the seal designs authorized by the director are shown in this section. Deviations to the authorized seal designs are not allowed.(WAC 308-15-070)
- You must apply your stamp/seal, signature, and the date on every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction, and submitted to other parties, as part of the public practice of geology.(WAC 308-15-075(1))
- All figures, maps, and plates bound within final reports or documents do not need to be individually stamped/sealed, signed and dated. You must individually stamp, sign, and date unbound final figures, maps, and plates.(WAC 308-15-075(1)(a))
- Draft geology or specialty geology work products do not have to be stamped/sealed, but these types of documents and associated figures, maps, and plates must be marked as draft.(WAC 308-15-075(1)(b))
- If you stamp, sign and date a work product prepared by another geologist, you are responsible to the same extent as if you prepared that work product yourself.(WAC 308-15-075(2))
- A handwritten signature, or a digital representation of it, must be original and written by hand or a scanned image of an original handwritten identification; permanently affixed to the documents being certified; applied to the document by the identified licensee; and placed across the seal/stamp of the licensee.(WAC 308-15-075(3)(a))
- A digital identification is an electronic authentication process attached to or logically associated with an electronic document, and must be unique to the licensee using it, capable of independent verification, under the exclusive control of the licensee using it, and linked to the document so that the digital identification is invalidated if any data in the document are changed.(WAC 308-15-075(3)(b))
Washington geologist seal questions
Where must the signature be placed relative to the seal?▾
Can the signature sit beside the stamp? No - WAC 308-15-075(3)(a)(iv) requires the handwritten identification to be placed across the seal/stamp of the licensee. (WAC 308-15-075(3)(a)(iv))
Is a separate general geologist stamp required alongside a specialty stamp?▾
Does a specialty licensee need two stamps? The rule requires only that the specialty be noted on the seal; a separate general geologist stamp is not mandated by WAC 308-15-070. (WAC 308-15-070)
Which exhibits must be stamped individually?▾
Are bound and unbound exhibits treated alike? No - figures, maps and plates bound within a final report need no individual stamp, but unbound final figures, maps and plates must each be stamped, signed and dated. (WAC 308-15-075(1)(a))