Written by Acorn Sales Company, stamps and seals since 1964. Product facts from 23 published Forester SKUs; licensing facts only from the sources below, each fetched 22 September 2026. Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing. Not legal advice. Sources: SAF State Licensure; SAF Certification FAQ; Alabama board R.F.; Alabama Code 34-12-2; Arkansas board FAQ; California RPF; 14 CCR 1090.10; Connecticut DEEP; Georgia board; Georgia Code 12-6-49; Maine Title 32; Maryland board FAQ; Massachusetts; Michigan DNR FAQ; Mississippi board rules; Mississippi Code 73-36; NH Fors 305.03; NH fact sheet; NC board rules; NC chapter 89B; SC Regulations 53; SC Code 48-27; Vermont FAQ; Vermont rules; WV Code 30-19-1. on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Forestry is licensed or registered in a minority of states. The Society of American Foresters publishes a State Licensure page listing a forester board or agency for 15 states, leaving most of the country with no forester credential at all, unlike engineering or architecture where every state has a board. Fewer states still require a seal. Of the rule sets we read, only New Hampshire and Vermont require a licensed forester to seal or stamp work. South Carolina permits a seal without requiring one, North Carolina let its seal rule expire in 2015, and several regulated states say nothing about a forester seal. Acorn makes forester seals and stamps to whatever specification a board sets, from $20.00 for the eSeal to $2,095.00 for the Heavy Duty Long Reach electric, across 23 published products with a median of $46.95. This page is research and not legal advice; your board is the authority on your state.What these are for
Two readers land here. The first has just been licensed or registered and assumes a seal comes with the credential, as it does for engineers and land surveyors; that reader needs to know whether a seal is required at all where they practice, and in most regulated states it is optional or unmentioned. The second already has the specification and is choosing a tool. Where a seal is required, the documents carrying it are the ordinary output of the job: management plans and their maps, timber appraisals, contracts, reports and permitting filings.
The ranges we stock
Which states license or register foresters
We counted 15. The Society of American Foresters maintains a State Licensure page with a table of state forester boards and agencies. Counting the rows of that table on 22 September 2026 gives Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia. That is the count and that is how it was reached: rows in one table, on one date. SAF gives no total of its own and calls the list only states that have forester credentialing laws, so treat it as a starting point and confirm your own state with your board. What the number establishes is the shape of the profession: roughly two thirds of the states have no forester board at all.
Practice acts and title acts, and why the difference matters
The 15 do not regulate the same thing. A practice act makes it unlawful to practice forestry without the credential. A title act restricts only the title and leaves the work open to anyone. From the statutes and board pages themselves we could confirm practice acts in Alabama, whose Code at 34-12-2 bars practicing or offering to practice forestry unless registered; Maine, whose Title 32 chapter 76 at section 5502 makes it unlawful to practice or offer to practice forestry without a license; Mississippi, whose board rules say no person may practice forestry there without first being registered or licensed; and South Carolina, whose Code at 48-27-120 bars the practice of professional forestry without a registered forester license. Vermont requires a license both to hold out as a forester and to practice. Massachusetts reaches the same result by regulation at 302 CMR 14.04, Maryland by defining scope as consultation, investigation, evaluation or planning of a forestry activity, and New Hampshire, per the fact sheet citing RSA 310-A:98-117, by licensing foresters who serve private landowners for compensation.
The title act states, where anyone may still do the work
Four came back the other way. West Virginia is the plainest case in the country, stating rule and exception in consecutive subsections of Code 30-19-1: no person may use any title conveying that he or she is a registered forester unless certified, and nothing in the article prevents anyone from practicing forestry, managing woodlands or removing products in any manner desired. Arkansas is a title act on its own board FAQ, citing AR Code 17-31-301. North Carolina reads the same at G.S. 89B-1, which prohibits the designation rather than the work. Michigan is softer still: its Department of Natural Resources calls the program one hundred percent voluntary and a registration program, not licensing, under Public Act 116 of 2018. Connecticut sits outside the pattern, certifying forest practitioners rather than running a forester board, and cites General Statutes 23-65h for the rule that no person shall engage in commercial forest practices without a certificate. We could not classify California or Georgia from the text we read and left them unclassified rather than guess.
