Rhode Island · Engineer seal requirements
Rhode Island PE seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Rhode Island's engineer stamp is governed by 430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E), which prescribes contents but no diameter. The stamp bears the Registrant's name, serial number and the legend "Registered Professional Engineer", with the Registrant's assigned engineering discipline on the line beneath that legend. The rule does not put the words "State of Rhode Island" on the stamp. Rhode Island runs three separate design-professional boards, and the land surveyor's seal is a 1½-inch square on which electronic signature and dating are not permitted.
The seal statute is R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-14, "Certificates of registration — Enrollment cards — Seals." § 5-8-11 (qualifications for registration) and § 5-8-12 are frequently cited in its place and govern nothing about the stamp. The engineering rule was amended effective 03/07/2024; the architect and land surveyor rules were last refiled 01/04/2022.
Rhode Island Engineer seal
- Legend
- “Registered Professional Engineer”
- Diameter
- The rule states no diameter. The stamp is "of the design indicated by the Department", and the Department publishes no dimensioned specification.
- Expiration date
- The stamp bears the Registrant's name, serial number, the legend "Registered Professional Engineer" and the assigned engineering discipline. Neither rule nor statute puts a license date on it.(430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-14(c))
- Signature date
- The date comes from the statute and the ethics rule rather than the stamp rule: § 1.3.1(E)(2) says only that final documents be "signed and stamped", while § 5-8-14(c) requires them to be "signed, dated, and stamped" when issued and § 1.7(C)(4)(a) requires every seal imprint on a final document to bear an original signature and date, or an electronic stamp and date.(R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-14(c); 430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.7(C)(4)(a))
- City on seal
- Name, serial number, legend and discipline are the only stamp contents prescribed. Do not read § 1.7(C)(4)(c) as a seal element: it requires the Registrant's or firm's name, address and project name on the plans, drawings or plats themselves, not inside the stamp.(430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1); § 1.7(C)(4)(c))
- The stamp bears the Registrant's name, serial number and the legend "Registered Professional Engineer".(430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1))
- The Registrant's assigned engineering discipline shall appear on the stamp under the words "Registered Professional Engineer". The Board has assigned disciplines since 14 March 1995, starting with registration number 6366.(430-RICR-00-00-1 §§ 1.3.1(D)(1), 1.3.1(E)(1))
- Name, serial number, legend and discipline are the only contents the rule prescribes. It does not require the words "State of Rhode Island".(430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1))
- Final drawings, specifications, plats and reports shall, when issued, be signed, dated and stamped with the stamp/seal or a facsimile of it.(R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-14; 430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(2))
- The Board allows electronic signatures and seals on plans submitted to government agencies that accept electronic documentation under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. The Professional Engineer must see that the electronic signature and seal are properly encoded against unauthorized use.(430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(3))
Rhode Island engineer seal questions
Does a Rhode Island engineer stamp read "Professional Engineer"?▾
The legend is "Registered Professional Engineer". "Professional Engineer" alone is not the wording the rule or the statute prescribes. (430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1); R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-14)
Does a Rhode Island engineer stamp have to show your discipline?▾
The assigned engineering discipline is a required line on the stamp, set under the legend, for every registration issued since 14 March 1995. A stamp without it is short an element. (430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(D)(1))
Does a Rhode Island seal have to say "State of Rhode Island"?▾
"State of Rhode Island" is not a required element of the engineer's stamp, and the architect's seal carries the State emblem rather than those words. (430-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.3.1(E)(1); 415-RICR-00-00-1 § 1.7(A)(1))
Generate a Rhode Island Engineer seal to this specification
Board approved
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