Texas · Land Surveyor seal requirements
Texas Land Surveyor seal requirements: size, wording, and the rule that sets them
As of
Land surveyors in Texas seal under 22 TAC § 138.31 (Seal Specifications), administered by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. The rule allows “Professional Land Surveyor” or “Licensed State Land Surveyor”. No larger than two inches. As with the engineer's seal this is a ceiling, not a floor; the surveyor's name and number must be clearly legible at whatever size is used.
Texas is one of the few states where the board publishes the seal artwork itself and warns that a non-compliant seal is an enforcement matter. Note that the size rule is a ceiling, not a floor.
Texas Land Surveyor seal
- Legend (any one)
- “Professional Land Surveyor” · “Licensed State Land Surveyor”
- Diameter
- No larger than two inches. As with the engineer's seal this is a ceiling, not a floor; the surveyor's name and number must be clearly legible at whatever size is used.
- Expiration date
- The Board-authorized polygonal design carries "STATE OF TEXAS", "REGISTERED", the surveyor's name, the registration number and "PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR".(22 TAC § 138.31(b))
- Signature date
- Seal and signature "with the date" on the final version before release; the signature and date must not obscure the name or registration number in the seal.(22 TAC § 138.33(f))
- City on seal
- Surveying documents must indicate the surveying firm name and registration number under § 138.33(m); no city or address is required, and none is on the seal.(22 TAC § 138.31(b); § 138.33(m))
- The Board-authorized registered professional land surveyor design is polygonal, not circular: "STATE OF TEXAS" across the top, "REGISTERED" on an inner arc with a small star, the surveyor's name in a center banner, the registration number below it, and "PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR" across the bottom.(22 TAC § 138.31(b))
- The seal shall contain a legal name, a commonly accepted variation of the legal name, or an initial combination with the surname as currently listed with the board and in the usual written signature. The engineer's rule says "given name" where this one says "legal name". Nicknames are not permitted.(22 TAC § 138.31(d))
- "R.P.L.S." is a designation for signing surveying work under § 138.31(f). It is not the seal legend.(22 TAC § 138.31(f))
- A licensed state land surveyor obtains an additional seal on issuance of that license. Its Board-authorized design is circular and reads "LICENSED STATE LAND SURVEYOR" around a large Texas star lettered T-E-X-A-S.(22 TAC § 138.31(h))
- Preprinting of blank forms with a surveyor's seal, or the use of a decal or other seal replica, is prohibited.(22 TAC § 138.31(e))
Texas land surveyor seal questions
Is a Texas land surveyor's seal round?▾
No. The Board-authorized registered professional land surveyor design is a polygon, not a circle: "STATE OF TEXAS" across the top, "REGISTERED" on an inner arc with a small star, the surveyor's name in a center banner, the registration number below it, and "PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR" across the bottom. Because the design is not circular, the size limit is written without the word diameter — seals "shall be no larger than two inches" — and there is no minimum, only the requirement that the surveyor's name and number stay clearly legible. (22 TAC § 138.31(b))
Can "R.P.L.S." be the legend on a Texas land surveyor's seal?▾
It cannot. "R.P.L.S." is a designation the surveyor may use when signing surveying work, and it appears nowhere in the Board-authorized design. The seal carries the words "REGISTERED" and "PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR" instead, and using a seal that does not comply with § 138.31 is itself a violation of Board rules and subject to sanctions. (22 TAC § 138.31(b), (f); § 138.33(o))
Does a Texas licensed state land surveyor need a second seal?▾
Yes. On issuance of a licensed state land surveyor license the holder is required to obtain an additional seal, and its Board-authorized design is circular — "LICENSED STATE LAND SURVEYOR" around a large Texas star lettered T-E-X-A-S. That design shows no name and no number, which is why state land surveying documents submitted to the General Land Office must be signed and sealed with the LSLS seal and also carry the licensee's printed name and license number. (22 TAC § 138.31(h); § 138.33(n))
Should a preliminary Texas survey document be sealed?▾
It must not be. Preliminary documents released from a land surveyor's control shall not be signed or sealed; instead they bear, in the signature space or on the face of the document, the statement "Preliminary, this document shall not be recorded for any purpose and shall not be used or viewed or relied upon as a final survey document", together with the purpose of the document, the land surveyor of record, that surveyor's registration number and the release date. Stamping a preliminary plat "for reference" is the habit this provision forecloses. (22 TAC § 138.33(e))
Can a Texas land surveyor put the seal into a blank template?▾
No. Section 138.31(e) prohibits preprinting blank forms with a surveyor's seal and prohibits the use of a decal or other seal replica, so a seal image parked in a title-block template or a sheet border ahead of the work is the practice the rule forecloses — as are the pressure-sensitive seal stickers that circulate for recorded plats. What § 138.31(c) allows is breadth of method: an electronic seal is unobjectionable, as is a rubber stamp, and a physical seal is acceptable only if it leaves a permanent ink image or permanent impression attached to the surveying work. (22 TAC § 138.31(c), (e))
Generate a Texas Land Surveyor seal to this specification
Board approved
Your Texas Land Surveyor seal from pedigitalstamps.com meets every requirement on this page — the required wording, the layout and the diameter set out in 22 TAC § 138.31 (Seal Specifications). 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.