Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against the Nevada State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.383 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Nevada wants your license expiration date on the paper. NAC 625.610(8) lists four things a document must bear, and the fourth is the expiration date of the license. Almost no other state asks for that on a survey map. It is why Nevada stamps are so often ordered with the expiration date engraved into the die, and why those stamps are disposable: the date is wrong the moment the license renews.
The regulation gives you a choice. NAC 625.610(3)(e) makes the expiration date optional on the stamp itself, and NAC 625.610(4) then requires that where the stamp omits it, you write the expiration date on the document alongside the date of stamping. A stamp without the date lasts indefinitely and costs one extra handwritten entry per document. A stamp with the date is quicker to use and has to be replaced at each renewal.
The second trap is the word opaque. NAC 625.610(3)(a) requires the image made by the stamp or seal to be opaque and permanent. A dry embosser leaves a raised impression with no pigment, which is neither, so buyers who assume an embosser is the more formal and therefore safer device have it backwards here.
Nevada land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Nevada rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.383 |
| Required elements | Your name as licensed, Your license number, The words Professional Land Surveyor and Optionally, your license expiration date | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.383(1) |
| Size and shape | Approximately 1.7 inches in diameter. | Nev. Admin. Code § 625.610(2) |
| Device allowed | A rubber stamp or an inked seal that leaves an opaque, permanent image is the safe buy, because NAC 625.610(3)(a) tests the image rather than the device. | Nev. Admin. Code § 625.610(3), (10) |
| Signature and date | NAC 625.610(4) requires the licensee to “validate a stamp or seal by adding his or her signature legibly across or adjacent to the face of the image made by the stamp or seal.” The same subsection requires the date of stamping or sealing, plus the expiration date if the stamp does not carry it. | Nev. Admin. Code § 625.610(4), (9) |
| What must be sealed | Surveying maps and records submitted for permits, released for construction, or issued as formal or final documents to clients, public authorities or third parties. | Nev. Admin. Code §§ 625.610(8), (11), (12), 625.611, 625.612 |
| Electronic seal | NAC 625.610(10) is performance based rather than technology based. | Nev. Admin. Code § 625.610(10) |
| Renewal and lapse | NRS 625.565(4) makes it unlawful for any person to impress a document with the stamp of a professional land surveyor after that person’s license “has expired or has been suspended or revoked, unless the license has been renewed or reissued”, and NRS 625.565(5) extends the same bar after retirement from practice. | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.565(4), (5), (7) |
| Firm requirements | No firm seal and no firm number. | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 625.407 |
| Regulator | The Nevada State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors | Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 625 (particularly §§ 625.383, 625.407 and 625.565) and Nev. Admin. Code ch. 625 (particularly §§ 625.610 through 625.613), read from the Nevada Legislature published text. This board regulates professional engineers and professional land surveyors only |
Is a seal required in Nevada?
Nevada puts the duty to own a stamp in the statute and the duty to use it in the board regulation. NRS 625.383(1) provides that each professional land surveyor “shall obtain a stamp of the design authorized by the Board.” NAC 625.610(8) then requires that “all surveying maps and records, and all engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents that are submitted to obtain permits, are released for construction or are issued as formal or final documents to clients, public authorities or third parties” bear four things: the signature of the licensee, the stamp or seal, the date of signing, and the expiration date of the license. The fourth item is the one Nevada adds that most states do not.
What must appear on the seal
- Your name as licensed
- Your license number
- The words Professional Land Surveyor
- Optionally, your license expiration date
The expiration date is the only optional element, and leaving it off costs you a handwritten entry every time. NAC 625.610(3)(e) says the image “May state the expiration date of the license,” and NAC 625.610(4) then requires that if the stamp does not include it, the licensee must write the expiration date on the document. Two things are prohibited. The image must be “opaque and permanent” under NAC 625.610(3)(a), so a dry embossed impression with no ink is not a compliant image on its own. And NAC 625.610(4) provides that “the licensee may not use a stamp to produce his or her signature,” subject only to the disability signature stamp allowed by NRS 427A.755. One more surveyor-specific point: NRS 625.383(3) bars a land surveyor from using the Professional Engineer legend, and the discipline line required of engineers by NAC 625.610(3)(d) has no place on a surveyor stamp.
