North Carolina · Land Surveyor seal requirements
North Carolina Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in North Carolina seal under 21 NCAC 56 .1102 (Design); 21 NCAC 56 .1103; 21 NCAC 56 .1604(d); N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 89C-16(c), 47-30(d), administered by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors. The seal reads “Professional Land Surveyor”. Two concentric circles, 1½ to 1¾ inches in diameter — the same rule and the same range as the engineer seal.
The seal design rule for engineers and land surveyors is 21 NCAC 56 .1102; .1103 governs how the seal is used, and summaries that cite .1103 for the seal's appearance are citing the wrong rule. 21 NCAC 56 .0104 describes the Board's own official seal — the Great Seal of the State with the Board name on the perimeter — and is not the licensee's seal. The Code and the statutes name the engineering and surveying board the "North Carolina State Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors" (21 NCAC 56 .0101; G.S. 47-30(d)), while the Board itself uses the shorter "North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors" on its own site; the Code form is used here. The architect rule, 21 NCAC 02 .0206, was readopted effective June 1, 2026 and is the current text; the readoption added language to Paragraph (d) permitting unlocked copies of sealed construction documents to be provided for plan review approval stamps or contractor material takeoffs where document content is not effectively being altered. North Carolina also registers interior designers through the architecture board under the same rule, but their seal is two concentric ovals two inches tall by 2.75 inches wide bearing "Registered Interior Designer" (21 NCAC 02 .0206(a)(5)(B)) — a different credential from an architect and not a circular seal. The North Carolina Administrative Code is published by the Office of Administrative Hearings on a server that answers over HTTP only, which is why the rule links here are http:// rather than https://.
North Carolina Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “Professional Land Surveyor”
- Diameter
- Two concentric circles, 1½ to 1¾ inches in diameter — the same rule and the same range as the engineer seal.
- Expiration date
- Same design rule as the engineer's, with "Professional Land Surveyor" in the innermost circle beside the license number. No date on the seal.(21 NCAC 56 .1102; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c))
- Signature date
- The date of signing must be annotated on the original document, and every plat not marked "Preliminary Plat" "shall be sealed, signed, and dated by the Professional Land Surveyor."(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(4); 21 NCAC 56 .1604(d))
- City on seal
- The firm's name, address and license number go on the first sheet or title sheet of the survey; the seal itself carries only North Carolina, the name, the number and the legend.(21 NCAC 56 .1102; cf. 21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(6))
- The seal is two concentric circles with North Carolina and the name of the licensee in the outermost circle and the license number together with "Professional Land Surveyor" in the innermost circle.(21 NCAC 56 .1102)
- A professional engineer practicing land surveying shall use the licensee's land surveyor seal, not the engineer seal.(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c))
- All plats, unless marked "Preliminary Plat - Not for recordation, conveyances, or sales", shall be sealed, signed, and dated by the Professional Land Surveyor.(21 NCAC 56 .1604(d))
- Any map not certified for recording under G.S. 47-30, and all reports of survey, must carry the surveyor's signed certificate stating the supervision of the survey, the source of information for boundaries not surveyed, the ratio of precision or positional accuracy, and compliance with the Standards of Practice for Land Surveying in North Carolina, with the seal placed alongside it.(21 NCAC 56 .1604(d)(12))
- On a plat recorded under G.S. 47-30 the certificate must include the source of information for the survey, the ratio of precision or positional accuracy before adjustments, and the seal and signature. Where the plat runs to more than one sheet only one sheet must contain the certification, but all other sheets must be signed and sealed.(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-30(d))
- For surveys the name, address and license number of the licensee's firm shall be included on the first sheet of the survey or the title sheet, rather than on every sheet as engineering drawings require.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(6))
- The certification, signature, dating and electronic-transmission rules in 21 NCAC 56 .1103 apply to surveying work in the same terms as to engineering work, including removal of the computer-generated seal from easily edited files sent beyond the licensee's direct control.(21 NCAC 56 .1103(a), (d))
North Carolina land surveyor seal questions
Can a North Carolina engineer use the PE seal for land surveying work?▾
No. G.S. 89C-16(c) provides that a professional engineer practicing land surveying shall use the licensee's land surveyor seal. The two seals come off one design rule, 21 NCAC 56 .1102, and differ only in the legend that sits in the innermost circle beside the license number — "Professional Engineer" against "Professional Land Surveyor" — so a dual licensee carries two nearly identical seals and has to pick the right one for the work in front of him. The statute forecloses the substitution: surveying work takes the land surveyor seal even where the same person holds the engineering license. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 89C-16(c); 21 NCAC 56 .1102)
How does a North Carolina surveyor issue a plat without sealing it?▾
With the exact marking the rule names, and no other. 21 NCAC 56 .1604(d) requires all plats to be sealed, signed and dated by the Professional Land Surveyor unless they are marked "Preliminary Plat - Not for recordation, conveyances, or sales." A general "preliminary" or "not final" note is not the phrase the rule recognizes, and without it the plat is one the surveyor was required to seal, sign and date. (21 NCAC 56 .1604(d))
Does every sheet of a recorded North Carolina plat need the surveyor's seal?▾
Yes, even though only one sheet carries the certificate. G.S. 47-30(d) provides that where a plat consists of more than one sheet, only one sheet must contain the certification and all other sheets must be signed and sealed. The certificate on the sheet that carries it must include the source of information for the survey, data indicating the ratio of precision or positional accuracy of the survey before adjustments, and the seal and signature pursuant to Chapter 89C. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-30(d))
Where does a North Carolina land surveyor put the firm information?▾
On the first sheet of the survey or the title sheet, and not on the seal. 21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(6) requires the name, address and license number of the licensee's firm on each sheet of engineering drawings, but for surveys it asks for them only on the first sheet or title sheet — the same rule, two different placements depending on which kind of drawing is in front of you. The seal face itself carries North Carolina, the licensee's name, the license number and the legend, and nothing else. (21 NCAC 56 .1103(a)(6); 21 NCAC 56 .1102)
Generate a North Carolina Land Surveyor seal to this specification
Board approved
Your North Carolina Land Surveyor seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in 21 NCAC 56 .1102 (Design); 21 NCAC 56 .1103; 21 NCAC 56 .1604(d); N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 89C-16(c), 47-30(d). Fill in your details and download it in seconds.
Every format you need is included — PNG, PDF, SVG and CAD — ready to place in Bluebeam, Acrobat or AutoCAD.