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

Minnesota Landscape Architect seal

Board

Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design

Seal requirements

Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2, 3; Minn. R. 1800.4200; Minn. R. 1800.4300

Legend

“licensed landscape architect”

Diameter

No diameter is prescribed. Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 and Minn. R. 1800.4300 describe the seal only by its contents — the licensee's name and the legend "licensed landscape architect" — and Minn. R. 1800.4200, which governs the mandatory certification block, states no dimension either.

Expiration date

Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 and Minn. R. 1800.4300 describe the seal's contents as the licensee's name and the legend only, and Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 lists the certification fields as signature, printed name, date and license number. No expiration or renewal date is called for. Subdivision 2 does make it unlawful to stamp a document after the license has expired, been revoked or suspended, but that is a condition of use, not a content requirement.(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2; Minn. R. 1800.4300; Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4)

Signature date

Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 requires each signature to be accompanied by the certification, the license number and "the date on which the signature was affixed", and the rule's landscape architect block provides a date field.(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3; Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4)

City on seal

Neither Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3, nor Minn. R. 1800.4200 or 1800.4300 calls for a city, address or place of business.(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2, 3; Minn. R. 1800.4200; Minn. R. 1800.4300)

• "Each licensee or certificate holder may, upon licensure or certification, obtain a seal bearing the licensee's or certificate holder's name and the legend 'licensed architect,' 'licensed professional engineer,' 'licensed land surveyor,' 'licensed landscape architect,' the appropriate licensed professional geoscientist legend as defined by the board, or 'certified interior designer.' Plans, specifications, plats, reports, and other documents prepared by a licensee or certificate holder may be stamped with the seal during the life of the license or certificate. A rubber stamp facsimile thereof may be used in lieu of the seal on tracings from which prints are to be made or on papers which would be damaged by the regular seal. It shall be unlawful for any one to stamp or seal any document with the stamp or seal after the license or certificate has expired, been revoked or suspended, unless said license or certificate shall have been renewed or reissued."(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2)
• "Each plan, drawing, specification, plat, report, or other document which under sections 326.02 to 326.15 is prepared by a licensed architect, licensed engineer, licensed land surveyor, licensed landscape architect, licensed geoscientist, or certified interior designer must bear the signature of the licensed or certified person preparing it, or the signature of the licensed or certified person under whose direct supervision it was prepared. Each signature shall be accompanied by a certification that the signer is licensed or certified under sections 326.02 to 326.15, by the person's license or certificate number, and by the date on which the signature was affixed."(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3)
• The certification language a landscape architect must use is fixed by rule: "I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Landscape Architect under the laws of the state of Minnesota." followed by fields for signature, printed name, date and license number.(Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4)
• "The certification and signature on plans, drawings, specifications, plats, reports, and other documents that require a signature is mandatory, as provided by Minnesota Statutes, section 326.12, subdivision 3." The certification may be electronic, facsimile, or digital.(Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1)
• "The certification by each of the professions responsible for the preparation of bound specifications, plats, reports, or other documents must be shown on the title sheet, first sheets, or certification page." Certification for plans must appear on each sheet. Consistently, Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 provides that the required signature and certification "must appear on all pages of plans and drawings that must be signed, but only on the first page of specifications, plats, reports, or other documents that must be signed."(Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 3; Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3)
• "A licensee or certificate holder shall not affix a signature or certification to any plan or document not prepared under the licensee's or certificate holder's responsible charge." The licensee "shall sign and certify only work within the licensee's or certificate holder's area of licensure or certification."(Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1a, items B and D)
• "When a document has been certified with the signature of the design professional as specified in subparts 1 to 4, that signature becomes a permanent part of that document and must not be removed at a later date for any reason."(Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 5)
• The seal rule confirms the seal is supplementary: a licensee "may, upon licensure or certification, also obtain a seal" bearing the licensee's name and the legend, and the stamped seal "may be used on documents in addition to the signed and dated certification required under part 1800.4200."(Minn. R. 1800.4300)
• "A stamp, printed signature, or electronically created signature has the same force and effect as an actual signature if it creates an accurate depiction of the licensed or certified professional's actual signature."(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3)
• Intraoffice and preliminary work is excluded: "The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any plans, drawings, specifications, plats, reports, or other documents of an intraoffice or intracompany nature or that are considered to be drafts or of a preliminary, schematic, or design development nature by licensed or certified individuals who would normally be responsible for their preparation."(Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3)

Minnesota landscape architect seal questions