Where a seal is genuinely required: New Hampshire and Vermont
New Hampshire is the most prescriptive rule we found. Administrative rule Fors 305.03 requires a licensee to acquire a digital seal, an impression type seal or a rubber stamp bearing the name and license number, and to affix it with an original signature to all plans, maps, contracts and reports the licensee prepares, subject to the exemptions in RSA 310-A:98. It specifies the artwork: two concentric circles, outer 1-9/16 inches and inner 15/16 inch, with State of New Hampshire at the top, Professional Forester at the bottom, and the full name, license number and the word Licensed inside the inner circle. It forbids sealing work the licensee did not prepare or directly supervise, or sealing after a license lapses or is revoked. One caution: a 2024 rulemaking proposal shows the rule being renumbered within the Fors 305 part, so the number may be stale even though the substance is not. Vermont takes the same position in different words. Rule 6-3 of its forester administrative rules requires each licensee to possess a seal embosser, stamp or electronic insignia in a format provided at the Office website, says the seal denotes formal acceptance of professional responsibility for the work bearing it, and requires it on management plans and related maps, timber appraisals, contracts and agreements, and regulatory or permitting filings. We found no diameters in the Vermont rule text.
Where a seal is optional, expired or simply absent
South Carolina is the clearest permissive case. Regulation 53-5 says a registered forester may use an impression seal or stamp on his plans, maps, specifications and reports, then gives dimensions anyway: a circular seal 1 and 5/8 inches in diameter and a circular stamp 1 and 3/4 inches, each carrying the registrant name and registration number. May, not shall. North Carolina had a rule titled Registration seal at 21 NCAC 20.0110, but it expired on 1 January 2015, and the board now permits without requiring the abbreviation R.F. after a signature under 21 NCAC 20.0118. Alabama publishes formats for R.F. after a signature on letters, maps and reports, with no mention of a seal. Mississippi board rules mention a seal once, at rule 1.6, only to say the board may adopt one of its own. Maine is the cleanest negative result: the words seal and stamp appear nowhere in its licensing chapter. No forester seal requirement appeared on the Maryland, Michigan, California or Connecticut pages we read, but we did not read every rule those agencies publish, and silence is what we report rather than absence.
What appears on a forester seal
Only two states in our reading set the contents by rule, and they agree on the core. New Hampshire requires the full name, the license number, the state, the word Licensed and the words Professional Forester. South Carolina, for its optional seal, requires the registrant name and registration number. The common elements are the name, the license or registration number, the state, and a phrase naming the credential, reading Licensed Forester, Registered Forester or Professional Forester depending on what the state calls it. Those phrases are not interchangeable: a state that registers foresters is unlikely to want a seal reading licensed. That is a question for the board, not the manufacturer.
The SAF Certified Forester credential is not a state license
This is the most common confusion in the subject, so flatly: Certified Forester is a credential from a professional society, and a license or registration is a grant from a state. The Society of American Foresters administers it, grants a non-exclusive and non-transferable license to use the Certified Forester logo, and runs the examination through Schroeder Measurement Technologies. On the SAF certification FAQ, eligibility runs to five or more years of qualifying experience within the past ten, a degree covering eleven courses across four study areas, and a passing scaled score of 75 or higher. The two systems touch at one point: SAF says its examination is accepted by the South Carolina State Board of Registration for Foresters, and adds that applicants must still meet the state requirements and receive board approval. Nothing we read gives a Certified Forester sealing authority a state has not granted.
