Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against no Maryland board; the profession is not licensed by the Maryland Department of Labor and Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, licensing boards list (no geologists board) on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Maryland does not license, register or certify professional geologists, so no Maryland board prescribes a geologist seal. The Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing oversees twenty one licensing boards, commissions and programs regulating more than 255,000 individuals and businesses across twenty five professions, and the design boards on its published list are Architects, Certified Interior Designers, Landscape Architects, Land Surveyors and Professional Engineers. There is no geologists board, no Maryland license number to inscribe and no legend fixed by any board.
Nothing is prescribed, so the design is yours. One limit still applies, and it is about wording rather than shape. No required diameter, no required legend, no approved artwork and no filing step, so the stamp is a design decision rather than a compliance one. Acorn will cut it to whatever you want on it: your own name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, or a geologist credential you actually hold from a state that issues one.
One element is worth naming because it is Maryland’s visual signature. The pictorial device of the Great Seal of Maryland sits at the center of the professional engineer seal under COMAR 09.23.01.03 and the certified interior designer seal under COMAR 09.18.02.06C. Keep it off a geologist device, because it would imply a Maryland license that does not exist. Put your own name, your firm name, and any credential you actually hold, named with the state that issued it, and leave off “Licensed” and “Registered” and any state-issued title unless the state issued you one.
Maryland geologist seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Maryland rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Not licensed here | Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, licensing boards list (no geologists board) |
| Required elements | Maryland licenses no geologists and issues no geologist seal | Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, licensing boards list |
| Size and shape | No dimension exists. | Maryland Department of Labor licensing boards list |
| Device allowed | Not a regulated purchase. | Maryland Department of Labor licensing boards list |
| Signature and date | Not addressed, because Maryland issues no geologist credential. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-4A-02 |
| What must be sealed | No Maryland document requires a geologist seal. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 14-4A-02, 15-502 |
| Electronic seal | Not applicable. | COMAR 09.23.03.09E |
| Renewal and lapse | Not applicable. | Maryland Department of Labor licensing boards list |
| Firm requirements | Not applicable. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402 |
| Regulator | No Maryland board; the profession is not licensed by the Maryland Department of Labor | Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, licensing boards list, read from dllr.state.md.us, which names the Division’s twenty one boards, commissions and programs and includes no geologists board |
Is a seal required in Maryland?
Maryland does not license, register or certify professional geologists, and no Maryland board issues a geologist seal. The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing oversees twenty one licensing boards, commissions and programs regulating more than 255,000 individuals and businesses across twenty five professions, and its published board list contains boards for Architects, Certified Interior Designers, Landscape Architects, Land Surveyors and Professional Engineers, and none for geologists. There is no Maryland geologist license number to inscribe and no legend fixed by any board.
What must appear on the seal
- Maryland licenses no geologists and issues no geologist seal
There is nothing to specify, because no Maryland board authorizes a geologist seal design. In particular, do not put the pictorial device of the Great Seal of Maryland on a geologist device. That element is required by COMAR 09.23.01.03 for the professional engineer seal and by COMAR 09.18.02.06C for the certified interior designer seal, and using it on an unregulated credential would imply a Maryland license that does not exist.
Size and shape
No dimension exists. Maryland prescribes no geologist seal. The sources here are the Department of Labor licensing boards list and the five design profession subtitles in COMAR, 09.13, 09.18, 09.21, 09.23 and 09.28, none of which reaches geology.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not a regulated purchase. Any Maryland geologist device is a private identification stamp with no statutory effect, and no Maryland public authority is obliged to accept it in place of a licensee’s seal.
Signing and dating
Not addressed, because Maryland issues no geologist credential. Where a Maryland document must be endorsed, Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-4A-02(a) requires the professional engineer’s original signature, date of signature and seal or facsimile, and § 14-4A-02(b) bars a public authority from accepting an engineering plan, specification or report that is not so endorsed.
Maryland licenses five design professions and geology is not one of them
The Maryland Department of Labor list is the fastest answer. Architects, Certified Interior Designers, Landscape Architects, Land Surveyors, Professional Engineers, plus a Joint Chairs of Design Boards body that coordinates them. Twenty one boards, commissions and programs in all, and no geologists board. Maryland has no professional geologist license, no registration number and no authorized seal design.
