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 British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA): Step-by-Step Licensure Guide (October 2021), Change of Membership Status Request Form (2023), Landscape Architect (Non-Stamp) application, Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice (adopted April 24, 2010) and Policies and Procedures page, and the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance's Designation Intentions Report on the Society (July 2022), on 25 September 2026 · Updated 25 September 2026
In British Columbia the professional stamp for a landscape architect comes from the Society, not from a supplier. The British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA) says so in its own licensure guide. At the registration step it tells a successful candidate: “You will be issued a registration number, a BCSLA Certificate, a Canadian Society of Landscape Architects certificate and the BCSLA professional stamp if applicable.” The next sentence reads “A digital stamp is also available for a fee.” The official device reaches a new registrant from the BCSLA, so there is nothing for a stamp maker to cut.
Only one class of member uses it. The application for the non-stamp Landscape Architect category states that “A Landscape Architect will not use a stamp or seal of the Profession,” and that a member approved for that status “will not represent himself or herself as a Registered Landscape Architect.” The stamp belongs to the Registered Landscape Architect (RLA), and it goes back to the Society: the form for members who become inactive, retire or resign asks each of them to confirm “I will promptly return my stamp upon my change in membership status.”
A reading of the Architects (Landscape) Act on its own misses all of this. The Act protects a title and reserves no practice, which the Designation Intentions Report on the Society puts in one line: “Landscape Architecture currently has reserved title protection but no reserved practice.” The stamp lives in the Society’s registration process rather than in the statute. The BCSLA Bylaws, amended April 20, 2024, are listed on the Society’s site, but the file would not load for this review, so no bylaw number is quoted on this page.
British Columbia landscape architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | British Columbia rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes, for Registered Landscape Architects, as a stamp the Society issues; municipal jurisdictions commonly ask for it on permit documents | BCSLA Step-by-Step Licensure Guide (October 2021), Step 10; Designation Intentions Report (July 2022) |
| Required elements | Whatever the BCSLA puts on the professional stamp it issues. No element list appears in the Society documents that loaded | BCSLA Step-by-Step Licensure Guide, Step 10 |
| Size and shape | Not applicable in the usual sense, because the Society issues the stamp. No dimension was found | BCSLA Step-by-Step Licensure Guide, Step 10 (Society issues the stamp) |
| Device allowed | The BCSLA professional stamp issued at registration, plus a digital stamp available for a fee | BCSLA Step-by-Step Licensure Guide, Step 10 |
| Signature and date | No signing, stamping or sealing of work the RLA did not have under direct control and personal supervision, with two stated exceptions. No date rule found | BCSLA Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice (2010), S2.3.3 |
| What must be sealed | No provincial list. Development permit and building permit documents are commonly required by municipal jurisdictions to carry an RLA stamp and seal | Designation Intentions Report (July 2022) |
| Electronic seal | The Society lists a Digital Seal Policy (2023) with Notarius support and training links. The policy file would not load | BCSLA Policies and Procedures page |
| Renewal and lapse | The stamp is returned to the Society when a member becomes inactive, retires or resigns | BCSLA Change of Membership Status Request Form (2023) |
| Firm requirements | No firm stamp found. An RLA may take responsibility for consultants’ work only after substantial review and coordination | BCSLA Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice (2010), S2.3.3(a) |
| Regulator | British Columbia Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA), which operates under the Architects (Landscape) Act | BCSLA Acts, Bylaws, and Standards page; BCSLA licensure, membership and practice documents listed below. Not loaded at the time of writing: the BCSLA Bylaws (amended April 20, 2024), the BCSLA Digital Seal Policy (2023), the 2025 Registered Landscape Architect application and the Act on BC Laws, so no rule on this page comes from them |
Is a seal required in British Columbia?