Size and shape
Approximately 1.7 inches in diameter. NAC 625.610(2) states that a stamp or seal “must be approximately 1.7 inches in diameter and conform to one of the following designs, as applicable.” The designs themselves are reproduced as images inside the regulation rather than described in words, so the layout has to be copied from the board design and not inferred from the element list.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
A rubber stamp or an inked seal that leaves an opaque, permanent image is the safe buy, because NAC 625.610(3)(a) tests the image rather than the device. Electronic practice is separately authorized: NAC 625.610(10) allows a licensee in responsible charge to apply “an electronically prepared seal and digital signature” to an electronically submitted document, but only where secure encryption identifies the licensee and tracks changes, and the licensee believes adequate protections against fraud or misuse are in place.
Signing and dating
NAC 625.610(4) requires the licensee to “validate a stamp or seal by adding his or her signature legibly across or adjacent to the face of the image made by the stamp or seal.” The same subsection requires the date of stamping or sealing, plus the expiration date if the stamp does not carry it. The signature must be the licensee’s own act rather than a stamped facsimile. Under NAC 625.610(9), if a license expires after a document has already been submitted, released or issued, the licensee does not re-seal it unless the document is changed afterward.
Nevada wants your license expiration date on the paper, and a dated stamp goes stale every renewal
NAC 625.610(8) lists four things a Nevada document must bear, and the fourth is the expiration date of the license. Almost no other state asks for that on a survey map. It is why Nevada stamps are so often ordered with the expiration date engraved into the die, and why those stamps are disposable: the date is wrong the moment the license renews.
The regulation gives you a choice. NAC 625.610(3)(e) makes the expiration date optional on the stamp itself, and NAC 625.610(4) then requires that where the stamp omits it, the licensee write the expiration date on the document alongside the date of stamping. A stamp without the date lasts indefinitely and costs one extra handwritten entry per document. A stamp with the date is quicker to use and has to be replaced at each renewal.
The second trap is the word opaque. NAC 625.610(3)(a) requires the image made by the stamp or seal to be opaque and permanent. A dry embosser leaves a raised impression with no pigment, which is neither. Buyers who assume an embosser is the more formal and therefore safer device have it backwards in Nevada.
The third is the legend, and it is a statutory bar rather than a style note. NRS 625.383(3) provides that a land surveyor may not use the Professional Engineer legend. The surveyor stamp reads Professional Land Surveyor, and the engineering discipline line required by NAC 625.610(3)(d) does not belong on it.
Which documents must be sealed
Surveying maps and records submitted for permits, released for construction, or issued as formal or final documents to clients, public authorities or third parties. NAC 625.611 adds detail for plans, maps and specifications filed with a public authority: original sheets are dated, stamped and signed by each licensee in responsible charge of that sheet, and specification sets carry a table of contents or cover sheet bearing each responsible licensee’s stamp. NAC 625.612 applies the same to reports, studies, test results, certifications and calculations. Two carve-outs: under NAC 625.610(11) an interim document an agency insists on having stamped must be marked “For review only,” “Not for construction,” or “Preliminary”; and under NAC 625.610(12) no stamp is required on an as-built or record plan, a construction progress observation report, or a project cost estimate.
Electronic and digital seals
NAC 625.610(10) is performance based rather than technology based. It names no certificate authority, no file format and no signature standard. It requires secure encryption methods that identify the licensee and track post-issuance changes, plus the licensee’s own judgment that protections against fraud or misuse of the digital signature are adequate.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
NRS 625.565(4) makes it unlawful for any person to impress a document with the stamp of a professional land surveyor after that person’s license “has expired or has been suspended or revoked, unless the license has been renewed or reissued”, and NRS 625.565(5) extends the same bar after retirement from practice. A violation of NRS 625.565 is a gross misdemeanor. Nothing in chapter 625 changes the license number on renewal, and nothing requires the stamp to be surrendered or destroyed, so a stamp that carries an expiration date simply becomes obsolete on renewal and needs replacing.
Firm requirements
No firm seal and no firm number. Nevada issues no certificate of authorization for land surveying. NRS 625.407 instead requires a business engaged in or offering land surveying to employ at least one professional land surveyor full time, with all work performed under a licensee in responsible charge who is a full-time employee. The firm identifies itself on the document rather than sealing it: NAC 625.611(1)(a) requires plans or maps submitted to a public authority to carry the name, address, electronic mail address and telephone number of the submitting firm.
