Indiana · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Indiana Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Indiana seal under 865 IAC 1-7-1 (Design and contents of seal); 865 IAC 1-7-2 (Application of seal; signature); 865 IAC 1-7-4 (Use of electronic or digital signatures); IC 25-21.5-9-1, administered by the State Board of Registration for Professional Surveyors. The seal reads “LAND SURVEYOR”. The land surveyor seal shall be not less than 1⅝ inches or more than 1⅞ inches in outside diameter.
Indiana splits the three professions across three boards, all administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency: engineers under 864 IAC 1.1, architects and landscape architects under 804 IAC 1.1, and surveyors under 865 IAC 1. Each of the three seal rules prescribes its design by incorporating a picture rather than by listing words, so the wording has to be read off the figure: all three figures carry "REGISTERED", "No." above a rule line, "STATE OF" and "INDIANA" inside the inner circle in addition to the profession wording in the outer band. The legend recorded here for each profession is the profession wording its own source fixes — "professional engineer" by statute for engineers, "registered architect" by statute for architects, and "LAND SURVEYOR" from the figure for surveyors, whose statute prescribes no wording at all. Only the surveyor rule regulates electronic signatures in detail — 865 IAC 1-7-4(c) demands unique identification, verifiability, direct control and a retained permanent digital copy — while the engineer rule accepts an electronic signature with no such conditions and the architect rule still speaks of the person's "original signature" beside the seal. Because 864 IAC 1.1-7-2, 1.1-7-3 and 1.1-7-4 were renumbered by the Legislative Services Agency as 865 IAC 1-7-1, 1-7-2 and 1-7-3 when surveyors were separated from the engineers' title, older material citing "864 IAC 1.1-7" for a surveyor's seal now points at the engineer rule; the code's chapter heading at IC 25-21.5-2 likewise still reads "State Board of Registration for Land Surveyors" even though IC 25-21.5-2-1 establishes the state board of registration for professional surveyors. Rule text here was read in the 2026 Edition of the Indiana Administrative Code and in the 2026 Indiana Code.
Indiana Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “LAND SURVEYOR”
- Diameter
- The land surveyor seal shall be not less than 1⅝ inches or more than 1⅞ inches in outside diameter.
- Expiration date
- The design carries the name, "LAND SURVEYOR", "REGISTERED", "No." with the certificate number and "STATE OF INDIANA"; the date beside the seal is the date of affixing.(865 IAC 1-7-1(a); 865 IAC 1-7-2(b))
- Signature date
- The signature and the date the seal is being affixed go directly adjacent but not across the seal, or elsewhere on the sheet if it is otherwise properly certified.(865 IAC 1-7-2(b), (c))
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(865 IAC 1-7-1(a), (c))
- Registration extends to the professional surveyor the authority to use a seal of a design authorized by the rules of the board, and the act of affixing the seal attests to the surveyor's acceptance of full professional responsibility for the sealed documents.(IC 25-21.5-9-1(a))
- The design incorporated by the rule places the registrant's name across the top of the outer band and "LAND SURVEYOR" across the bottom, with "REGISTERED", "No." above a rule line for the registration number, "STATE OF" and "INDIANA" stacked inside the inner circle.(865 IAC 1-7-1(a))
- The seal may be embossed, stamped or electronically applied in conformance with the incorporated design, and may have a milled edge, as shown, or two concentric circles with the outer and inner circles corresponding with the respective edges of the milling.(865 IAC 1-7-1(b))
- The name and registration number inscribed on the seal shall correspond to the name and certificate number inscribed on the certificate of registration. This subsection states no exception, where the engineer rule allows "PE" and the architect rule allows "AR" to be excluded from the certificate number.(865 IAC 1-7-1(c))
- The registrant's signature and the date the seal is being affixed go directly adjacent but not across the seal; as an alternative to placing them adjacent, those items may be at another location on the sheet provided the sheet is otherwise properly certified.(865 IAC 1-7-2(b), (c))