Embossers, from the pocket seal to the electric press
Turning to what Acorn makes. The Forester Handheld Seal Embosser is $46.95 and the listing names it the most economical choice for a Forester embossing seal, with a heavy duty frame, a sliding lock mechanism and a reach of about 1-1/2″ into a sheet of paper. The Handheld Soft Seal Embosser is $44.95, the same pocket tool with rubber on the handle, and red, blue and pink soft seals are $44.95 each. The Hybrid Seal Embosser is $42.95, described as the portability of a pocket embosser with the ease of a desk model, with positioning marks and an audible click when the impression is made properly. The Desk Seal Embosser is $44.95 on a sturdy metal base. The Pink Gift Embosser at $99.95 and the black, chrome and gold gift models at $129.95 each add a felt base to stop the unit sliding. Above those, reach is what the money buys. The Long Reach Desk Seal Embosser is $129.95 and reaches about 2-1/2″. The Extended Long Reach is $169.95 and reaches 4-1/2″, which the listing says lets you emboss the center of an 8-1/2″ wide sheet. The Cast Iron Desk Seal Embosser is $329.95, the old fashioned type of seal. The Heavy Duty Standard Reach at $1,795.00 reaches approximately 2-3/8″ and weighs 12 pounds; the Heavy Duty Long Reach at $2,095.00 reaches almost five inches and weighs 18 pounds. Both run on 110 to 120 AC volts with a solid brass die against an alloy counter die.
Stamps that put ink on the page, and the eSeal
An inked stamp prints the design instead of raising it, which matters on stock too thin or glossy to emboss and on documents that will be copied. The Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal is $34.95, a hand stamp with a laser engraved die needing a separate pad, and the listing names it the best stamp for Mylar. The Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal is $39.95 and is called the most popular stamp choice. The Slim Pre-Inked is $46.95, at 50 percent postconsumer recycled content. The MaxLight Pre Inked is also $46.95 and adds a dust cover. The Xstamper Pre-Inked is $64.95, at 52 percent recycled content by weight. The eSeal Electronic Image Stamp of Seal is $20.00 and is not a physical tool: it is a 300 dpi image emailed as PNG, DWG, JPG, DXF, PDF and TIF files, and the listing states that electronic encryption and an electronic signature are not included.
Sizes and dimensions
The catalog gives one size answer for the whole Forester range, and it is a range rather than a number: impressions are approximately 1-5/8″ to 2″ in diameter depending on state specifications. That sentence appears on every stamp and embosser here, from the $42.95 hybrid to the $2,095.00 electric, and Acorn publishes no fixed die size because the size is not Acorn choice. Two regulatory figures sit inside that window, though they come from state rules and not from the catalog: New Hampshire rule Fors 305.03 describes concentric circles at 1-9/16 inches outer and 15/16 inch inner, and South Carolina regulation 53-5 an optional seal at 1 and 5/8 inches and an optional stamp at 1 and 3/4 inches. Reach is the other dimension and is entirely a catalog specification: about 1-1/2″ on the pocket, soft, hybrid, desk and gift models, up to 2-1/2″ on the cast iron and Long Reach, 4-1/2″ on the Extended Long Reach, and more on the electric units.
How many impressions you get
Manual embossers have no consumable and the listings publish no impression count for them. Inked stamps are counted. The Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal at $39.95 makes about 5,000 impressions and can be re-inked. The Slim Pre-Inked at $46.95 makes about 10,000. The Xstamper at $64.95 is rated up to 50,000. The MaxLight at $46.95 argues with itself: the description says up to 15,000 and the highlights on the same page say up to 50,000, so plan around 15,000 until the listing is corrected. Both the $1,795.00 standard reach and the $2,095.00 long reach are each rated at an estimated life of 200,000 impressions. Budget against 200,000.
Ink and colors
Ink is a stamp question only, since an embosser raises the paper and adds no color. The Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal at $39.95 comes in 11 ink colors, the widest choice in the range. The Slim Pre-Inked at $46.95 lists five: red, blue, black, green and purple. The MaxLight at $46.95 also lists five, with violet in place of purple. The Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal at $34.95 carries no ink of its own and takes a separate pad. The catalog does not say what color any board expects, and we found no ink color requirement in the state rules we read.