What to check before you order
Order a stamp of approximately 1.7 inches in diameter laid out to the board design printed in NAC 625.610(2). On it go your name as licensed, your license number and the words Professional Land Surveyor, and, if you want it, your license expiration date. Decide that last point deliberately: leave the date off and the stamp lasts, but you write the expiration date on every document; put the date on and you replace the stamp at every renewal. Choose an inked rubber or self-inking stamp rather than a dry embosser, because the image must be opaque and permanent. Never have a facsimile signature cut into the die. Nevada writes the supplier into the statute at NRS 625.383(2), under which the Board provides its authorized design to any retailer or manufacturer of stamps on request, and you may obtain your stamp from any of them.
Browse land surveyor stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Is a stamp required for land surveyors in Nevada?
Yes. NRS 625.383(1) provides that each professional land surveyor “shall obtain a stamp of the design authorized by the Board,” and NAC 625.610(8) requires that “all surveying maps and records, and all engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents that are submitted to obtain permits, are released for construction or are issued as formal or final documents to clients, public authorities or third parties” bear the signature of the licensee, the stamp or seal, the date of signing and the expiration date of the license.
What has to appear on a Nevada land surveyor stamp?
Your name as licensed, your license number and the words Professional Land Surveyor, with the license expiration date optional. NRS 625.383(3) bars a land surveyor from using the Professional Engineer legend, and the discipline line required of engineers by NAC 625.610(3)(d) has no place on a surveyor stamp.
What size is a Nevada land surveyor stamp?
Approximately 1.7 inches in diameter. NAC 625.610(2) states that a stamp or seal “must be approximately 1.7 inches in diameter and conform to one of the following designs, as applicable.” The designs themselves are reproduced as images inside the regulation rather than described in words, so copy the layout from the board design rather than inferring it from the element list.
Can I use an embosser in Nevada?
Not on its own. NAC 625.610(3)(a) requires the image to be “opaque and permanent,” and a dry embossed impression with no ink is neither. An inked rubber or self-inking stamp is the safe buy, because the rule tests the image rather than the device.
How do I validate a Nevada stamp?
NAC 625.610(4) requires the licensee to “validate a stamp or seal by adding his or her signature legibly across or adjacent to the face of the image made by the stamp or seal,” with the date of stamping or sealing and the expiration date if the stamp does not carry it. The signature must be your own act: the same subsection provides that “the licensee may not use a stamp to produce his or her signature,” subject only to the disability signature stamp allowed by NRS 427A.755.
Which Nevada documents need the stamp?
Surveying maps and records submitted for permits, released for construction, or issued as formal or final documents to clients, public authorities or third parties. NAC 625.611 adds detail for plans, maps and specifications filed with a public authority: original sheets are dated, stamped and signed by each licensee in responsible charge of that sheet, and specification sets carry a table of contents or cover sheet bearing each responsible licensee’s stamp. NAC 625.612 applies the same to reports, studies, test results, certifications and calculations.
What Nevada work needs no stamp?
Two carve-outs. Under NAC 625.610(11) an interim document an agency insists on having stamped must be marked “For review only,” “Not for construction,” or “Preliminary.” Under NAC 625.610(12) no stamp is required on an as-built or record plan, a construction progress observation report, or a project cost estimate.
Can I seal Nevada documents electronically?
Yes, on a performance standard. NAC 625.610(10) allows a licensee in responsible charge to apply “an electronically prepared seal and digital signature” to an electronically submitted document, but only where secure encryption identifies the licensee and tracks post-issuance changes, and the licensee believes adequate protections against fraud or misuse are in place. No certificate authority, file format or signature standard is named.
What if my Nevada license expires after I submit a document?
You do not re-seal it. Under NAC 625.610(9), if a license expires after a document has already been submitted, released or issued, the licensee does not re-seal it unless the document is changed afterward. Going forward, NRS 625.565(4) makes it unlawful for any person to impress a document with the stamp of a professional land surveyor after that person’s license “has expired or has been suspended or revoked, unless the license has been renewed or reissued,” and subsection (5) extends the bar after retirement from practice. A violation is a gross misdemeanor.
Does a Nevada surveying firm have a seal?
No, and there is no certificate of authorization for land surveying. NRS 625.407 instead requires a business engaged in or offering land surveying to employ at least one professional land surveyor full time, with all work performed under a licensee in responsible charge who is a full-time employee. The firm identifies itself on the document rather than sealing it: NAC 625.611(1)(a) requires plans or maps submitted to a public authority to carry the name, address, electronic mail address and telephone number of the submitting firm.
