North Carolina · Engineer seal requirements
North Carolina PE seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
21 NCAC 56 .1102 fixes the North Carolina engineer and land surveyor seal as two concentric circles 1½ to 1¾ inches in diameter, with North Carolina and the name of the licensee in the outermost circle and the license number together with either "Professional Engineer" or "Professional Land Surveyor" in the innermost circle. Architects answer to a separate board under 21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(3)(B), which prescribes the same geometry and the same 1½ to 1¾ inch range but the legend "Licensed Architect". The seal itself may be a rubber stamp, an embossed seal or a computer-generated facsimile; the signature may not — a facsimile signature is not acceptable in any of the three professions. A CAD, vector or other easily edited file transmitted beyond the licensee's direct control must have the computer-generated seal removed unless it carries a conforming digital signature, with a prescribed "shall not be considered a certified document" sentence inserted in place of the signature and date.
The seal design rule for engineers and land surveyors is 21 NCAC 56 .1102; .1103 governs how the seal is used, and summaries that cite .1103 for the seal's appearance are citing the wrong rule. 21 NCAC 56 .0104 describes the Board's own official seal — the Great Seal of the State with the Board name on the perimeter — and is not the licensee's seal. The Code and the statutes name the engineering and surveying board the "North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors" (21 NCAC 56 .0101; G.S. 47-30(d)), while the Board itself uses the shorter "North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors" on its own site; the Code form is used here. The architect rule, 21 NCAC 02 .0206, was readopted effective June 1, 2026 and is the current text; the readoption added language to Paragraph (d) permitting unlocked copies of sealed construction documents to be provided for plan review approval stamps or contractor material takeoffs where document content is not effectively being altered. North Carolina also registers interior designers through the architecture board under the same rule, but their seal is two concentric ovals two inches tall by 2.75 inches wide bearing "Registered Interior Designer" (21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(5)(B)) — a different credential from an architect and not a circular seal. The North Carolina Administrative Code is published by the Office of Administrative Hearings on a server that answers over HTTP only, which is why the rule links here are http:// rather than https://.
North Carolina Engineer seal
- Legend
- “Professional Engineer”
- Diameter
- Two concentric circles, 1½ to 1¾ inches in diameter. The rule states a genuine range, so any diameter within it complies.
- Expiration date
- The design rule lists North Carolina and the licensee's name in the outermost circle and the license number with "Professional Engineer" in the innermost circle. Nothing else. The statute forbids sealing after a certificate expires but keeps the date off the seal.(21 NCAC 56 .1102; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c))
- Signature date
- "The date of signing must be annotated on the original document," alongside the written signature placed over or adjacent to the seal.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(3), (a)(4))
- City on seal
- "North Carolina" is the state, not a city. The firm's name, address and license number go on each sheet of the drawings, not on the seal.(21 NCAC 56 .1102; cf. 21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(6))
- The standard design of the seal is two concentric circles in which North Carolina and the name of the licensee are placed within the outermost circle and in which the license number of the licensee and "Professional Engineer" is placed within the innermost circle.(21 NCAC 56 .1102)
- Each licensee shall upon licensure obtain a seal of a design authorized by the Board bearing the licensee's name, license number, and the legend "professional engineer". Final drawings, specifications, plans and reports prepared by a licensee shall, when issued, be certified and stamped with the seal or a facsimile of the seal.(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c))
- The seal may be a rubber stamp, embossed seal, computer-generated seal, or other facsimile that becomes a permanent addition to a plan sheet or map.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(2))
- The licensee's written signature must be placed over, or adjacent to, the seal on the original document, and the date of signing must be annotated on the original document. A facsimile signature is not acceptable.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(3), (a)(4))
- All sheets of engineering and surveying drawings must be certified, and the name, address and license number of the licensee's firm shall be included on each sheet of engineering drawings. For specifications and reports the title sheet is certified and carries the firm's name, address and license number.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(5), (a)(6), (b)(5))
- Documents transmitted electronically beyond the direct control of the licensee shall have the computer-generated seal removed from the original file unless signed with a digital signature meeting this Rule, and shall then carry in lieu of the signature and date: "This document originally issued and sealed by (name of sealer), (license number), on (Date of sealing). This medium shall not be considered a certified document." Scanned digital files of certified hardcopy documents are excluded from this requirement.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(d))
- A digital signature must be unique to the licensee, capable of verification, under the sole control of the licensee, and linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed. The authentication procedure must be in a secure mode and accompanied by a list of the hardware, software and parameters used.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(e))
- The use of a seal by a firm is not required for certification, and a firm seal is not authorized for use in lieu of the required seal of a Professional Engineer.(21 NCAC 56 .1105)
North Carolina engineer seal questions
Does a North Carolina PE seal say "State of North Carolina"?▾
The seal reads "North Carolina", not "State of North Carolina", and the layout is prescribed rather than left to the licensee: North Carolina and the name go in the outermost circle, the license number and the legend go in the innermost circle. The same split applies to the architect seal. (21 NCAC 56 .1102; 21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(3)(B))
Do I have to remove the seal from a North Carolina document I send electronically?▾
A document transmitted electronically beyond the licensee's direct control must have the computer-generated seal removed from the original file unless it is signed with a conforming digital signature, and must then carry in place of the signature and date: "This document originally issued and sealed by (name of sealer), (license number), on (Date of sealing). This medium shall not be considered a certified document." Scanned copies of a hardcopy original that already bears the seal, signature and date are exempt. (21 NCAC 56 .1103(d); 21 NCAC 02 .0206(e))
Can a North Carolina engineer use a scanned or computer-generated signature?▾
Seal reproductions are permitted for all three professions; signature reproductions are prohibited for all three. Rubber-stamp, computer-generated or scanned signatures on paper do not satisfy the signing requirement. (21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(3); 21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(3)(C))
Do North Carolina engineering and architecture firms need a firm seal on drawings?▾
The firm rules run in opposite directions. An architecture firm's seal must be affixed on the cover sheet in addition to the individual seal, whereas an engineering or surveying firm's seal is not required for certification and is never authorized in lieu of the individual licensee's seal — what the engineering rule does require is the firm's name, address and license number on each sheet of engineering drawings. (21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(12); G.S. 83A-10(a); 21 NCAC 56 .1105, .1103(a)(6))
Generate a North Carolina Engineer seal to this specification
Board approved
Your North Carolina Professional Engineer seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in 21 NCAC 56 .1102 (Design); 21 NCAC 56 .1103 (Standard Certification Requirements); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c). Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
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