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 Guam Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors and 22 GCA § 32116(d), (d)(10)(A) on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
A Guam surveyor signs more text than almost anyone. The general provision in 22 GCA § 32116(d) requires your written signature and date “signed adjacent to the seal with the statement ‘This work was prepared by me or under my responsible control’.” Then subsection (d)(10)(A) requires a second and longer certification stamped under the seal: “I hereby certify that this map was prepared by me or under my direct supervision, that it is based on a field survey made in (insert date), in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, and that I am responsible for the accuracy of all data and information shown hereon. I also certify that all the monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated in this map’.” Omit it and the document is incomplete as a matter of statute.
The device itself is loosely specified and the signature is tightly specified. The statute says “The seal shall be an image, imprint or other medium approved by the Board” and that “Seals must be a permanent mark on the document being sealed.” Facsimile signatures and computer-generated signatures and dates are not acceptable. Electronic seal, wet signature.
No dimension appears anywhere in 22 GCA ch. 32, so the artwork and any size come from the Board’s authorized design. Ask the Board before ordering.
Guam land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Guam rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | 22 GCA § 32116(d), (d)(10)(A) |
| Required elements | Your name as registered, Your registration number, Your professional designation and The design authorized by the Board | 22 GCA § 32116(d) |
| Size and shape | No size is stated. 22 GCA ch. 32 gives no diameter, shape or lettering height. | 22 GCA § 32116(d) (no dimension) |
| Device allowed | The statute is functional and permissive about the device: “The seal shall be an image, imprint or other medium approved by the Board,” and “Seals must be a permanent mark on the document being sealed.” An inked stamp, an embossed impression and an approved electronic image can all qualify, with permanence as the operative test. | 22 GCA § 32116(d) |
| Signature and date | Three things beside the seal and one long sentence under it. | 22 GCA § 32116(d), (d)(10)(A) |
| What must be sealed | Each drawing, plan, property metes and bounds description, computation sheet, report and other document in final form which involves the practice of land surveying. | 22 GCA § 32116(d)(10)(A) |
| Electronic seal | A Board-approved electronic seal image is possible under the image, imprint or other medium language, and an electronic signature is not: facsimile signatures are unacceptable and computer-generated signatures and dates are not acceptable. | 22 GCA § 32116(d) |
| Renewal and lapse | Not addressed in readable form. | 22 GCA § 32116(d) |
| Firm requirements | No firm seal. Section 32116(d) prescribes none and requires no firm number on the face of a document. What the surveyor paragraph does impose on an office is a staffing rule rather than a device: a licensed professional. | 22 GCA § 32116(d)(10)(A)(i) |
| Regulator | The Guam Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors | 22 GCA (Business Regulations) ch. 32, The Professional Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors Law, §§ 32103 and 32116(d) including paragraph (d)(10), read from the PDF published by the Guam Board at guam-peals.org |
Is a seal required in Guam?
22 GCA § 32116(d)(10)(A) states where the seal goes: “The seal of a Land Surveyor shall be placed on each drawing, plan, property metes and bounds descriptions, computation sheets, reports and other documents in their final form, which involve the practice of land surveying.” The general provision at § 32116(d) requires each registrant to obtain a seal of a design authorized by the Board bearing name, registration number and designation.
What must appear on the seal
- Your name as registered
- Your registration number
- Your professional designation
- The design authorized by the Board
The elements come from the shared general provision rather than from the surveyor paragraph. The expiration-date and discipline elements mentioned in § 32116(d) are written with professional engineers in mind, so do not assume they belong on a surveyor’s face without checking the Board’s authorized design. What is certain and surveyor-specific is not on the die at all: subsection (d)(10)(A) requires a long certification sentence stamped under the seal, and that sentence is reproduced in full in the signature slot below. Not verified: the Board’s authorized surveyor design.
Size and shape
No size is stated. 22 GCA ch. 32 gives no diameter, shape or lettering height. The sources here are § 32116(d) and its numbered paragraphs. Any dimension would come from the Board’s authorized design or from 25 GAR ch. 1, and the Board’s specimen seal images carry no text layer, so no figure is reported here.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
The statute is functional and permissive about the device: “The seal shall be an image, imprint or other medium approved by the Board,” and “Seals must be a permanent mark on the document being sealed.” An inked stamp, an embossed impression and an approved electronic image can all qualify, with permanence as the operative test. Because a surveyor’s certification sentence is stamped under the seal and the whole package is signed by hand, a rubber or self-inking stamp is the practical choice.
Signing and dating
Three things beside the seal and one long sentence under it. The general provision requires the registrant’s written signature and date “signed adjacent to the seal with the statement ‘This work was prepared by me or under my responsible control’,” and bars facsimile signatures and computer-generated signatures and dates. Subsection (d)(10)(A) then adds the surveyor’s own certification: all documents prepared and certified by a professional land surveyor “shall be stamped with a statement under the seal stating: ‘I hereby certify that this map was prepared by me or under my direct supervision, that it is based on a field survey made in (insert date), in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, and that I am responsible for the accuracy of all data and information shown hereon. I also certify that all the monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated in this map’.”
A certification sentence under the seal, and a field reference point that has to survive construction
A Guam surveyor signs more text than almost anyone. The general provision requires the written signature and date adjacent to the seal with the statement “This work was prepared by me or under my responsible control”. Then § 32116(d)(10)(A) requires a second, longer certification stamped under the seal, covering preparation or direct supervision, the date of the field survey, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, responsibility for the accuracy of all data shown, and a certification that all monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated. Omit it and the document is incomplete as a matter of statute, not of custom.
