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

Tennessee Landscape Architect seal

Board

State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners

Seal requirements

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08 (prescribing the seal design required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-2-306)

Legend

“Registered Landscape Architect, Tennessee”

Diameter

No diameter is prescribed. Rule 0120-02-.08(1) fixes the design by reproducing an illustration of each seal rather than by giving dimensions, and no dimension — inch, millimetre or otherwise — appears anywhere in Rule 0120-02-.08 as published in the currently effective June 3, 2026 compilation.

Expiration date

The seal carries no date. The design prescribed at Rule 0120-02-.08(1)(c) shows only the registrant's name, “REGISTERED”, “TENNESSEE NO. 0000” and “LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” around the state emblem, and Rule 0120-02-.08(8)(a) forbids the stamp from including the registrant's date of signature. Nothing in Rule 0120-02-.08 puts an expiration or renewal date on the seal face.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(1)(c), (8)(a))

Signature date

A date of signature must accompany the seal, but it is written across the seal rather than built into it: the registrant superimposes the signature and the date of signature across the face and beyond the circumference of the seal, an electronically generated signature and date may sit either across the seal or adjacent to it, and the stamp itself may not contain either.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(3), (8)(a), (8)(b))

City on seal

The prescribed illustration at Rule 0120-02-.08(1)(c) shows no city, address or place of business — only the registrant's name, “REGISTERED”, “TENNESSEE NO. 0000”, “LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” and the state emblem — and nothing elsewhere in Rule 0120-02-.08 calls for one.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(1)(c))

• “The design of the registrant's seal required by T.C.A. § 62-2-306, shall be as follows: … (c) Landscape Architect:” — the rule then reproduces the seal illustration, which reads “JOHN DOE” around the top of the outer ring, “REGISTERED” arcing the inner ring above the Tennessee state emblem, “TENNESSEE NO. 0000” arcing the inner ring below it, and “LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” around the lower outer edge.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(1)(c))
• “The registrant shall stamp with the registrant's seal the following documents: (a) All original sheets of any bound or unbound set of working drawings or plans; original sheets shall include tracings or other reproducible sheets; (b) The original cover or index page(s) identifying all specification pages covered; and (c) The original cover or index page(s) for design calculations or reports that are submitted for review.”(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(2)(a)—(c))
• “The registrant shall superimpose his signature (not a rubber stamp) and date of signature across the face and beyond the circumference of the seal on documents listed above.”(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(3))
• When multiple registrants contribute to a project, each registrant shall sign and seal the portions of the project for which that registrant is responsible; all registrants in responsible charge who work on a set of specifications are required to seal either the cover page of the specifications, drawings or plans or the cover page(s) for the section(s) of the specifications they produce.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(4))
• “No registrant shall affix his or her seal or signature to sketches, working drawings, specifications or other documents developed by others not under the registrant's responsible charge and not subject to the authority of that registrant in critical professional judgments.”(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(5)(a))
• “Subject to the requirements of this rule, rubber-stamp, embossed, transparent self-adhesive or electronically generated seals may be used. Such stamps or seals shall not include the registrant's signature or date of signature.”(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(8)(a))
• An electronically generated signature and date of signature may be affixed; when used they must be placed either across the face and beyond the circumference of the seal or adjacent to the seal. Documents signed using a digital signature must have an electronic authentication process attached to or logically associated with the document, and the digital signature must be unique to the individual using it, capable of verification, under that individual's sole control, and linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed.(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(8)(b))
• “All working or partially completed plans, or any drawings that are not construction documents, shall be designated ‘preliminary — not for construction,’ ‘for review only,’ ‘draft,’ or other designation clearly indicating that the drawings are not complete.”(Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0120-02-.08(9))

Tennessee landscape architect seal questions