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 District of Columbia Board of Professional Engineering and DCMR chapter 17-15 on 22 September 2026 · Updated 22 September 2026
The District of Columbia prescribes what a professional engineer’s seal must say and says nothing at all about how big it is or what shape it takes. DCMR § 17-1516.4 requires four things on the face plus a catch-all: the words District of Columbia, the licensee’s name, the license number, the words Professional Engineer, and any other information requested by the Board. No diameter, no border and no approved artwork on file, which is unusual among the states and puts the layout decision on you.
The obligation sits one subsection down. DCMR § 17-1516.2 says a newly licensed applicant may obtain a seal, but § 17-1516.3 requires the seal and signature on all final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations whenever they are presented to a client or any public agency. The seal is not optional for work that leaves the office. The regulator is the District of Columbia Board of Professional Engineering at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, which the agency also styles the Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. This page is a reading of public sources and is not legal advice.
District of Columbia professional engineer seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | District of Columbia rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes. The seal and signature go on all final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations presented to a client or any public agency. | DCMR 17-1516.3 |
| Required elements | District of Columbia; the licensee’s name; the license number; the words Professional Engineer; and any other information requested by the Board. | DCMR 17-1516.4 |
| Size and shape | Not prescribed. No diameter, border or shape appears anywhere in section 1516. | DCMR 17-1516, full section |
| Device allowed | Not prescribed. The seal must reproduce when copies are made, and computer generated seals are expressly allowed. | DCMR 17-1516.6 and 17-1516.9 |
| Signature and date | Handwritten signature adjacent to or across the seal, with the date written below the stamp. | DCMR 17-1516.9 |
| What must be sealed | Final specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations. On multi sheet sets, the title page and each sheet. | DCMR 17-1516.3 and 17-1516.7 |
| Electronic seal | Digital signatures need a unique signature, source verification, sole control, invalidation on change, and a list of hardware, software and parameters used. | DCMR 17-1516.10 |
| Renewal and lapse | Licenses expire 31 August in even numbered years. DLCP states 20 continuing education hours for engineers, including one ethics course. | DLCP Board of Professional Engineers page; DCMR 17-1513 and 17-1526 |
| Firm requirements | No engineering firm license. The professional design firm license reaches architecture, interior design and landscape architecture only. | D.C. Official Code 47-2853.64 and 47-2853.65 |
| Regulator | District of Columbia Board of Professional Engineering, within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. | D.C. Official Code 47-2853.06(e); DLCP Board of Professional Engineers page |
Is a seal required in the District of Columbia?
Yes, for any engineering work that leaves your desk. DCMR § 17-1516.2 is permissive on its face, saying a newly licensed applicant may obtain an engineer’s or land surveyor’s seal, as appropriate. The duty arrives at § 17-1516.3: the seal and signature shall be placed on all final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations whenever presented to a client or any public agency, to certify the work was done by the licensee or under the licensee’s control. Note the reach. A client counts, not just an agency, and reports and calculations count, not just drawings.
What must appear on the seal
DCMR § 17-1516.4 is the element list, and it is short. All seals shall contain the words District of Columbia; the licensee’s name; the license number; the words Professional Engineer or Professional Surveyor, as appropriate; and any other information requested by the Board. Four fixed items and one reservation. No discipline line appears, so a civil or mechanical designation is not required on the face even though the District licenses by discipline and issues a separate structural designation. No expiration date belongs on the die either.
Size and shape
The District prescribes neither. Read section 1516 end to end and there is no diameter, no minimum height, no border specification and no requirement that the seal be round. That is unusual; most states fix a size, and an engineer moving into the District expects to find one. What governs instead is § 17-1516.6, which requires the seal and signature to be placed on original copy, tracings or other reproducible documents so that both reproduce when copies are made. That is a legibility test rather than a dimension, and it is why a die that is too small or too finely lettered causes trouble though no number was broken.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital file
No instrument is specified, so choose on the reproduction test at § 17-1516.6. An embossed impression carries no ink and often disappears on a photocopy or scan, which is the failure that subsection is written against, so alone it is a poor choice for permit sets. An inked rubber stamp reproduces reliably and is what most District sets carry. A seal image is expressly contemplated: § 17-1516.9 allows computer generated seals on final original drawings. Many engineers here keep a rubber stamp for paper and a matching digital file for PDF sets so the two marks match.
Signing and dating
DCMR § 17-1516.9 sets the mechanics for a computer generated seal not signed with a digital signature: it may be used on final original drawings provided a handwritten signature is placed adjacent to or across the seal and the date is written below the stamp. That is a specific geometry. The signature goes beside or over the seal, not elsewhere on the sheet, and the date goes underneath. A die lettered wall to wall leaves nowhere to write, which is a practical argument for an uncrowded legend.
Which documents must be sealed
The § 17-1516.3 list is broad: all final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations. Delivery to a client triggers it just as delivery to an agency does. The Department of Buildings restates the point in its own language, telling applicants that all commercial plans must bear the seal and signature of a design professional licensed in the District and that all residential structural plans must bear the seal and signature of a professional engineer licensed in the District. Its commercial plan checklist requires structural calculations prepared, stamped and signed by a District licensed civil engineer, structural engineer or architect.
