Montana · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Montana Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Montana seal under ARM 24.183.511 (License Seal – Form and Use), administered by the Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors. The seal reads “Professional Land Surveyor”. Three commercial designated sizes are authorized: a 1 5/8" pocket seal, a 2" desk seal and a 2" rubber stamp seal. A digital seal may be reduced to one-half the size of the original.
ARM 24.183.1001, sometimes cited for Montana seals, is "Form of Corner Records — Information to Be Included" and does not concern seals. ARM 24.183.511 was rewritten effective December 24, 2016; pre-2016 text still circulating on third-party republishers refers to a "Licensed Professional Engineer" legend and to facsimiles, and that version is superseded.
Montana Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “Professional Land Surveyor”
- Diameter
- Three commercial designated sizes are authorized: a 1 5/8" pocket seal, a 2" desk seal and a 2" rubber stamp seal. A digital seal may be reduced to one-half the size of the original.
- Expiration date
- Same closed list as the engineer's seal: name, license number in the form #####LS, and the legend.(ARM 24.183.511(2))
- Signature date
- The licensee shall sign, date, and seal professional or technical documents created in the practice of professional land surveying.(MCA 37-67-314(2))
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(ARM 24.183.511(2))
- The seal must contain the licensee's name, the license number in the form #####LS, and the legend "Professional Land Surveyor."(ARM 24.183.511(2))
- A licensee holding both licenses uses the legend "Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor" and the number form #####ES.(ARM 24.183.511(2))
Montana land surveyor seal questions
Does a Montana corner record have to be sealed by the land surveyor?▾
Yes, and it is a statutory duty with a deadline attached. MCA 70-22-104 requires the surveyor to complete, sign, stamp with the surveyor's seal and file the corner record with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the corner sits, within 90 days of the establishment. The board's rule then places the seal precisely: the surveyor who performed or directed the field work depicted on the corner record signs and affixes the licensee's seal in the certification on the board-approved form, and affixing the seal constitutes a certification by the surveyor that the corner record was prepared in conformance with the Corner Recordation Act of Montana and its implementing rules. (MCA 70-22-104; ARM 24.183.1001(2)(e), (2)(e)(i))
Where does the seal go on a multi-sheet Montana certificate of survey?▾
On sheet number one. The uniform standards for certificates of survey require that all certifications be placed on sheet number one where more than one sheet is used, and the dated signature and the seal of the land surveyor responsible for the survey is one of the items the certificate must show. The final subdivision plat standards are written the same way, subject only to the Conditions of Approval carve-out. The instinct to stamp every sheet comes from engineering practice; the surveying standards concentrate the certification on sheet one. (ARM 24.183.1104(1)(c), (1)(d)(xvi); ARM 24.183.1107(2)(c), (2)(e)(xviii))
Does a Montana surveyor's plat seal cover the Conditions of Approval?▾
No, and the rule says so in terms. A final subdivision plat must show the dated signature and the seal of the land surveyor responsible for the survey, and that signature certifies that the plat was prepared in conformance with the applicable sections of the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act and the regulations adopted under it — after which the rule states that the land surveyor's signature and certification do not include certification of the Conditions of Approval sheet(s). Those sheets are part of the final plat, since a plat must include them, but they are not what the surveyor's seal vouches for. (ARM 24.183.1107(2)(e)(xviii); ARM 24.183.1107(1)(b))
Is a Montana land surveyor's number written 12345LS or 12345PLS?▾
The rule's own examples are #####PE, #####LS and #####ES, so LS is the form ARM 24.183.511(2) shows for a land surveyor and ES the form for a dual licensee. The board's FAQ answers the same question differently, saying the number is "typically shown as '#####PE' or '#####PLS or #####ES'" and giving "Jon Doe Montana Professional Land Surveyor 99999 PLS" as its worked example. The two board sources do not agree; the administrative rule is the one adopted through rulemaking. On either reading, the certificate-style number the department issues, of the PEL-PLS-LIC-##### pattern, is not what belongs on the seal. (ARM 24.183.511(2); Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors FAQ)
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