British Columbia · Land Surveyor seal requirements
British Columbia Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in British Columbia seal under Survey and Plan Rules, v. 1.16, effective 15 January 2026, Rules 11-1 and 11-5, made under Land Surveyors Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 248, § 75; Land Title Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 250, § 168.3, administered by the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors. The seal reads “British Columbia Land Surveyor”. The Survey and Plan Rules say what the seal image must include but prescribe no diameter or other dimension for it. The only dimensions the Rules give for a plan govern lettering height, the plan border and the registrar's rectangle, not the seal.
Two statutes that older summaries still cite for British Columbia are repealed. The Engineers and Geoscientists Act was repealed by Professional Governance Act § 133 effective 5 February 2021 (B.C. Reg. 11/2021), and the Architects Act was repealed 10 February 2023 (B.C. Reg. 32/2023); engineers and architects are now governed by the Professional Governance Act, which describes no seal and instead lets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 The legend that used to sit in Architects Act § 77(2)(b) survives in AIBC Bylaw 4.97 without its comma — the repealed Act said "Registered Architect, British Columbia" and the Bylaw says Registered Architect British Columbia.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 Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “British Columbia Land Surveyor”
- Diameter
- The Survey and Plan Rules say what the seal image must include but prescribe no diameter or other dimension for it. The only dimensions the Rules give for a plan govern lettering height, the plan border and the registrar's rectangle, not the seal.
- A Seal is the physical or electronic mark that indicates to a recipient that the document and its contents were prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, the land surveyor. A seal image includes the land surveyor's name and commission number and the British Columbia Land Surveyor designation.(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-1)
- Plan Authentication involves applying a seal image, a signature image in the vicinity of the seal, and — for digital products — a Digital Certificate issued by a Digital Certificate Provider, meaning a third party approved by the association to issue Digital Certificates to land surveyors.(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-1)
- Non-statutory plans must be authenticated by the land surveyor, either physically or electronically, before being issued for approval or reliance by anyone outside the land surveyor's firm.(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-5(1))
- A non-statutory plan must also be Certified Correct before it is issued outside the firm and must carry the notation "Certified Correct as to the practice of land surveying in accordance with Part 11-5(2) of the Survey and Plan Rules."(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-5(2))
- On a statutory plan the position is the opposite: the plan image must contain no signatures, and any signature that is required must be obtained in a form and manner prescribed by the Director for plans filed in the land title register or by the Surveyor General for plans filed in the Crown land registry.(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 3-2(9))
- What a statutory plan image carries instead of a seal is a statement — for a plan based on field survey, "The field survey represented by this plan was completed on the [dd] day of [month], [yyyy]" followed by "[name of BCLS], BCLS [commission number]".(Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 3-6)
- A plan submitted electronically must be signed electronically by a British Columbia land surveyor, and that electronic signature is the surveyor's certification that the information in each notation, endorsement, statement or certification made by the surveyor and set out on the plan is correct. For a plan going to the Surveyor General, the electronic signature must comply with the requirements the Surveyor General establishes.(Land Title Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 250, § 168.3(1) and (3); Land Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 245, § 93.93(3) and (4))
- The Land Surveyors Act itself creates no seal — its only seal references are to the association's common seal — and the surveyor's seal exists solely because the association may make rules for surveys and plans, which take effect when approved by order of the Surveyor General. The Act separately reserves the designation "British Columbia Land Surveyor" and the initials "B. C. L. S." to practising land surveyors.(Land Surveyors Act §§ 33(b), 72, 75(1) and (3), 59(3))
British Columbia land surveyor seal questions
Does a British Columbia land surveyor seal a statutory plan?▾
A land surveyor's seal belongs on non-statutory plans only. The plan image of a statutory plan must contain no signatures at all, and any signature that is required is obtained in the form and manner prescribed by the Director of Land Titles or by the Surveyor General rather than placed on the plan. (Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 3-2(9); Rule 11-5(1))
When did British Columbia land surveyors get a seal?▾
On 15 January 2026, and not before. Version 1.16 of the Survey and Plan Rules added Part 11, Non-Statutory Surveys, which contains the first definition of a Seal for a British Columbia land surveyor. The Land Surveyors Act creates no personal seal — its only references are to the association's common seal — so every description saying a BC land surveyor has no seal is describing the position as it stood until that date. (Survey and Plan Rules, v. 1.16 (effective 15 January 2026), Rule 11-1; Land Surveyors Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 248, §§ 33(b), 72, 75)
What number goes on a British Columbia land surveyor's seal?▾
The commission number. A British Columbia land surveyor is issued a commission rather than a licence, and the seal image includes the surveyor's name and commission number together with the British Columbia Land Surveyor designation — a designation the Act reserves, along with the initials "B. C. L. S.", to practising land surveyors. (Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-1; Land Surveyors Act §§ 48, 59(3))
What size is a British Columbia land surveyor's seal?▾
No size is prescribed. The Rules say what the seal image must include and stop there. The only dimensions anywhere in the plan rules govern other things entirely — lettering not less than 2.0 mm high at the intended plot size, a margin not to exceed 2 centimetres, and a registrar's rectangle of not less than 70 cm² — and none of them applies to the seal. (Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-1; Rule 3-2(2), (3), (7))
Is sealing enough before a British Columbia land surveyor issues a non-statutory plan?▾
No — authentication and certification are two separate requirements and a non-statutory plan needs both before it leaves the firm. Plan Authentication means applying a seal image, a signature image in the vicinity of the seal and, for digital products, a Digital Certificate from a provider the association has approved. Certification is the additional notation the plan must carry: "Certified Correct as to the practice of land surveying in accordance with Part 11-5(2) of the Survey and Plan Rules." (Survey and Plan Rules, Rule 11-1; Rule 11-5(1)-(2))