Preliminary and in progress drawings
DCMR § 17-1516.5 handles work that is not finished. Unfinished or in progress documents may or may not carry a seal and signature, but such a document must contain a statement to the effect PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECORDING PURPOSES, OR IMPLEMENTATION. The words to the effect leave some latitude in phrasing, and the rule is about the statement rather than the seal. A separate preliminary stamp carrying that legend is a sensible habit and not something the District requires.
Multi sheet sets and who seals what
DCMR § 17-1516.7 addresses the set. When a document contains more than one sheet, the first or title page shall be sealed and signed by all involved in the work or those who controlled it and are responsible for it, and each drawing shall be sealed and signed by the licensee or licensees responsible for that sheet. A title sheet can therefore carry several seals. Underneath both sits § 17-1516.8: the seal and signature shall be placed on work only when it was under the licensee’s complete direction and control.
Electronic transmission and digital signatures
The District treats these as two different things. For a document that does not require certification and is being transmitted electronically, § 17-1516.9 requires the generated seal, if any, to be removed before transmitting, with a replacement line carried in place of the signature and date reading that the document was originally issued and sealed by the named licensee, with the professional engineer or professional land surveyor number and date of sealing, and that the document should not be considered a certified document. For a document that is signed with a digital signature, § 17-1516.10 requires an authentication procedure with a unique signature, a capability to verify the source, sole control by the person using it, and a link to the document such that the digital signature is invalidated if any data in the document is changed, together with a list of the hardware, software and parameters used to prepare the document.
Renewal, lapse and the Board’s own seal
DLCP states that professional engineer licenses expire on 31 August and renew in even numbered years, with 20 continuing education hours including one ethics course, and that land surveyor licenses share the date with 12 hours including one ethics course. The chapter carries the machinery at § 17-1513 on expiration and renewal, § 17-1514 on inactive status, § 17-1515 on reinstatement, and § 17-1526 through § 17-1528 on continuing education. One curiosity: § 17-1516.1 is not about your seal at all. It says the Board shall adopt and have an official seal, which shall be affixed to each certificate of licensure.
Firm requirements
The District does not license engineering firms. D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.65 requires a professional design firm license before any firm, franchise, partnership, association or corporation offers or performs professional design services, but § 47-2853.64 defines those as architecture, interior design or landscape architecture services. Engineering sits outside it, and the DLCP category list carries Professional Design Firm under the Board of Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture. General business licensing remains a separate question.
What to check before you order
The face must read District of Columbia, not DC alone, and must carry your name exactly as the Board licensed it, your license number and the words Professional Engineer. Leave room: § 17-1516.9 expects a handwritten signature adjacent to or across the seal and a date below the stamp. Choose a size that survives the reproduction test at § 17-1516.6 rather than the smallest that fits. If you hold both an engineer and a land surveyor license here, order two dies, because the trailing words are Professional Engineer or Professional Surveyor as appropriate and one face cannot be both. For artwork to approve before anything is cut, contact us.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly must a District of Columbia engineer seal say?
DCMR § 17-1516.4 requires the words District of Columbia, the licensee’s name, the license number, the words Professional Engineer, and any other information requested by the Board. Those five items are the whole list.
What size must a District of Columbia engineer seal be?
The District prescribes no size and no shape. Section 1516 contains no diameter, border or shape requirement anywhere. The governing constraint is § 17-1516.6, which requires the seal and signature to reproduce when copies are made, so choose a size that survives scanning and photocopying.
Where do the signature and date go?
DCMR § 17-1516.9 puts a handwritten signature adjacent to or across the seal and the date below the stamp for a computer generated seal not signed with a digital signature. Leave clear space on the artwork for both.
Does my discipline have to appear on the seal?
Not under the element list. DCMR § 17-1516.4 asks for the words Professional Engineer, not for civil, mechanical or structural. The Board reserves the right to ask for other information, so confirm with the Board if you want a discipline line added.
Do calculations and reports need the seal, or only drawings?
Both. DCMR § 17-1516.3 names final engineering specifications, reports, drawings, plans, design information and calculations, and it applies whenever they are presented to a client or any public agency.
Can I email a sealed PDF?
If the document does not require certification, § 17-1516.9 requires the generated seal to be removed before transmitting and a line carried in place of the signature and date stating that the document was originally issued and sealed by the named licensee on the date of sealing and should not be considered a certified document. A document signed with a digital signature instead follows § 17-1516.10.
What does a District digital signature have to do?
Under § 17-1516.10 it needs an authentication procedure with a unique signature, a capability to verify the source, sole control by the person using it, and a link to the document that invalidates the signature if any data changes, plus a list of the hardware, software and parameters used to prepare the document.
How do I seal a multi sheet set?
DCMR § 17-1516.7 requires the first or title page to be sealed and signed by all who did or controlled the work and are responsible for it, and each drawing to be sealed and signed by the licensee responsible for that sheet.
What goes on preliminary drawings?
DCMR § 17-1516.5 allows an unfinished or in progress document to carry a seal or not, but requires a statement to the effect PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECORDING PURPOSES, OR IMPLEMENTATION.
When does my District engineer license expire?
DLCP states that professional engineer licenses expire on 31 August and renew in even numbered years, with 20 continuing education hours including one ethics course. Land surveyor licenses share the date and require 12 hours including one ethics course.