What you can customize
Every Forester seal and stamp here is made to order. The listings say the seals are made to your state specifications, which can vary from 1-5/8″ diameter to a 2″ diameter impression area, and that Acorn guarantees they will meet those specifications. The impression, as the listings describe it, carries the practitioner name, license number, state and profession, and the work is produced in house. A complimentary eSeal comes with a physical purchase. Two limits are worth stating because the catalog states them: the eSeal is artwork rather than a signing credential, and the guarantee runs to a published board specification, not to whether your state wants a seal.
Most states that regulate foresters do not require a seal
The assumption behind a page like this is that a professional credential comes with a stamp, as it does for engineers and land surveyors. For foresters it mostly does not. Of the 15 states with a forester board or agency on the Society of American Foresters list, the rule sets we read require a seal in two: New Hampshire, where Fors 305.03 specifies the artwork down to a 15/16 inch inner circle and requires the seal on all plans, maps, contracts and reports, and Vermont, where Rule 6-3 requires one on management plans and maps, timber appraisals, contracts and permitting filings.
Everywhere else the answer was weaker. South Carolina says may. North Carolina let its seal rule expire in 2015 and kept only an optional R.F. after the signature. Alabama publishes signature formats with R.F. and no seal. Mississippi mentions a seal only as one the board itself may adopt. Maine uses neither word in its licensing chapter. Several other state pages were silent, which is not a finding that no requirement exists.
So the honest shape is this: a seal is mandatory in a small number of states, permitted in more, and unmentioned in most. Buying one where it is not required is a professional courtesy, a legitimate thing to buy, but it is worth knowing which you are doing before you spend $46.95 or $329.95. Confirm with your board first. This page is not legal advice.
Ordering, proofs and delivery
Order the tool after you have the specification, not before. Ask your board three questions in writing if it has not published the answers: whether a seal or stamp is required at all, what has to appear on it and in what words, and what diameter it has to be. New Hampshire and Vermont publish detailed answers, South Carolina publishes dimensions for an optional seal, and several boards publish nothing, in which case the silence is worth having in writing. Then choose the format: an embosser raises the impression and cannot be copied convincingly, an inked stamp survives copying, and an electronic image is the only option for a plan delivered as a file. If you are unsure, contact us with the sheet size and where the seal has to land.
Care and longevity
Acorn warrants embossing seals for two years and rubber stamps for six months. The Forester listings line up with the embosser half consistently: the hybrid, the soft seals in all four colors, desk, gift, long reach, extended long reach, cast iron and both electric units all state a two year warranty. No Forester rubber stamp or pre-inked stamp listing states a warranty period at all, so the house term of six months applies to them; if a listing says otherwise, the listing is the thing to query. Maintenance is light: an embosser has no consumable and is stored closed on its sliding lock, a self inking stamp has its pad re-inked or replaced, and a pre-inked stamp is re-inked directly.
Products in this range
Browse the full range: Forester Stamps and Seals.
Related guides
- Replacing a Seal After a Renewal, Expiration or Name Change
- Electronic Seals and eSeal Image Files: What You Get and What You Do Not
- How to Choose an Embosser by Reach and Price
Frequently asked questions
How many states license or register foresters?
Fifteen, on the count we can defend. The Society of American Foresters publishes a State Licensure page with a table of state forester boards and agencies; counting its rows on 22 September 2026 gives Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia. SAF publishes no total itself, and programs change, so confirm your own state with your own board. This page is not legal advice.
What is the difference between a licensed and a registered forester?
Usually, what the state restricts. A practice act makes it unlawful to practice forestry without the credential; a title act restricts only the title. West Virginia states both halves in one statute at 30-19-1. On the text we checked, Alabama, Maine, Mississippi, South Carolina, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Hampshire read as practice acts, and Arkansas, North Carolina, West Virginia and Michigan as title acts. We could not classify California or Georgia.
Is a forester seal required by law?
In a small number of states, yes; in most, no. Of the rule sets we read, New Hampshire requires a seal under rule Fors 305.03 and Vermont under Rule 6-3 of its forester rules. South Carolina permits one under regulation 53-5 but uses the word may. North Carolina let its seal rule at 21 NCAC 20.0110 expire on 1 January 2015. Maine mentions neither seal nor stamp. Other state pages were silent, which we report as silence rather than proof.
