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 Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, advised by the State Board of Architecture and 225 ILCS 305/14 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
There is no Illinois administrative seal rule for architects. The statute is the whole of it. 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1150 runs from section 1150.10 to 1150.110 with Appendices A and B and contains no seal section, so 225 ILCS 305/14 is the only source and there is no prescribed diameter anywhere. Any dimension a supplier offers as the Illinois architect standard is a trade convention rather than a rule.
Section 14 requires “a reproducible seal, or facsimile, the impression of which shall contain the name of the architect, the license number, and the words ‘Licensed Architect, State of Illinois’.” Three elements inside the impression and three more beside it: the architect affixes the signature, the current date, the date of license expiration and the seal to the first sheet of any bound set or loose sheets of technical submissions used as contract documents or prepared for a governmental or public authority.
Keep the expiration date out of the die. Individual Illinois architect licenses all expire on November 30 of each even numbered year, so that line is identical for every architect in the state and turns over for all of them at once. A stamp that engraves the date into the impression is obsolete the moment the cycle turns. The durable product carries only the name, the number and the words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois.
Illinois architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Illinois rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Required elements | Your name as licensed, Your license number and The words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. Section 14 states the three elements and stops, and 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1150 has no seal section to supply a dimension. Checked the Act and the whole of Part 1150, whose sections run from. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Device allowed | A reproducible seal or facsimile, which may be applied electronically. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Signature and date | Seal, signature, current date and license expiration date, all on the first sheet. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| What must be sealed | Technical submissions used as contract documents between the parties to a contract, or prepared for the review and approval of any governmental or public authority having jurisdiction, prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Electronic seal | Permitted by statute with no named technology. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Renewal and lapse | Every individual architect license issued under the Act expires on November 30 of each even numbered year, and renewal runs during the month preceding expiration. | 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1150.100(a) |
| Firm requirements | Required, and it goes on the document. | 225 ILCS 305/14 |
| Regulator | The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, advised by the State Board of Architecture | Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989, 225 ILCS 305, principally § 14 (Seal) |
Is a seal required in Illinois?
Illinois puts the entire architect seal rule in the statute. Section 14 of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989 provides that “Every architect shall have a reproducible seal, or facsimile, the impression of which shall contain the name of the architect, the license number, and the words ‘Licensed Architect, State of Illinois’,” and then fixes the trigger: the architect “shall affix the signature, current date, date of license expiration, and seal to the first sheet of any bound set or loose sheets of technical submissions used as contract documents between the parties to the contract or prepared for the review and approval of any governmental or public authority having jurisdiction by that architect or under that architect’s responsible control.” The Department’s rules at 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1150 contain no seal section at all, which is unusual and means the statute is the only source.
What must appear on the seal
- Your name as licensed
- Your license number
- The words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois
Three elements inside the impression and three more beside it. The impression carries the name, the license number and the words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois. The signature, the current date and the date of license expiration are applied to the first sheet along with the seal, not engraved into the die. Section 14 also requires that “The sheet of technical submissions in which the seal is affixed shall indicate those documents or parts thereof for which the seal shall apply,” which is a scoping statement on the sheet rather than an element of the seal. Firm information is separate again and is discussed below. Nothing authorizes a discipline line, a firm name or an NCARB reference inside the impression.
Size and shape
Not addressed. Section 14 states the three elements and stops, and 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1150 has no seal section to supply a dimension. Checked the Act and the whole of Part 1150, whose sections run from 1150.10 to 1150.110 with Appendices A and B and include no seal provision. That is a genuine Illinois split: the Illinois geologist seal does carry a prescribed diameter of one and three quarter inches under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1252.APPENDIX A, while architects, engineers, structural engineers, land surveyors, landscape architects and interior designers all have none.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
A reproducible seal or facsimile, which may be applied electronically. Section 14 requires the seal to be “reproducible,” which is the operative word: the impression has to survive copying, so a bare dry embosser is not a safe sole device. The same section provides that “The seal and dates may be electronically affixed,” and gives the licensee a free choice of signature form: “The licensee may provide, at his or her sole discretion, an original signature in the licensee’s handwriting, a scanned copy of the document bearing an original signature, or a signature generated by a computer.” The safe buy is an inked rubber or self inking stamp for the impression, with a separate line or block for the signature and the two dates.