Which documents must be sealed
Each drawing, plan, property metes and bounds description, computation sheet, report and other document in final form which involves the practice of land surveying. Note that computation sheets are named, which is broader than most jurisdictions reach. Subsection (d)(10)(A) also carries two practice requirements that sit alongside the seal rather than on it: any office offering to perform land surveys must have a licensed professional land surveyor in charge of operations, available full time with a seventy-five percent physical presence and in full control of the survey operation; and the surveyor of record must establish a field reference point from which building corners, setbacks and other pertinent points may be derived, protected from damage for the duration of construction and indicated as referenced on the site plan.
Electronic and digital seals
A Board-approved electronic seal image is possible under the image, imprint or other medium language, and an electronic signature is not: facsimile signatures are unacceptable and computer-generated signatures and dates are not acceptable. The statute names no certificate authority, cryptographic standard or verification procedure. A fully electronic sealed and signed Guam survey document is therefore not available under the statute as written.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Not addressed in readable form. Section 32116(d) treats an expiration date as an element of the seal, which ties the device to the certificate, but the chapter does not say what becomes of the seal on expiration, suspension or revocation. The sources here are § 32116(d) and its numbered paragraphs. The Board’s rules at 25 GAR ch. 1 are the other primary text.
Firm requirements
No firm seal. Section 32116(d) prescribes none and requires no firm number on the face of a document. What the surveyor paragraph does impose on an office is a staffing rule rather than a device: a licensed professional land surveyor must be in charge of operations, available on a full time basis with a seventy-five percent physical presence, and in full control of the survey operation.
What to check before you order
Ask the Guam Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors for the authorized seal design; the statute publishes no diameter. The face carries your name as registered, your registration number and your professional designation. The device may be an image, an imprint or another medium the Board approves provided it leaves a permanent mark, and a rubber or self-inking stamp is the practical choice. Leave room under the seal for the statutory certification sentence beginning I hereby certify that this map was prepared by me or under my direct supervision, which has to be stamped under the seal, and leave room beside the seal for your handwritten signature, the date and the shorter statement This work was prepared by me or under my responsible control. Do not order a signature stamp: facsimile and computer-generated signatures and dates are not acceptable.
Browse land surveyor stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for land surveyors in Guam?
Yes, and the statute lists where it goes. 22 GCA § 32116(d)(10)(A) provides that “The seal of a Land Surveyor shall be placed on each drawing, plan, property metes and bounds descriptions, computation sheets, reports and other documents in their final form, which involve the practice of land surveying.” The general provision at § 32116(d) requires each registrant to obtain a seal of a design authorized by the Board bearing name, registration number and designation.
What has to appear on a Guam land surveyor seal?
Your name as registered, your registration number, your professional designation, and the design the Board authorizes. The elements come from the shared general provision rather than from the surveyor paragraph, and the expiration-date and discipline elements mentioned in § 32116(d) are written with professional engineers in mind, so confirm the Board’s authorized surveyor design rather than assuming they belong on your face.
What size is a Guam land surveyor seal?
No size is stated. 22 GCA ch. 32 gives no diameter, shape or lettering height. Any dimension would come from the Board’s authorized design or from 25 GAR ch. 1.
What device may I use in Guam?
The statute is functional and permissive: the seal may be an image, an imprint or another medium the Board approves, provided the mark is permanent. An inked stamp, an embossed impression and an approved electronic image can all qualify. Because the certification sentence is stamped under the seal and the whole package is signed by hand, a rubber or self-inking stamp is the practical choice.
What certification does Guam require under the seal?
Subsection (d)(10)(A) requires all documents prepared and certified by a professional land surveyor to be “stamped with a statement under the seal” certifying preparation by the surveyor or under direct supervision, the date of the field survey, compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, responsibility for the accuracy of all data and information shown, and that all monuments are of the character and occupy the positions indicated in the map. That is separate from and additional to the shorter statement signed adjacent to the seal.
Can I use a signature stamp in Guam?
No. The general provision bars facsimile signatures and computer-generated signatures and dates. Your written signature and the date go adjacent to the seal in your own hand.
Which Guam documents need the surveyor seal?
Each drawing, plan, property metes and bounds description, computation sheet, report and other document in final form which involves the practice of land surveying. Computation sheets are named expressly, which is broader than most jurisdictions reach.
Can a Guam survey document be fully electronic?
Not under the statute as written. A Board-approved electronic seal image is possible under the image, imprint or other medium language, but an electronic signature is not, because facsimile signatures are unacceptable and computer-generated signatures and dates are not accepted. The statute names no certificate authority, cryptographic standard or verification procedure.
What staffing does a Guam survey office need?
Subsection (d)(10)(A)(i) puts a practice obligation inside the seal section: any office offering to perform land surveys must have a licensed professional land surveyor in charge of operations, available on a full time basis with a seventy-five percent physical presence, and in full control of the survey operation. The surveyor of record must also establish a field reference point from which building corners, setbacks and other pertinent points may be derived, protected from damage for the duration of construction and indicated as referenced on the site plan.
Does a Guam survey firm need its own seal?
No. Section 32116(d) prescribes no firm seal and requires no firm number on the face of a document. What the surveyor paragraph imposes on an office is the staffing rule above rather than a device.
What happens to my Guam seal if registration expires?
Section 32116(d) treats an expiration date as an element of the seal, which ties the device to the certificate, but the chapter does not say what becomes of the seal on expiration, suspension or revocation. The Board’s rules at 25 GAR ch. 1 are the other primary text to check with the Board.