Which documents must be sealed
No Maryland document requires a geologist seal. Geological reports supporting a Maryland environmental or construction filing are signed by their author, and where the submission itself must be endorsed the seal belongs to the professional engineer under Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-4A-02, or to the professional land surveyor under § 15-502 where the work is surveying.
Electronic and digital seals
Not applicable. The digital signature definition at COMAR 09.23.03.09E applies to professional engineers and the one at COMAR 09.21.02.03E to architects. Maryland has no geologist credential and therefore no electronic geologist seal standard.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Not applicable. With no credential there is no renewal cycle, no lapse, no number to change and no device to surrender.
Firm requirements
Not applicable. Maryland issues no geology firm permit. The firm level requirement in the nearest regulated profession is Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402, which requires a corporation, partnership or limited liability company to hold a Board permit before operating a business through which engineering is practiced.
What to check before you order
There is no Maryland geologist seal to order, because Maryland does not license or register geologists. If you hold a geologist license from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia or another state, order that state’s seal to that state’s rule and do not let a supplier letter State of Maryland onto a geologist device or add the pictorial Great Seal of Maryland, which belongs to the Maryland professional engineer and certified interior designer seals. For Maryland work a plain name and firm stamp is the honest option. Where a Maryland document must be endorsed, that endorsement is the professional engineer’s original signature, date of signature and seal under Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-4A-02.
Browse geologist stamps and seals.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Maryland require a geologist to have a seal?
No, and it could not, because it issues no geologist credential. The Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing board list names every board, commission and program it administers and contains no geologists board, and none of the five design profession subtitles in COMAR, 09.13, 09.18, 09.21, 09.23 and 09.28, reaches geology.
Is there a Maryland professional geologist license?
There is not, which surprises people because Maryland’s neighbors go the other way. Pennsylvania licenses geologists on the same board as its engineers and land surveyors, and Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina each license the profession. Maryland has no professional geologist license, no registration number and no authorized seal design.
What can I put on a Maryland geologist stamp?
Whatever is true of you. Your name as you use it professionally, your firm name, contact details, a monogram or logo, and the exact name of any credential you hold with the state that issued it named alongside. Since nothing is prescribed, a round die, an oval, a square and a rectangular text block are equally acceptable and the choice is yours on looks and legibility.
What should I keep off it?
The pictorial Great Seal of Maryland, first of all. COMAR 09.23.01.03 requires it of professional engineers and COMAR 09.18.02.06C of certified interior designers, and putting it on an unregulated credential asserts a Maryland license that does not exist. Also keep off STATE OF MARYLAND set in a ring with a geologist legend, for the same reason.
Can I use my out-of-state geologist seal on Maryland work?
It is that state’s device, carrying that state’s authority. If you hold a license from Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia or another state that registers geologists, order that state’s seal to that state’s rule and use it there. Do not have a supplier letter State of Maryland onto a geologist device, because no Maryland board authorizes one.
What size and shape should it be?
Any size and any shape, since no dimension exists in Maryland for this profession. Because nothing is prescribed, the size is yours. The round dies Acorn makes most often for unregulated devices fall between 1-1/2 and 2 inches, which is a legibility judgment from our own production rather than any rule.
Who endorses a Maryland submission that has to be endorsed?
The professional engineer. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-4A-02(a) requires the engineer’s original signature, date of signature and seal or facsimile, and § 14-4A-02(b) bars a public authority from accepting an engineering plan, specification or report that is not so endorsed. Where the work is surveying, the seal belongs to the professional land surveyor under § 15-502.
Does my geological report need a seal in Maryland?
No Maryland document requires a geologist seal. Geological reports supporting a Maryland environmental or construction filing are signed by their author, and where the submission itself must be endorsed that endorsement belongs to the professional engineer or the professional land surveyor.
Does Maryland set a digital signature standard I have to meet?
Not for you. The digital signature definition at COMAR 09.23.03.09E applies to professional engineers and the one at COMAR 09.21.02.03E to architects. Maryland has no geologist credential and therefore no electronic geologist seal standard, so a PDF graphic of your own stamp is governed by your own practice alone.
Does a Maryland geology firm need a permit?
No. Maryland issues no geology firm permit. The firm level requirement in the nearest regulated profession is Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402, which requires a corporation, partnership or limited liability company to hold a Board permit before operating a business through which engineering is practiced.
