District of Columbia · Engineer seal requirements
District of Columbia PE seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
The District's seal rule is 17 DCMR § 1516, in Chapter 17-15. Section 1516.4 lists what every seal contains and the list is exhaustive: "District of Columbia", the licensee's name, the license number, and the words "Professional Engineer" or "Professional Surveyor". No diameter appears anywhere in the section. A computer-generated seal that is not digitally signed may be used on final original drawings only if a handwritten signature is placed adjacent to or across the seal and the date is written below the stamp, and a digitally signed document must additionally carry a list of the hardware, software and parameters used to prepare it.
The "typically 1¾ inches" figure repeated for the District has no source in DC law; § 1516.4 states no dimension. DCRA, whose URLs still circulate for this board, ceased to exist on October 1, 2022 when it was split into the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection and the Department of Buildings. Chapter 17-23 is not the engineering chapter.
District of Columbia Engineer seal
- Seal rule
- 17 DCMR § 1516 (Seals)
- Legend
- “Professional Engineer”
- Diameter
- The rule states no diameter. § 1516.4 is an exhaustive list of what the seal contains and it prescribes no dimension.
- Expiration date
- § 1516.4 lists District of Columbia, the name, the license number and the profession words — no date. Subsection (e) lets the Board ask for "any other information", so a Board request could add one; the rule itself does not.(17 DCMR § 1516.4)
- Signature date
- Conditional but decisive for a generated stamp: a computer-generated seal may be used on final original drawings only if a handwritten signature is placed adjacent to or across the seal and the date is written below the stamp.(17 DCMR § 1516.9)
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(17 DCMR § 1516.4)
- All seals shall contain: District of Columbia; the licensee's name; the license number; and the words "Professional Engineer" or "Professional Surveyor", as appropriate.(17 DCMR § 1516.4)
- The seal and signature go on all final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations presented to a client or any public agency.(17 DCMR § 1516.3)
- Place the seal and signature on the original copy, tracings or other reproducible documents so that both reproduce when copies are made.(17 DCMR § 1516.6)
- A working or in-progress document may be left unsealed, but it must carry a statement to the effect "PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECORDING PURPOSES, OR IMPLEMENTATION."(17 DCMR § 1516.5)
- A digital signature requires an authentication procedure with four elements — a unique signature, capability to verify the source, sole control by the person using it, and a link to the document that invalidates the signature if any data changes.(17 DCMR § 1516.10(a))
District of Columbia engineer seal questions
Can a District of Columbia seal use "P.E." instead of "Professional Engineer"?▾
"P.E." is not authorized on the seal. § 1516.4 requires the words "Professional Engineer"; the abbreviation appears only inside the transmittal note wording of § 1516.9. (17 DCMR § 1516.4(d))
What does a District of Columbia digitally signed document have to list?▾
A digitally signed document must carry a list of the hardware, software and parameters used to prepare it, on top of the four-element authentication procedure. Few other jurisdictions ask for this. (17 DCMR § 1516.10(b))
Does every sheet of a District of Columbia drawing set need a seal?▾
On a multi-sheet document, sealing the title page is not enough. The first or title page is sealed and signed by everyone who controlled the work, and each drawing is separately sealed and signed by whoever is responsible for that sheet. (17 DCMR § 1516.7)
Generate a District of Columbia Engineer seal to this specification
Board approved
Your District of Columbia Professional Engineer seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording and the layout set out in 17 DCMR § 1516 (Seals). Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
Every format you need is included — PNG, PDF, SVG and CAD — ready to place in Bluebeam, Acrobat or AutoCAD.