Signing and dating
Seal, signature, current date and license expiration date, all on the first sheet. Section 14 names the four together. Two distinct dates are in play and buyers conflate them: the current date is the day the architect signs, while the date of license expiration is the statewide renewal date printed on the license. Illinois does not require the signature to cross the seal. Illinois is unusual in accepting a computer generated signature at the licensee’s sole discretion, which is the opposite of Texas geoscience, where a handwriting font signature is expressly prohibited.
Illinois puts an expiring date next to the architect seal, and nowhere in the rules
Two things are unusual about Illinois. The first is that the whole seal rule is statutory. 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1150 has no seal section, so 225 ILCS 305/14 is the only source and there is no prescribed diameter anywhere. Any dimension a supplier offers as the Illinois architect standard is a trade convention.
Which documents must be sealed
Technical submissions used as contract documents between the parties to a contract, or prepared for the review and approval of any governmental or public authority having jurisdiction, prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control. The seal goes on the first sheet of any bound set or loose sheets, and that sheet must indicate which documents or parts of them the seal covers. Section 14 defines responsible control as “that amount of control over and detailed professional knowledge of the content of technical submissions during their preparation as is ordinarily exercised by architects applying the required professional standard of care,” and states that merely reviewing, or reviewing and correcting, submissions prepared by people outside the regular employment of the office is not responsible control.
Electronic and digital seals
Permitted by statute with no named technology. Section 14 provides that the seal and dates may be electronically affixed and allows a computer generated signature at the licensee’s sole discretion, and it names no certificate authority, no hash standard and no verification requirement. That is a far lighter regime than Florida, which requires a FIPS 180-4 message digest under rule 61G1-16.005(3), and than Pennsylvania, which requires a digital signature invalidated by any change to the document under 49 Pa. Code section 9.141a.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Every individual architect license issued under the Act expires on November 30 of each even numbered year, and renewal runs during the month preceding expiration. Because the date of license expiration must appear alongside the seal, the block beside the impression goes stale on a fixed statewide schedule and a device that bakes the expiration date into the die has to be replaced every renewal cycle. The license number does not change on renewal, so the impression itself remains good. Nothing in section 14 or in Part 1150 requires surrender or destruction of the seal on lapse, inactive status or discipline.
Firm requirements
Required, and it goes on the document. Section 14 provides that “All technical submissions issued by any corporation, partnership, professional service corporation, or professional design firm as registered under this Act shall contain the corporate or assumed business name and design firm registration number, in addition to any other seal requirements as set forth in this Section.” The registration itself is governed by 68 Illinois Administrative Code 1150.80, Professional Design Firm. The firm name and number belong in the title block, never inside the impression: Illinois treats a seal bearing the firm name instead of the responsible individual’s name as an invalid seal in its parallel engineering and land surveying rules, and section 14 closes the architect impression to the individual’s name and number.
What to check before you order
Letter the ring exactly: Licensed Architect, State of Illinois. Put your name as licensed and your license number inside, and nothing else. Do not engrave the license expiration date into the die, because every Illinois architect license expires on November 30 of each even numbered year and the engraved date would go stale on a fixed schedule; supply it on a separate line beside the impression along with your signature and the date you sign. Do not put a firm name in the impression: the design firm name and registration number belong in the title block. Choose a reproducible inked stamp rather than a dry embosser, since the Act requires the seal to be reproducible.
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Frequently asked questions
Is an architect seal required in Illinois?
