Florida · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Florida Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Florida seal under Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060 (Seals Acceptable to the Board), administered by the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers. The seal reads “Professional Surveyor and Mapper”. The rule prescribes the acceptable seals as illustrations only and states no diameter.
Florida names and defines the digital seal in the rule itself, which most states do not. Digitally signing an electronically transmitted document is governed separately by 61G15-23.004 and .005 and carries its own text-box wording — sealing the file is only half of it.
Florida Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “Professional Surveyor and Mapper”
- Diameter
- The rule prescribes the acceptable seals as illustrations only and states no diameter.
- Expiration date
- Seal IV, which every current registrant may use, reads name, "License Number", "STATE OF FLORIDA" and "Professional Surveyor and Mapper". Only Seal V, reserved for temporary certificate holders, carries an expiry.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(1), (5)-(7))
- Signature date
- Licensees shall sign, date and seal final drawings, plans, specifications, plats or reports; the statute requires the same, and electronic files must be signed, dated and sealed.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.053(6)(a); R. 5J-17.062(1); § 472.025, F.S.)
- City on seal
- The rule prescribes the five acceptable seals as illustrations only; the sole place named on any of them is "STATE OF FLORIDA".(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(1))
- Surveyors and mappers are licensed under Chapter 472, F.S., by a board within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services — not by FBPE and not by DBPR.(Fla. Admin. Code Ch. 5J-17)
- Rule 5J-17.060(1) establishes five acceptable forms of seal, whether impression or ink stamp, as illustrations. The rule sets out no legend in words.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(1))
- Which seal you may use turns on when you were licensed. Registrants initially licensed on or after June 30, 2002 shall use only Seal IV, and all registrants may use Seal IV.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(5)-(6))
- Seal I is limited to registrants in good standing under both Chapters 471 and 472, F.S., as of June 30, 1995; Seal II to registrants licensed as of that date; Seal III to those initially licensed between July 1, 1995 and October 1, 2002.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(2)-(4))
- A holder of a temporary certificate is required to use Seal V, which carries "TEMPORARY LICENSE", "STATE OF FLORIDA" and the expiry date.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(7))
- Electronic signing and sealing follows Rule 5J-17.062. A computer-generated seal must be accompanied by wording naming the surveyor and mapper who authorized it and the date, unless an electronic signature is used.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.062)
Florida land surveyor seal questions
Which board regulates Florida land surveyor seals?▾
Neither FBPE nor DBPR. Surveyors and mappers are licensed under Chapter 472, F.S. by the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers, which sits inside the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and their seal rule is Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060 — a different title of the administrative code from both the engineers' 61G15 and the architects' 61G1. The 1-7/8 inch minimum quoted for "Florida" comes from the engineers' rule and does not bind a professional surveyor and mapper. (Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060; Ch. 472, F.S.; cf. R. 61G15-23.002)
What size and wording does Florida require on a surveyor and mapper seal?▾
Neither is written out. Rule 5J-17.060(1) establishes the acceptable forms of seal, whether impression or ink stamp, as five illustrations, and the text of the rule states no diameter and spells out no legend — the wording exists only inside the pictures, so there is no dimension to work to at all and the words have to be read off Seal IV rather than quoted from the code. Which of the five you may use is fixed by when you were first licensed rather than by preference: registrants initially licensed on or after June 30, 2002 shall use only Seal IV, and all registrants may use Seal IV. The rule that once did address seal and signature, 5J-17.061, was repealed on November 13, 2017, so any guidance still citing it is describing a rule that no longer exists. (Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.060(1), (5), (6); R. 5J-17.061 (repealed 11-13-17))
Does a Florida surveyor's map need a "not valid without original signature and seal" note?▾
Yes. Rule 5J-17.051(3)(e) requires the survey map and report, and copies of them, to contain a statement indicating that they are not valid without the original signature and seal of a Florida licensed surveyor and mapper. Only maps and reports carrying an electronic signature and electronic seal are excused from it. Paragraph (3)(c) separately requires the issuing business entity's name, certificate of authorization number and street and mailing address, together with the name and license number of the surveyor and mapper in responsible charge — or, for a surveyor practicing independent of any business entity, that surveyor's own name, license number and addresses. (Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.051(3)(c), (3)(e))
Can a Florida land surveyor use a computer generated seal?▾
Yes, but it has to be captioned. Rule 5J-17.062(2) permits a computer generated representation of the seal on electronically conveyed work, and then requires that work to be accompanied by the text "The seal appearing on this document was authorized by [Example: Leslie H. Doe, P.S.M. 0112 on (date)]" or similar wording, unless an electronic signature under the same rule is used. The final hard copy must still carry an original signature, seal and date, and a scanned image of an original signature is expressly not a substitute for either an original signature and seal or an electronic signature. (Fla. Admin. Code R. 5J-17.062(2))
Generate a Florida Land Surveyor seal to this specification
Board approved
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