- An electronic signature and seal are permitted in place of an original seal and signature only when they uniquely identify the registrant, are verifiable, and are attached to or associated with the electronic document in a manner that makes clear to the recipient that they represent the surveyor's signature and seal; the electronic signature is under the registrant's direct control; and the registrant maintains a permanent digital copy of the electronically transmitted document for future verification.(865 IAC 1-7-4(c))
- A registrant may electronically transmit a document without affixing an electronic signature only if "Not a Certified Document" or "Pro Forma Survey", as appropriate, is inserted in place of the image of the seal, signature and date. That language is not required for documents sent to a commercial printer or blueprint service for reproduction, or to the registrant's own employer or employees.(865 IAC 1-7-4(d))
- A plat showing streets, lots, blocks or any subdivision of land in Indiana may not be approved by a county planning or zoning authority, or accepted for transfer or recording by a county auditor or recorder, unless it has been prepared or certified and sealed by the responsible professional surveyor.(IC 25-21.5-9-2)
Indiana land surveyor seal questions
Does an Indiana surveyor seal read "Land Surveyor" or "Professional Surveyor"?▾
The surveyor's seal reads "LAND SURVEYOR", not "Professional Surveyor", even though the board that issues it is the State Board of Registration for Professional Surveyors and the statute calls the licensee a professional surveyor. (865 IAC 1-7-1(a))
Does an Indiana land surveyor's seal say "Professional Surveyor"?▾
No, it says "LAND SURVEYOR". The design incorporated at 865 IAC 1-7-1(a) puts the registrant's name across the top of the outer band and "LAND SURVEYOR" across the bottom, and no statute prescribes any other wording — IC 25-21.5-9-1 grants only the authority to use "a seal of a design authorized by the rules of the board". The title moved on and the seal did not: IC 25-21.5-2-1 establishes the state board of registration for professional surveyors, and that is the board whose rule keeps "LAND SURVEYOR" on the seal. (865 IAC 1-7-1(a); IC 25-21.5-9-1; IC 25-21.5-2-1)
Is 864 IAC 1.1-7 still the Indiana land surveyor seal rule?▾
No, and following that citation lands you on the engineers' rule. 864 IAC 1.1-7-2, 1.1-7-3 and 1.1-7-4 were renumbered by the Legislative Services Agency as 865 IAC 1-7-1, 1-7-2 and 1-7-3 when surveyors were separated from the engineers' title, so older material citing "864 IAC 1.1-7" for a surveyor's seal now points at a different provision with different signature and electronic-signature terms. The surveyors' rules are 865 IAC 1, made under IC 25-21.5. (865 IAC 1-7-1 (Legislative Services Agency renumbering note); 864 IAC 1.1-7-2)
Can an Indiana land surveyor shorten the certificate number on the seal?▾
The surveyor's rule grants no permission to. 865 IAC 1-7-1(c) requires the name and registration number inscribed on the seal to correspond to the name and certificate number inscribed on the certificate of registration, and states no exception. The other two Indiana rules do state one: 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(c) expressly permits the letters "PE" to be excluded from an engineer's certificate number and 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(c) permits "AR" to be excluded from an architect's. The surveyors' subsection has no equivalent sentence. (865 IAC 1-7-1(c); 864 IAC 1.1-7-2(c); 804 IAC 1.1-2-7(c))
What does Indiana require for a land surveyor's electronic seal?▾
More than the other two professions. 865 IAC 1-7-4(c) permits an electronic signature and seal in place of an original only where they uniquely identify the registrant, are verifiable, and are attached to or associated with the electronic document in a manner that makes clear to the recipient that they represent the surveyor's signature and seal; the electronic signature is under the registrant's direct control; and the registrant maintains a permanent digital copy of the electronically transmitted document for future verification. That last condition is a record-keeping duty that outlives the transmission, and neither the engineers' rule nor the architects' imposes anything like it. (865 IAC 1-7-4(c))
How does an Indiana land surveyor transmit an unsealed document?▾
Leaving the seal off is not enough on its own. 865 IAC 1-7-4(d) lets a registrant electronically transmit a document without affixing an electronic signature only if "Not a Certified Document" or "Pro Forma Survey", as appropriate, is inserted in place of the image of the seal, signature and date. The language is not required for documents sent to a commercial printer or blueprint service for reproduction, or to the registrant's own employer or employees. (865 IAC 1-7-4(d))