For a Registered Landscape Architect the answer is a Society stamp, and permit offices commonly ask for it. The requirement does not come from a sealing clause in the Act, which protects the title only. It comes from two places. The BCSLA issues the professional stamp at registration, and the July 2022 Designation Intentions Report records that “Municipal jurisdictions in B.C. commonly require that a registered landscape architect prepare, submit, and stamp and seal documents that form part of development permits and/or building permit applications.” The same report marks the limit: “Because landscape architects are not included in the BC Building Code or Builders Lien Act, there are no requirements for stamp and sign off on letters of assurance for landscape architects. However, some municipalities require landscape architects to sign and seal plans.”
What must appear on the seal
- Whatever the BCSLA puts on the professional stamp it issues at registration
No element list turned up in the Society documents that loaded, which fits the way the device is supplied: when the regulator issues the stamp, its wording is the regulator’s decision rather than the member’s. The one wording rule that is sourced concerns status. A member in the non-stamp category may not present as a Registered Landscape Architect, so nothing that claims RLA status belongs on a device used by someone outside that category.
Size and shape
Not applicable in the usual sense, because the Society issues the stamp. None of the BCSLA documents read gives a diameter or a layout. The Bylaws may say more, but the file did not open, so no dimension is reported from them.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
A Society issued professional stamp, with a digital stamp available for a fee. Those are the two devices the licensure guide names at Step 10. It does not say whether the physical stamp is inked or embossed, and the other documents read do not choose between the two. For electronic work the Society lists a Digital Seal Policy among its policies and places links to the Notarius support and training pages beside it, so the electronic device runs through Notarius. The policy itself returned an error when opened, so its terms are not summarized here.
Signing and dating
The Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice, adopted April 24, 2010, set the rule at S2.3.3: “Knowing the professional and legal significance of signed or sealed documents, and not signing, stamping or sealing drawings, specifications, reports or other professional work for which the Registered Landscape Architect did not have direct control and personal supervision, unless” one of two exceptions applies. The first lets an RLA accept responsibility for work prepared by consultants to the firm or agency once the RLA has substantially reviewed and coordinated it. The second covers public sector and private industry employees, who “may sign or initial, but not stamp or seal, documents, along with the designation ‘Acknowledged’ or similar reference.” Not addressed in the documents read: where the signature goes relative to the impression, and any date rule.
The Act protects the title, and the Society issues the stamp
British Columbia splits the job in two. The Architects (Landscape) Act makes the title the protected thing, and the Designation Intentions Report confirms there is no reserved practice behind it. The stamp does not come from that statute. It comes from the BCSLA’s own registration step, it is limited to the Registered Landscape Architect category, and it returns to the Society when a member steps back. Anyone who reads the Act alone will conclude that no seal exists, and in practice that conclusion is wrong: the Society issues one, and municipalities commonly want it on permit drawings.
Which documents must be sealed
No provincial list was found. The sourced answer is municipal: documents that form part of development permit and building permit applications, which municipal jurisdictions commonly require a registered landscape architect to prepare, submit, stamp and seal. Letters of assurance sit outside it, because landscape architects are not in the BC Building Code. Inside a practice, the non-stamp application sets the rule for members who are not registrants: “I will only prepare working drawings, construction documents, and similar material requiring the stamp or seal of a Registered Landscape Architect when working directly with a Registered Landscape Architect, and only where such work is in accordance with the professional obligations related to the terms of our respective employment.”
Electronic and digital seals
Through the Society, with Notarius behind it. The licensure guide makes a digital stamp available for a fee, and the Policies and Procedures page lists a Digital Seal Policy dated 2023 next to Notarius support and training links. The policy file did not load, so its rules on control, file format or verification are not reported. What is clear is the direction of supply: the electronic device, like the physical one, is arranged through the BCSLA.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
The stamp goes back. The Change of Membership Status Request Form covers three moves, becoming inactive, retiring and resigning, and each one comes with the promise to return the stamp promptly. The form also restates that “An Inactive Landscape Architect will not use a stamp or seal of the profession.” That is the usual pattern for a device a regulator issues: once a registrant steps out of active practice, there is no official stamp left in the drawer to use.
Firm requirements
Not addressed in the Society documents that loaded. None of them creates a firm stamp or a firm certificate for landscape architecture. The Standards reach firms in one respect: under S2.3.3(a) a Registered Landscape Architect may accept responsibility for work prepared by consultants to the firm or agency, but only after reviewing and coordinating it substantially.