Yes. Section 14 of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989 requires every architect to have a reproducible seal, and requires the architect to affix the signature, current date, date of license expiration and seal “to the first sheet of any bound set or loose sheets of technical submissions used as contract documents between the parties to the contract or prepared for the review and approval of any governmental or public authority having jurisdiction by that architect or under that architect’s responsible control.”
What has to appear on an Illinois architect seal?
Three things inside the impression: your name as licensed, your license number, and the words Licensed Architect, State of Illinois. The signature, the current date and the date of license expiration are applied to the first sheet along with the seal rather than engraved into the die. Nothing authorizes a discipline line, a firm name or an NCARB reference inside the impression.
What size is an Illinois architect seal?
No size is stated. Section 14 names the three elements and stops, and Part 1150 has no seal section to supply a dimension. That is a genuine Illinois split: the Illinois geologist seal does carry a prescribed diameter of one and three quarter inches under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1252.APPENDIX A, while architects, engineers, structural engineers, land surveyors, landscape architects and interior designers all have none.
Can I use an embosser in Illinois?
Section 14 requires the seal to be “reproducible,” which is the operative word. The impression has to survive copying, so a bare dry embosser is not a safe sole device. An inked rubber or self-inking stamp handles the impression, with a separate line or block for the signature and the two dates. The same section provides that “The seal and dates may be electronically affixed.”
What are the two dates next to an Illinois seal?
The current date is the day you sign. The date of license expiration is the statewide renewal date printed on your license, November 30 of each even numbered year. Buyers conflate them routinely. Section 14 names both, alongside the signature and the seal, on the first sheet.
Do I have to seal every sheet in Illinois?
No. The seal goes on the first sheet of any bound set or of loose sheets, and Section 14 adds that “The sheet of technical submissions in which the seal is affixed shall indicate those documents or parts thereof for which the seal shall apply.” Compare Texas, where 22 Texas Administrative Code section 1.103(a)(3) requires a seal on each sheet of drawings.
Can I use a computer generated signature in Illinois?
Yes, at your own election. Section 14 provides that “The licensee may provide, at his or her sole discretion, an original signature in the licensee’s handwriting, a scanned copy of the document bearing an original signature, or a signature generated by a computer.” Illinois does not require the signature to cross the seal. That is the opposite of Texas geoscience, where a handwriting font signature is expressly prohibited.
What counts as responsible control in Illinois?
Section 14 defines it as “that amount of control over and detailed professional knowledge of the content of technical submissions during their preparation as is ordinarily exercised by architects applying the required professional standard of care,” and states that merely reviewing, or reviewing and correcting, submissions prepared by people outside the regular employment of the office is not responsible control.
Does Illinois name a digital signature standard?
No. Section 14 permits the seal and dates to be electronically affixed and allows a computer generated signature at the licensee’s sole discretion, and names no certificate authority, no hash standard and no verification requirement. That is far lighter than Florida, which requires a FIPS 180-4 message digest under rule 61G1-16.005(3), and than Pennsylvania, which requires a digital signature invalidated by any change to the document under 49 Pa. Code section 9.141a.
Does the firm name go on an Illinois seal?
No, but it does go on the document. Section 14 provides that “All technical submissions issued by any corporation, partnership, professional service corporation, or professional design firm as registered under this Act shall contain the corporate or assumed business name and design firm registration number, in addition to any other seal requirements as set forth in this Section.” Registration is governed by 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1150.80. The firm name and number belong in the title block, never inside the impression, which Section 14 closes to the individual’s name and number.
Does my Illinois seal go stale at renewal?
The impression does not, because the license number does not change on renewal. What goes stale is the block beside it, since the date of license expiration must appear alongside the seal and every individual license expires on November 30 of each even numbered year under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1150.100(a). A device that bakes the expiration date into the die has to be replaced every cycle. Nothing in Section 14 or Part 1150 requires surrender or destruction of the seal on lapse, inactive status or discipline.
