Iowa · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Iowa Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Iowa seal under Iowa Admin. Code r. 481—1050.1(542B) (Seal and certificate of responsibility); Iowa Code § 542B.16, administered by the Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. The rule allows “Professional Land Surveyor” or “Licensed Professional Land Surveyor”. No diameter is prescribed. The same rule governs the engineer's and the land surveyor's seal, and neither Iowa Code § 542B.16 nor 481—1050.1 states a dimension; the statute requires a legible seal.
Iowa renumbered these rules in 2026. Both boards now sit within the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (Iowa Code §§ 542B.3, 544A.1(2)), and the Iowa Administrative Code recorded the move as an editorial change in IAC Supplement 6/24/26: the Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board's rules were transferred out of 193C to 481—Chapters 1045 through 1057, so the seal rule long cited as 193C—6.1(542B) is now 481—1050.1(542B), and the architects' rules moved from 193B Chapter 4 to 481—Chapter 1064. The operative text is unchanged — 481—1050.1 still carries ARC 7669C (effective 4/10/24) and 481—1064.1 still carries ARC 7759C (effective 5/22/24) — but both boards' own web pages still link the superseded 193C and 193B chapter listings, so a licensee following the board's own links lands on the old numbering.
Iowa Land Surveyor seal
- Seal rule
- Iowa Admin. Code r. 481—1050.1(542B) (Seal and certificate of responsibility); Iowa Code § 542B.16
- Legend (any one)
- “Professional Land Surveyor” · “Licensed Professional Land Surveyor”
- Diameter
- No diameter is prescribed. The same rule governs the engineer's and the land surveyor's seal, and neither Iowa Code § 542B.16 nor 481—1050.1 states a dimension; the statute requires a legible seal.
- Expiration date
- Not on the seal face: the land surveying certification block, which displays the seal, shall conform to a sample carrying "My license renewal date is December 31, ______."(IAC 481—1050.1(3))
- Signature date
- All land surveying documents shall be dated; plats of survey, subdivision plats and corner certificates must each be signed and dated by the surveyor.(Iowa Code § 542B.16(2); Iowa Code §§ 355.7(15), 355.8(21), 355.11(2)"f")
- City on seal
- The seal bears only the name, the Iowa license number, the title and the word "IOWA".(Iowa Code § 542B.16(1); IAC 481—1050.1(1))
- The seal bears the licensee's name, the Iowa license number, and the words "professional land surveyor" — or both titles, as the case may be, for a person licensed as an engineer and a land surveyor.(Iowa Code § 542B.16(1))
- The board's printed sample shows "LICENSED PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR" arced around the top, a star at each lower side, "IOWA" in a band across the bottom, and the name and license number in the center. "Licensed" is optional; "registrant" and "registered" are prohibited.(IAC 481—1050.1(1), 1050.1(2))
- The land surveying certification block conforms to its own wording: "I hereby certify that this land surveying document was prepared and the related survey work was performed by me or under my direct personal supervision and that I am a duly licensed Professional Land Surveyor under the laws of the State of Iowa." For maps or acquisition plats prepared from public records or previous measurements by others, the phrase "and the related survey work was performed" may be removed.(IAC 481—1050.1(3))
- Each plat of survey shall contain a statement that the work was done and the plat prepared by the surveyor or under the surveyor's direct personal supervision, shall be signed and dated by the surveyor, and shall bear the surveyor's Iowa license number and legible seal.(Iowa Code § 355.7(15))
- A subdivision plat carries the same statement and shall likewise be signed and dated and bear the surveyor's Iowa license number and legible seal.(Iowa Code § 355.8(21))
- A United States public land survey corner certificate shall be signed and dated by the surveyor and bear the surveyor's Iowa license number and seal, and the surveyor shall record it with the county recorder within thirty days after completion of the surveying. Unlike the plat provisions, this one calls for a "seal" without the word "legible."(Iowa Code § 355.11(2), (2)"f")
- Computer-generated seals may be used on final original documents, and an electronic signature counts only if protected by a security procedure as defined in Iowa Code § 554D.103(14) that verifies the signer and detects changes made after signing.(IAC 481—1050.1(7), 1050.1(8))
Iowa land surveyor seal questions
Does an Iowa land surveyor use the same certification block as an engineer?▾
No. IAC 481—1050.1(3) prints separate wording for land surveying: "I hereby certify that this land surveying document was prepared and the related survey work was performed by me or under my direct personal supervision and that I am a duly licensed Professional Land Surveyor under the laws of the State of Iowa." The rule then allows one deletion the engineering block has no equivalent of — for maps or acquisition plats prepared from public records or previous measurements by others, the phrase "and the related survey work was performed" may be removed. (IAC 481—1050.1(3))
Does an Iowa land surveyor's seal have to say "State of Iowa"?▾
No, and the state name is not even among the seal's statutory contents. Iowa Code § 542B.16(1) requires the licensee's name, the Iowa license number and the words "professional land surveyor" — nothing else. The word "IOWA" comes from the sample seals printed at IAC 481—1050.1(1), which the rule asks the seal to substantially conform to, and there it is the single word "IOWA" in a band across the bottom, with the title arced around the top. (Iowa Code § 542B.16(1); IAC 481—1050.1(1))
Does an Iowa land surveyor also licensed as an engineer need two seals?▾
Not necessarily. Iowa Code § 542B.16(1) requires the seal to bear the words "professional engineer" or "professional land surveyor", "or both, as the case may be", so one seal may carry both titles for a person holding both licenses. The certification blocks do not merge with it: IAC 481—1050.1(3) prints one block for engineering documents and a differently worded one for land surveying documents, and each still has to appear on the work it certifies. (Iowa Code § 542B.16(1); IAC 481—1050.1(3))
Do Iowa's plat statutes add land surveyor seal duties beyond the board's rule?▾
Yes, and they sit outside chapter 542B entirely. Iowa Code § 355.7(15) and § 355.8(21) require a plat of survey and a subdivision plat to carry a statement that the work was done and the plat prepared by the surveyor or under the surveyor's direct personal supervision, to be signed and dated by the surveyor, and to bear the surveyor's Iowa license number and legible seal. Iowa Code § 355.11 requires a United States public land survey corner certificate to be signed, dated and to bear the license number and seal — the word "legible" is absent there — and to be recorded with the county recorder within thirty days after completion of the surveying. (Iowa Code §§ 355.7(15), 355.8(21), 355.11(2), (2)"f")
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