British Columbia · Engineer seal requirements
British Columbia P.Eng. seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Under EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1) the British Columbia engineer's seal is issued rather than specified: Engineers and Geoscientists BC provides a Professional Registrant in good standing with a Manual Seal bearing the registrant's first initial(s), middle initial(s) and last name(s) together with the words "professional engineer", and EGBC retains ownership of it; the seal states the designation in full as "Professional Engineer, Province of British Columbia", and neither the Bylaws nor EGBC's authentication guide sets a diameter. Architects answer to the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, whose Registrar issues every Architect's Seal bearing the architect's registered name and the phrase Registered Architect British Columbia (AIBC Bylaws §§ 4.96–4.98). Land surveyors acquired a seal only on 15 January 2026, when Part 11 of the Survey and Plan Rules took effect requiring a seal image carrying the surveyor's name, commission number and the British Columbia Land Surveyor designation on non-statutory plans — while a statutory plan image must still contain no signatures at all (Rule 3-2(9)).
Two statutes that older summaries still cite for British Columbia are repealed. The Engineers and Geoscientists Act was repealed by Professional Governance Act § 133 effective 5 February 2021 (B.C. Reg. 11/2021), and the Architects Act was repealed 10 February 2023 (B.C. Reg. 32/2023); engineers and architects are now governed by the Professional Governance Act, which describes no seal and instead lets each regulator's board make bylaws providing for the issuance of a seal and governing its use (PGA § 49(3)). The legend that used to sit in Architects Act § 77(2)(b) survives in AIBC Bylaw 4.97 without its comma — the repealed Act said "Registered Architect, British Columbia" and the Bylaw says Registered Architect British Columbia. AIBC Bulletins 60 and 61 were replaced on 4 December 2024 by the Practice Guideline: Use of the Architect's Seal, now in its August 2026 edition, which renames the AIBC's sole certificate authority from Notarius to Portage CyberTech; the AIBC Bylaws of 21 April 2026 still print "Notarius" in the Professional Standard 8.5 commentary with a marginal note recording the change. Land surveyors had no seal of any kind until the ABCLS added Part 11, Non-Statutory Surveys, to the Survey and Plan Rules in version 1.16, effective 15 January 2026; the ABCLS does not publish those Rules as a PDF, so the citations here are to rule numbers as the ABCLS itself numbers them on its site. No British Columbia regulator publishes a seal diameter for any of the three professions.
British Columbia Engineer seal
- Legend
- “Professional Engineer, Province of British Columbia”
- Diameter
- Neither the Bylaws nor EGBC's authentication guide prescribes a diameter. EGBC manufactures and issues the seal, so its dimensions are the regulator's rather than a rule's.
- Expiration date
- The Manual Seal EGBC issues bears only the registrant's first and middle initials and last name, and the words "professional engineer" (or the geoscience or licensee equivalent). On suspension or cancellation the registrant must stop authenticating and return the seal, so currency is policed off the seal rather than printed on it.(EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1), (11))
- Signature date
- Authenticating a document means applying the seal, the signature and the date of authentication together — Manually Authenticating is seal, handwritten signature and date of authentication; Digitally Authenticating is digital seal, signature image, date image and digital certificate. A professional registrant must authenticate documents prepared in their professional capacity that others will rely on.(EGBC Bylaws, definitions of "Manually Authenticating" and "Digitally Authenticating"; § 7.3.7(5), (9)(c))
- City on seal
- The seal carries no place at all under § 7.3.7(1) — only the name and the profession words. Where a registrant authenticates on behalf of a registrant firm, what must also appear on the document is the firm's Permit to Practice Number, not an address.(EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1), (14))
- EGBC may provide a Professional Registrant in good standing with a Manual Seal bearing the registrant's first initial(s), middle initial(s) and last name(s) and the words "professional engineer" — or "professional geoscientist", "professional licensee engineering" or "professional licensee geoscience", as applicable.(EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1))