What to check before you order
For the official stamp, go to the BCSLA, because the Society issues it at registration and takes it back when your status changes. If you hold the non-stamp Landscape Architect status, you do not use a stamp or seal of the profession at all. If a municipality wants stamped permit drawings, that means a Registered Landscape Architect’s stamp, and it comes from the Society. For electronic work, start from the Society’s Digital Seal Policy and its Notarius links. Nothing in the documents read gives you a size or a wording to specify.
The official stamp is the Society’s to issue, so it does not come from us or from any other stamp maker.
What we can make for your office. The Society documents we read deal with the professional stamp and with who may use it. They say nothing about everyday office stamps, so keep one line clear: nothing we make should resemble the BCSLA stamp or claim RLA status for someone who does not hold it. Inside that line, practices order name stamps, received and date stamps, drawing review markers and firm logo stamps for routine paperwork. The office range is under landscape architect stamps and seals.
- Ontario Landscape Architect Seal: What the OALA Says
- Landscape Architect Seal in Canada: What Applies
- Alberta Landscape Architect Seal: AALA Ink Stamp and Digital Seal
Frequently asked questions
Who supplies the landscape architect stamp in British Columbia?
The BCSLA. Step 10 of the Society’s licensure guide lists the BCSLA professional stamp among the things a new registrant is issued, together with a registration number and certificates, and it adds that a digital stamp is available for a fee. The official device is not something a member orders from a stamp maker.
Does the Architects (Landscape) Act create the stamp?
No. The Act protects the title and reserves no practice, and the stamp sits in the Society’s registration process instead. That is why a reading of the Act alone suggests no seal exists, when in practice the BCSLA issues one to Registered Landscape Architects.
Can a non-stamp Landscape Architect member use a stamp?
No. The application for that category states that a Landscape Architect will not use a stamp or seal of the Profession and will not represent himself or herself as a Registered Landscape Architect. Such a member may prepare work that needs an RLA stamp only when working directly with an RLA.
When do British Columbia permit drawings need the stamp?
When the municipality asks for it. The July 2022 Designation Intentions Report says municipal jurisdictions in B.C. commonly require a registered landscape architect to prepare, submit, and stamp and seal documents for development permits and building permit applications. It also says there is no stamp requirement on letters of assurance, because landscape architects are not in the BC Building Code or the Builders Lien Act.
Is there a digital stamp for British Columbia landscape architects?
Yes. The licensure guide says a digital stamp is available for a fee, and the Society lists a Digital Seal Policy (2023) alongside Notarius support and training links. The policy would not open for this review, so its detailed rules are not reported here.
What happens to my stamp if I go inactive, retire or resign?
It goes back to the Society. The Change of Membership Status Request Form asks the member to confirm the stamp will be returned promptly on the change in status, and it restates that an inactive member will not use a stamp or seal of the profession.
Can I stamp work I did not supervise?
Not as a rule. Standards S2.3.3 bars signing, stamping or sealing work the RLA did not have under direct control and personal supervision. The exceptions are consultants’ work the RLA has substantially reviewed and coordinated and accepts responsibility for, and an employee’s acknowledgment of delivery, which may be signed or initialed but not stamped or sealed.
Does British Columbia set a size or wording for the stamp?
Not in the documents that loaded. Because the Society issues the device, the wording and size are its decision. The Bylaws were listed but did not open, so any dimension they contain is not reported here.
Can I order my own landscape architect stamp in British Columbia?
Not the official one. That comes from the BCSLA. Office stamps that are not the professional stamp, such as name, received or date stamps, are not addressed in the Society documents read, so keep them clearly different from the BCSLA stamp and off any RLA claim you are not entitled to make.
What did this review not read?
The BCSLA Bylaws (amended April 20, 2024), the BCSLA Digital Seal Policy (2023), the 2025 Registered Landscape Architect application and the Act on BC Laws. Each was linked or listed, but none would load, so no rule is quoted from them.
