Colorado Landscape Architect seal requirements: proper sizing, signing and sealing of documents

Colorado Landscape Architect seal

Board

Colorado Board of Landscape Architects (Division of Professions and Occupations, Department of Regulatory Agencies)

Seal requirements

C.R.S. § 12-130-116; 4 CCR 729-1.7(A)

Legend

“STATE OF COLORADO, LICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT”

Diameter

Two concentric circles: “The diameter of the outer circle shall be nominally two inches and the diameter of the inner circle shall be nominally one inch.”

Expiration date

The date carried inside a Colorado stamp is the original date the license number was issued — the statute calls it the “date of licensing” and the Board’s specimen captions the date line “Original Date of Licensure”. Nothing in § 12-130-116 or Rule 1.7 asks for an expiration or renewal date.(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(1); 4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1))

Signature date

The original signature and the date of that signature must appear across the face of each original seal imprint, and licensees must sign, date and stamp completed original technical drawings.(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1), (3))

City on seal

Neither § 12-130-116 nor Rule 1.7(A) requires a city, address or place of business on the stamp, and the Board’s specimen shows none.(C.R.S. § 12-130-116; 4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1))

• “A licensed landscape architect shall obtain a stamp of a design authorized by the board. The stamp shall bear the name, date of licensing, and license number of the landscape architect, together with the legend ‘Colorado - Licensed Landscape Architect’.”(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(1))
• “Each licensee shall procure a stamp, which shall be in the form of two concentric circles. The diameter of the outer circle shall be nominally two inches and the diameter of the inner circle shall be nominally one inch. The original date that the license number was issued shall be centered in the inner area of the seal in the space occupied by ‘mm/dd/yyyy’ and the size of the numbers shall be the same size of the letters in ‘mm/dd/yyyy’. The letters ‘mm/dd/yyyy’ should not appear on the seal. This stamp shall comply in all respects, including size and format, with the specimen shown below.”(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1))
• The specimen printed under that sentence — the design the stamp must match “in all respects, including size and format” — shows the licensee’s name arcing across the top of the outer ring and the license number on a straight line beneath it; a mountain-and-water device filling the inner circle, with the date on a “mm/dd/yyyy” line inside it and the printed caption “Original Date of Licensure” directly beneath that date; and, across the bottom of the outer ring, two separate arcs reading “STATE OF COLORADO” on the inner arc and “LICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” on the outer arc.(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1) (specimen, p. 16 of the 04/14/2024 PDF))
• The statute and the Board’s specimen state the legend differently, and the rule does not reconcile them. § 12-130-116(1) gives it as one phrase, “Colorado - Licensed Landscape Architect”, and directs the licensee to obtain “a stamp of a design authorized by the board”; Rule 1.7(A)(1) requires the stamp to “comply in all respects, including size and format, with the specimen shown below”, and that specimen carries “STATE OF COLORADO” and “LICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” as two arcs instead. Confirm the wording with the Board before ordering.(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(1); 4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1))
• “The original signature of the individual named on the seal and the date of the signature shall appear across the face of each original seal imprint. A public agency may require a signature (manual or electronic) of the licensee on reproductions. Exception to this Rule is allowed only as required for compliance with a federal contract.”(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1))
• A seal must be applied to either the final reproducible or final reproduction of each sheet of landscape architectural technical drawings; the cover, title page and table of contents of specifications bound in book form; the title page of details bound in book form and prepared specifically to supplement project drawings; and the title or signature page of landscape architectural technical reports.(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(2))
• “Licensees shall sign, date, and stamp original technical drawings that are complete. Complete technical drawings are those deemed to have sufficient detail in the design to satisfy the obligation to protect the public health, safety and welfare.”(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(3))
• Documents that are not final must be identified as preliminary when sealed, and further qualifying descriptors may be added (e.g. “for review,” “not for construction,” “for bid only”).(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(4))
• “When a licensee signs and seals a document, the licensee is responsible for the entire document unless the licensee limits the seal by including a specific written statement adjacent to the seal that accurately reflects the scope of responsibility for the document.”(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(5))
• “The stamp and the date the document is stamped shall be placed on the cover, title page, and table of contents of specifications and on each reproduction of drawings prepared under the direct supervision of the landscape architect.”(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(2)(c))
• “Except as required for compliance with a federal contract, the landscape architect shall not stamp reproductions or copies that are transferred from the landscape architect’s possession or supervision.” One original document may be stamped, signed and dated as required for federal government contracts.(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(2)(f), (h))
• One record set — at a minimum the sealed, signed and dated reproducible, or a copy of all documents displaying the licensee’s seal, signature and date — must be retained in the licensee’s possession for a minimum of three years from the beginning of beneficial use. The statute puts the same period as three years after beneficial occupancy or beneficial use of the project.(4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(7); C.R.S. § 12-130-116(2)(a), (g))
• The statute permits the Board by rule to authorise an electronic stamp, an electronic seal and electronic records; the Rule authorises a computer generated seal among the accepted types, and defines an electronic signature as one that is 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 are changed.(C.R.S. § 12-130-116(3); 4 CCR 729-1.7(A)(1); 4 CCR 729-1.4(B)(13)(b))

Colorado landscape architect seal questions