- The seal must bear the registrant's first initial, middle initial(s) and last name with the designation stated as "Professional Engineer, Province of British Columbia". The equivalents for the other registrant categories are "Professional Geoscientist, Province of British Columbia", "Engineering Licensee, Province of British Columbia", "Professional Licensee Engineering, Province of British Columbia", "Geoscience Licensee, Province of British Columbia" and "Professional Licensee Geoscience, Province of British Columbia".(EGBC Guide to the Standard for the Authentication of Documents § 3.6.5.1 (minimum legal requirements for Digital Seals))
- A Manual Seal is the ink stamp or embossing machine issued to a Professional Registrant by EGBC, and EGBC retains ownership of it. Every Professional Registrant receives one as part of their membership; a long-reach embosser may be purchased in addition and is acceptable on professional documents.(EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1)–(2) and definition of "Manual Seal"; EGBC Guide § 3.6.2.1)
- Manually authenticating means applying all three of the Manual Seal, the registrant's handwritten signature and the date of authentication. A seal is not complete without a signature and a date, and the date must be the date of authentication even where that differs from the date on the document.(EGBC Bylaws, definition of "Manually Authenticating"; EGBC Guide § 3.6.1.1)
- Digitally authenticating means applying all four of the Digital Seal, a digital image of the signature, a digital image of the date of authentication and the registrant's Digital Certificate. A Digital Seal is a digital image of the Manual Seal with no material variation in format or wording.(EGBC Bylaws, definitions of "Digitally Authenticating" and "Digital Seal")
- EGBC does not approve sealing in any manner other than as prescribed in its Guide, including stick-on seals, photocopied seals, Digital Seals completed with an electronic image of a signature in electronic files without a Digital Certificate, and electronically scanned images of ink stamp seals applied to original documents.(EGBC Guide § 3.6.8.1)
- The ink impression should be clear and legible, and the document must be signed and dated adjacent to or across the seal. Contrasting ink colors for the seal and for the signature and date are preferred, and the date is recommended to touch or cross the seal.(EGBC Guide §§ 3.6.3.1–3.6.3.2)
- Where a Professional Registrant authenticates a document on behalf of a Registrant Firm, the firm's Permit to Practice Number must be applied visibly to the document.(EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(14))
British Columbia engineer seal questions
Can I have a British Columbia engineer's seal made to order?▾
The seal is not something a registrant specifies or has made. EGBC provides the Manual Seal to a Professional Registrant in good standing and retains ownership of it, and the Digital Seal is a digital image of that Manual Seal with no material variation in format or wording — so there is nothing on it for a registrant to choose. (EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1)–(2) and definition of "Digital Seal")
Does a British Columbia engineer's seal say "P.Eng."?▾
"P.Eng." is a post-nominal, not the wording on the seal. Bylaw § 7.3.7(1)(b) puts the words "professional engineer" on it, and the seal EGBC issues states the designation as "Professional Engineer, Province of British Columbia". (EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(1)(b); EGBC Guide to the Standard for the Authentication of Documents § 3.6.5.1)
Is pasting a seal image into a PDF enough in British Columbia?▾
A seal image dropped onto a PDF is not authentication. Digitally Authenticating means applying all four of the Digital Seal, a digital image of the signature, a digital image of the date of authentication and the registrant's Digital Certificate — and the Digital Seal itself must be a digital image of the EGBC-issued Manual Seal with no material variation in format or wording. (EGBC Bylaws, definitions of "Digitally Authenticating" and "Digital Seal")
What goes on a document sealed on behalf of a British Columbia engineering firm?▾
A document authenticated on behalf of an engineering firm carries a second mark that is not part of the seal: the Registrant Firm's Permit to Practice Number, applied visibly to the document. (EGBC Bylaws § 7.3.7(14))
Generate a British Columbia Engineer seal to this specification
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