Puerto Rico · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Puerto Rico Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Puerto Rico seal under Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII (Sellos); Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 (20 L.P.R.A. § 711k), administered by the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico. The seal reads “Agrimensor Licenciado”. Circular, two inches in diameter — the same seal specification the Board applies to engineers.
Ley Núm. 173-1988 creates a single statutory board for engineers, architects, surveyors and landscape architects, but the Department of State administers two: the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, whose Reglamento Núm. 9274 was approved and filed 27 April 2021, and the Junta Examinadora de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico, whose Reglamento Núm. 7717 was approved 29 June 2009, filed 2 July 2009 and effective thirty days after filing. The operative text of the statute and of both regulations is Spanish. One discrepancy is worth knowing: Reglamento Núm. 7717 enumerates the elements of the architect seal and then forbids "ninguna otra información", while Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 also lists the licensed condition of the holder among the elements of the seal, and the regulation's list does not repeat it. Two citation cautions on the professional college statutes, which are cited here by section of the act rather than by L.P.R.A. title: the compiled text of Ley Núm. 319-1938 published by the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores places that act at 10 L.P.R.A. §§ 731 et seq., whereas the 1978 session laws cross-reference its § 11 as 20 L.P.R.A. § 741, and the two could not be reconciled against an official compilation; and the text of Ley Núm. 96-1978, § 10 relied on here is the version enacted 6 July 1978, whose later amendments were not verified.
Puerto Rico Land Surveyor seal
- Legend
- “Agrimensor Licenciado”
- Diameter
- Circular, two inches in diameter — the same seal specification the Board applies to engineers.
- Expiration date
- Same seal rule as engineers: name, profession practiced, license serial number and "Puerto Rico", plus the licensed condition under the statute.(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(1); Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 (20 L.P.R.A. § 711k))
- Signature date
- A computer-generated seal requires a manual signature beside or over it with the date of that signature written beneath the seal; the wet-seal provisions state no date.(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(7))
- City on seal
- Same closed element list as the engineer's seal — name, profession practiced, license serial number and "Puerto Rico", plus the licensed condition under the statute. No place of business on any Puerto Rico seal, including the architect's.(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(1); Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 (20 L.P.R.A. § 711k))
- The seal is a circular stamp two inches in diameter showing the name of the professional, the profession practiced, the serial number of the license and the inscription "Puerto Rico".(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(1))
- The statute also requires the licensed condition of the holder on the seal. The term Ley Núm. 173-1988 uses for the holder is "Agrimensor Licenciado" — Puerto Rico does not seal as "Land Surveyor" or "Professional Land Surveyor".(Ley Núm. 173-1988, Arts. 3(l), 16 (20 L.P.R.A. §§ 711a, 711k))
- Seal and signature go on all reports, maps, drawings, plans and surveying computations when those documents are given to a client or to a public agency. Working documents may be left unsealed, but must be clearly marked "DOCUMENTOS PRELIMINARES, NO PARA CONSTRUCCIÓN, CERTIFICACIÓN O IMPLEMENTACIÓN".(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(2))
- The seal and signature go on originals, sketches and any other reproducible document, so that both appear on every copy made from them, and each individual sheet of a plan set is sealed and signed by whoever prepared it.(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(3)-(4); Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16)
- A computer-generated seal is acceptable only with a manual signature beside or over it and the date of that signature written beneath it, and an electronically transmitted document that does not require certification must have the seal and electronic signature removed and replaced by the prescribed notice.(Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(7))
- No one who is not a colegiado may practice as an engineer or surveyor in Puerto Rico, and every renewal of a license or certificate requires a certification from the professional college that the holder is an active member.(Ley Núm. 319 de 15 de mayo de 1938, § 3; Ley Núm. 173-1988, Arts. 2, 17 (20 L.P.R.A. §§ 711, 711l))
Puerto Rico land surveyor seal questions
How is a multi-sheet Puerto Rico survey plan set sealed?▾
The regulation asks for more than the statute does. Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(4) provides that when documents contain more than one sheet, the first sheet or title page shall be signed and sealed by all the professionals involved in the work or by all those who controlled the work and are responsible for it; that in addition each drawing shall be sealed and signed by the licensed professional or professionals responsible for that sheet; and that where a firm, partnership or professional corporation did the work, each drawing is signed and sealed by the licensed professionals who actually did it, with the principal of the firm in charge signing and sealing the title page or first drawing. Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 puts only the responsible person on the title page; the regulation puts everyone there. (Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(4); Ley Núm. 173-1988, Art. 16 (20 L.P.R.A. § 711k))
Can a Puerto Rico land surveyor email a sealed plan?▾
Not with the seal left on it, where the document does not require certification. Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(7) allows a computer-generated seal with an electronically generated signature only if the professional also signs manually beside or over the seal, with the date of that manual signature written beneath it. It then provides that drawings, specifications, plans, reports or other documents that do not require certification may be transmitted electronically, but with the electronically generated seal and signature removed and this inserted in their place: "Este documento fue originalmente emitido y sellado por (nombre del profesional licenciado), P.E. # ______ / P. S. # ______ en (fecha de la firma y sello original). Este documento no deberá considerarse un documento certificado." (Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(7))
Does a Puerto Rico land surveyor seal every reproducible original?▾
Yes. Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(3) requires the seal and the signature to be placed on all original documents, sketches and any other reproducible documents, so that the signature and the seal appear on the copies made from them. Art. XIII(B)(2) fixes when they are owed: on all reports, maps, drawings, plans and surveying computations at the point those documents are presented to a client or to a public agency. Working documents may be left unsealed, but only if they are clearly identified with a statement that they are "DOCUMENTOS PRELIMINARES, NO PARA CONSTRUCCIÓN, CERTIFICACIÓN O IMPLEMENTACIÓN". (Reglamento Núm. 9274, Art. XIII(B)(2)-(3))