Which documents does a forester have to seal?
Where it is required, the list is broad. New Hampshire rule Fors 305.03 requires the seal and an original signature on all plans, maps, contracts and reports prepared by the licensee. Vermont Rule 6-3 requires it on management plans and related maps, timber appraisals, contracts and agreements, and regulatory or permitting filings. Both forbid sealing work the licensee did not prepare or directly supervise.
What goes on a forester seal?
Two states set it by rule. New Hampshire requires two concentric circles with State of New Hampshire at the top, Professional Forester at the bottom, and the full name, license number and the word Licensed inside the inner circle. South Carolina requires the registrant name and registration number on its optional seal. The common elements are the name, the number, the state, and a phrase naming the credential.
What size is a forester seal?
It depends on the state, which is why the catalog quotes a range: every Forester listing says the impression is approximately 1-5/8″ to 2″ in diameter depending on state specifications. As reference points from the two rules that give figures, New Hampshire specifies concentric circles at 1-9/16 inches outer and 15/16 inch inner, and South Carolina an optional seal at 1 and 5/8 inches and an optional stamp at 1 and 3/4 inches.
Is the SAF Certified Forester the same as a state license?
No. Certified Forester is a credential of the Society of American Foresters, not a grant of authority from a state. SAF administers it and runs the exam through Schroeder Measurement Technologies. Eligibility runs to five or more years of qualifying experience in the past ten, a degree covering eleven courses across four study areas, and a scaled score of 75 or higher. SAF notes the exam is accepted by the South Carolina board, while adding that applicants must still meet state requirements and receive board approval.
My state is not on the list. Can I still buy a forester seal?
Yes, and many do. In a state with no forester board there is no specification to meet and no rule to break, so the seal is a professional mark rather than a legal instrument, and Acorn will make it to the wording you supply. Worth avoiding is wording implying a credential your state does not issue: a seal reading Registered Forester where no register exists claims something no board granted.
What does a forester stamp or seal cost?
From $20.00 for the Forester eSeal to $2,095.00 for the Heavy Duty Long Reach Embosser. The working middle is $34.95 for the Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal, $39.95 for the Self Inking, $42.95 for the Hybrid Seal Embosser, $44.95 for the Desk Seal Embosser or a soft seal handheld, and $46.95 for the Handheld Seal Embosser or either pre-inked stamp. Across the 23 published Forester products the median is $46.95.
Should I buy an embosser or an inked stamp?
It depends what happens to the document. An embosser raises the impression, which is hard to reproduce, but a raised impression can vanish in a photocopy. An inked stamp survives reproduction and works on stock too thin or glossy to emboss; the catalog names the Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal at $34.95 as the best choice for Mylar. If a state rule specifies a format, that settles it: New Hampshire accepts a digital seal, an impression type seal or a rubber stamp.
How many impressions will a forester stamp give?
About 5,000 from the Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal at $39.95, about 10,000 from the Slim Pre-Inked at $46.95, and up to 50,000 from the Xstamper at $64.95. The MaxLight at $46.95 is inconsistent on its own page, saying up to 15,000 in the description and up to 50,000 in the highlights, so plan on 15,000. Manual embossers quote no count. The electric embossers are rated at 200,000 impressions.
What is the eSeal and is it an electronic signature?
It is not an electronic signature. The Forester eSeal Electronic Image Stamp of Seal is $20.00 and is a 300 dpi image supplied by email as PNG, DWG, JPG, DXF, PDF and TIF files. The listing states directly that electronic encryption and an electronic signature are not included. It is artwork for placing on a file, not a signing credential. A complimentary eSeal comes with any physical purchase.
Does Acorn guarantee the seal will meet my state board specification?
The listings say so. Every Forester page states the product is made to your state specifications and carries a guarantee that it will meet your State Board specifications. Read that for what it is: a manufacturing guarantee against a published board specification. It is not an opinion on whether your state requires a seal or whether a document needs sealing. To match a known specification to a body and a reach, contact us.
