New Mexico · Land Surveyor seal requirements
New Mexico Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in New Mexico seal under 16.39.5.11 NMAC (Seal of Licensee); NMSA 1978 §§ 61-23-27.8(A) and (B), 61-23-27.9(B), administered by the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors. The seal reads “professional surveyor”. Three concentric circles — the outermost 1½ inches in diameter, the middle 1 inch and the innermost ½ inch, the same geometry as the engineer's seal. A board-approved alternative design under Paragraph (2) prescribes no diameter, only text no less than 0.1 inches in height.
The engineering and surveying board's legal name is the "state board of licensure for professional engineers and professional surveyors" (NMSA 1978 § 61-23-5(A); 16.39.1.8(A) NMAC); its own website styles it "New Mexico Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers & Professional Surveyors". NMAC prints the engineer and surveyor legends in lower case — "professional engineer", "professional surveyor" — while capitalizing "New Mexico" in the same sentence; the rule prescribes the words and does not address letter case. Do not copy 16.39.1.8(B) NMAC, which describes an embossed 1¾-inch seal of two concentric circles reading "state of New Mexico": that is the board's own official seal, not a licensee's. For architects, NMSA 1978 § 61-15-7(A) states the legend as "Registered Architect--State of New Mexico" on one line while 16.30.3.18(A) NMAC splits the same words across the upper and lower arcs; the rule governs the layout. Engineers and surveyors licensed before the current rules who have kept the license without lapse may retain a previously approved seal (16.39.3.12(D), 16.39.5.11(D) NMAC). Both seal sections were last amended 12/16/2022 and remain the current text; the statute behind them has since moved ahead of the rule, in that NMSA 1978 §§ 61-23-19(B) and 61-23-27.8(B) now let the board "approve alternative authentications to physical or electronic seals", wording that 16.39.3.3 NMAC still quotes in its older, shorter form.
New Mexico Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “professional surveyor”
- Diameter
- Three concentric circles — the outermost 1½ inches in diameter, the middle 1 inch and the innermost ½ inch, the same geometry as the engineer's seal. A board-approved alternative design under Paragraph (2) prescribes no diameter, only text no less than 0.1 inches in height.
- Expiration date
- Same geometry as the engineer's seal with "professional surveyor" substituted: legend and name outside, "New Mexico" in the inner ring, license number in the center. No date.(16.39.5.11(C)(1) and (C)(2) NMAC)
- Signature date
- "Adjacent to the seal/stamp shall appear the original signature of the licensee along with the date the signature was applied." A plat of survey also carries a dated certificate.(16.39.5.11(A) NMAC; 12.8.2.9(J)(2) NMAC)
- City on seal
- The rule does not require a city on the seal.(16.39.5.11(C) NMAC)
- The outer ring shall contain the words "professional surveyor" and the licensee's name; the inner ring shall contain the words "New Mexico"; the center circle shall contain the license number issued by the board.(16.39.5.11(C)(1) NMAC)
- The alternative is a design approved by the board containing the words "professional surveyor", the licensee's name, "New Mexico" and the license number, each in text no less than 0.1 inches in height.(16.39.5.11(C)(2) NMAC)
- The seal must be impressed on all plats, reports and similar documents prepared by the licensee in responsible charge, and all plats, drawings and reports issued by or for the practice shall bear the seal and signature of the professional surveyor in responsible charge.(16.39.5.11(A) NMAC; NMSA 1978 § 61-23-27.9(B))
- Adjacent to the seal shall appear the licensee's original signature along with the date the signature was applied. Rubber stamps and all facsimiles of signatures are not acceptable; an electronic signature as provided by law and board policy is acceptable.(16.39.5.11(A) and (G) NMAC)
- The seal may be an impression type seal, the rubber type, or a computer-generated facsimile, and computer-generated seals shall be bona fide copies of the actual seal specific to the work being presented.(16.39.5.11(B) NMAC)
- On a multi-sheet document the first or title page shall be sealed and signed by the licensee in responsible charge, and each sheet shall additionally be sealed and signed by the licensee responsible for that sheet.(16.39.5.11(F) NMAC)
- A plat of survey is the exception to that: only one surveyor's signature and seal shall appear on a plat, following a dated certificate that the surveyor conducted an actual survey on the ground and that the survey and plat meet the minimum standards for surveying in New Mexico.(12.8.2.9(J)(2) NMAC)
- On public works projects, where new control points are used or established, the surveyor of record — not the engineer — must sign and seal the control sheets in a plan set; an engineer may sign and seal a control sheet only where no new or edited data, control points or alternate datum appear. The board states this opinion is specific to public works construction and is not required for private projects.(Advisory Opinions - Engineering & Surveying (updated 7/12/2024), PE/PS Advisory: Required Seals on Control Sheets for Plan Sets [approved 11/6/2020])
New Mexico land surveyor seal questions
Can more than one surveyor seal a New Mexico plat?▾
Not a plat. The minimum standards for surveying provide that a plat carries a certificate followed by the dated signature and seal of the surveyor responsible for the survey, stating that the surveyor conducted an actual survey on the ground and that the survey and plat meet the minimum standards for surveying in New Mexico, and that only one surveyor's signature and seal shall appear on a plat. That sits against the board's general sealing rule, which lets two or more licensees seal a multi-sheet document where a note under the seal designates the subject matter each is responsible for. On a plat of survey, one seal. (12.8.2.9(J)(2) NMAC; cf. 16.39.5.11(F) NMAC)
Can a New Mexico surveyor use a computer-generated seal and signature?▾
The seal, yes; the signature, no. 16.39.5.11(B) NMAC allows an impression type seal, the rubber type, or a computer-generated facsimile, provided a computer-generated seal is a bona fide copy of the actual seal specific to the work being presented. 16.39.5.11(A) NMAC then bars rubber stamps and all facsimiles of signatures and calls for the licensee's original signature adjacent to the seal, with an electronic signature as provided by law and board policy the only substitute. The surveyor's prohibition is worded more broadly than the engineer's, which bars rubber stamp signatures alone. (16.39.5.11(A) and (B) NMAC; cf. 16.39.3.12(A) NMAC)
Is an older New Mexico surveyor's seal design still valid?▾
It can be. 16.39.5.11(D) NMAC lets professional surveyors licensed before the enactment of the current rules, who have maintained that license without lapse, retain and use the seals, stamps and wall certificates previously approved. A colleague's stamp is therefore not evidence of the design a new licensee must order; that comes from 16.39.5.11(C) NMAC, which prescribes the three concentric circles or a design the board has approved as an alternative. (16.39.5.11(D) NMAC; 16.39.5.11(C) NMAC)
Who seals control sheets in New Mexico, the surveyor or the engineer?▾
The surveyor of record, where new control points are involved — an engineer's seal on the rest of the set does not carry them. The board's advisory opinions state that a New Mexico licensed professional surveyor designated as the surveyor of record must sign and seal control sheets when new control points are used or established, and that an engineer may sign the entire plan set including the control sheets only where those sheets carry previously established survey information with no new points or new data. The board limits the opinion to public works construction and states that it is not required for private projects. (Advisory Opinions - Engineering & Surveying (updated 7/12/2024), PE/PS Advisory: Required Seals on Control Sheets for Plan Sets [approved 11/6/2020])
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