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

Maine Landscape Architect seal

Board

Maine State Board for Licensure of Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers

Seal requirements

32 M.R.S. §225; 02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18

Diameter

No diameter is prescribed. 32 M.R.S. §225 requires a seal "of such design as the board authorizes and directs" and states no dimension, and the board's rule chapters contain no seal design - chapter 10 (Definitions) does not define a seal, chapter 13 (Licensure of Landscape Architects) contains no seal provision at all, and chapter 18 (Documentation), the only chapter that mentions sealing, addresses who may seal and for how long records must be kept.

Expiration date

Nothing in 32 M.R.S. §225 or in the board's rules puts any date in or beside the seal; §225 addresses expiration only by making it unlawful to stamp after the license has expired or been revoked.(32 M.R.S. §225; 02-288 C.M.R. chs. 10, 13, 18)

Signature date

Section 225 requires only that technical submissions be stamped with the seal. The requirement to accompany a signature with a license number and the date of signing sits in §225-A, which applies to certified interior designers.(32 M.R.S. §225; 32 M.R.S. §225-A(1))

City on seal

No content is prescribed for the seal at all, in statute or rule.(32 M.R.S. §225; 02-288 C.M.R. chs. 10, 13, 18)

• Each licensed architect or landscape architect shall upon licensure obtain a seal of such design as the board authorizes and directs.(32 M.R.S. §225)
• Technical submissions prepared by or under the direct supervision of a licensed landscape architect must be stamped with the seal during the life of the licensee's license.(32 M.R.S. §225)
• It is unlawful for anyone to stamp or seal any documents with the seal after the license named on the seal has expired or has been revoked, unless the license has been renewed or reissued.(32 M.R.S. §225)
• "Direct supervision of a technical submission" means the supervising licensee has personal knowledge of the technical submission and direct knowledge of involvement with and control over its preparation; portions prepared by others licensed in Maine are under the licensee's direct supervision if the licensee has reviewed them, coordinated their preparation and is responsible for their adequacy.(32 M.R.S. §225)
• The board's rules prescribe no seal design. Chapter 13, the chapter governing the licensure of landscape architects, contains no seal or stamp provision, and chapter 10 does not define a seal.(02-288 C.M.R. chs. 10, 13)
• A landscape architect may not seal technical submissions that were in fact prepared by another person unless the conditions in chapter 18 are met - either the submissions are prototypical building construction documents that the sealing licensee has reviewed and integrated into the licensee's own submissions, or the sealing licensee familiarized themselves with the client's goals beforehand, coordinated preparation or had significant and controlling personal involvement or integrated the work, and thoroughly reviewed the submissions upon completion.(02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18, §1)
• A landscape architect who integrates technical submissions prepared by another person must retain, and make available to the board on request for at least five years following signing and sealing, adequate and complete records demonstrating the nature and extent of the review and integration.(02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18, §2)
• A landscape architect may rely upon technical submissions in electronic form, including the seals reproduced on them, to the same extent as their physical counterparts.(02-288 C.M.R. ch. 18, §3)
• The "certified signature" requirement - signature accompanied by a certification of licensure, the license number and the date the signature was affixed - applies by its terms to certified interior designers, not to landscape architects.(32 M.R.S. §225-A(1))

Maine landscape architect seal questions