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 Maryland State Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects and Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
The rubber stamp is an addition to the impression seal, not a replacement for it. COMAR 09.28.01.05 is headed Embossing Seals and Rubber Stamp Facsimiles, and the two halves do different jobs. Subsection A has you obtain an individual seal for the sealing and signing that Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 requires. Subsection B permits a rubber stamp facsimile of that seal, together with your live signature, on tracings and prints made from them “to produce legible reproduction of the drawings,” and then says expressly that this “does not in any manner modify the requirements of Business Occupations and Professions Article, § 9-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, in reference to use of the impression seal and signature.”
The content list is short: “The seal shall imprint the name of the landscape architect and the license number.” That is the whole of it. The pictorial Great Seal of Maryland, which many suppliers treat as the Maryland signature element, is required by COMAR 09.23.01.03 for professional engineers and by COMAR 09.18.02.06C for certified interior designers. It is not required here, and neither is an expiration date, a firm name or the state name.
No diameter appears anywhere in COMAR 09.28 or in § 9-501, so size for legibility. Do not import the two inch figure that COMAR 09.18.02.06D gives Maryland certified interior designers.
Maryland landscape architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Maryland rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 |
| Required elements | The name of the landscape architect and The license number | COMAR 09.28.01.05A |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. No diameter appears in COMAR 09.28 or in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501. The sources here are the chapter list for COMAR 09.28, which is chapter 01 General Regulations, chapter 02 Code. | COMAR 09.28.01.05 (silent) |
| Device allowed | Two devices, and the regulation is headed with both. | COMAR 09.28.01.05A, B |
| Signature and date | Sign, seal and date, all three, under Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501, before the document is issued to a client or submitted to a public authority. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 |
| What must be sealed | Any final drawing, plan, specification, report or other document issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, under § 9-501, sealed and signed by the landscape architect who prepared or approved it. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 |
| Electronic seal | Not addressed. COMAR 09.28 contains no electronic or digital seal provision and no digital signature criteria. Its four chapters are General Regulations, Code of Ethics, Fees and Continuing Professional Competency. | COMAR 09.28 (silent) |
| Renewal and lapse | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 reserves the endorsement to a licensed landscape architect. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 |
| Firm requirements | Not addressed. COMAR 09.28 prescribes no landscape architecture firm permit and no firm seal, and the two elements at 09.28.01.05A are both individual. That contrasts with Maryland architects, whose COMAR 09.21.02.04. | COMAR 09.28.01.05A |
| Regulator | The Maryland State Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. tit. 9, § 9-501, read from the Maryland General Assembly |
Is a seal required in Maryland?
The statute states the duty in one sentence. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 provides that “Before a licensed landscape architect issues to a client or submits to a public authority any final drawing, plan, specification, report, or other document, the licensed landscape architect who prepared or approved the document shall sign, seal, and date the document.” COMAR 09.28.01.05A then requires each licensed landscape architect to obtain an individual seal for use on documents prepared by the licensee or under the licensee’s supervision, imprinting the name of the landscape architect and the license number.
What must appear on the seal
- The name of the landscape architect
- The license number
Two elements, and no Great Seal of Maryland. COMAR 09.28.01.05A states the content plainly: “The seal shall imprint the name of the landscape architect and the license number.” The pictorial device of the Great Seal of Maryland that COMAR 09.23.01.03 requires of professional engineers and COMAR 09.18.02.06C requires of certified interior designers is not part of this device. No expiration date, no firm name, and no state name is stated as a required element in the regulation.
Size and shape
Not addressed. No diameter appears in COMAR 09.28 or in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501. The sources here are the chapter list for COMAR 09.28, which is chapter 01 General Regulations, chapter 02 Code of Ethics, chapter 03 Fees and chapter 04 Continuing Professional Competency Requirements, the regulation list for 09.28.01, which is.01 Definitions,.02 Filing of Applications,.03 Examinations,.04 Qualifications for Examination and.05 Embossing Seals and Rubber Stamp Facsimiles, and read.05 in full. Do not import the two inch figure that COMAR 09.18.02.06D gives Maryland certified interior designers.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Two devices, and the regulation is headed with both. COMAR 09.28.01.05 is titled Embossing Seals and Rubber Stamp Facsimiles. Subsection A contemplates the impression seal for the sealing and signing required by § 9-501. Subsection B then provides that “A rubber stamp facsimile of the seal and the live signature of the landscape architect may be applied to tracings to produce legible reproduction of the drawings or to prints made from the tracings,” and adds that this “does not in any manner modify the requirements of Business Occupations and Professions Article, § 9-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, in reference to use of the impression seal and signature.” So the rubber stamp is a reproduction aid layered on top of the impression seal, not a substitute for it. Buy both.
Signing and dating
Sign, seal and date, all three, under Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501, before the document is issued to a client or submitted to a public authority. COMAR 09.28.01.05B speaks of the “live signature” of the landscape architect when describing what may be applied to tracings and prints, which is the regulation’s way of distinguishing the real signature from the stamped reproduction. Neither instrument states where the signature goes relative to the seal and neither names an ink color.
The rubber stamp is an addition to the impression seal, not a replacement for it
COMAR 09.28.01.05 is headed Embossing Seals and Rubber Stamp Facsimiles, and the two halves do different jobs. Subsection A has you obtain an individual seal for the sealing and signing that Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 requires. Subsection B permits a rubber stamp facsimile of the seal, together with your live signature, on tracings and on prints made from them, “to produce legible reproduction of the drawings,” and then says expressly that this “does not in any manner modify the requirements of Business Occupations and Professions Article, § 9-501… in reference to use of the impression seal and signature.” The stamp is a reproduction tool. The impression seal is still the seal.
Which documents must be sealed
Any final drawing, plan, specification, report or other document issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, under § 9-501, sealed and signed by the landscape architect who prepared or approved it. COMAR 09.28.01.05A ties the individual seal to “documents prepared by the licensee or under the licensee’s supervision.” The word final in the statute is the carve out for work in progress, and COMAR 09.28 states no separate preliminary or draft marking rule, which we confirmed by reading the chapter and regulation lists and 09.28.01.05 in full.
Electronic and digital seals
Not addressed. COMAR 09.28 contains no electronic or digital seal provision and no digital signature criteria. Its four chapters are General Regulations, Code of Ethics, Fees and Continuing Professional Competency Requirements, and the only sealing regulation, 09.28.01.05, contemplates an impression seal and a rubber stamp facsimile. That is a gap beside the Maryland architects rule at COMAR 09.21.02.03E and F, which defines a digital signature and imposes a View Format transmission rule, and beside the Maryland engineers rule at COMAR 09.23.03.09E.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 reserves the endorsement to a licensed landscape architect. Fees sit in COMAR 09.28.03 and continuing professional competency in COMAR 09.28.04. Because the seal carries a license number and no expiration date, renewal does not make the device stale and the number does not change. Nothing in COMAR 09.28 requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered.
Firm requirements
Not addressed. COMAR 09.28 prescribes no landscape architecture firm permit and no firm seal, and the two elements at 09.28.01.05A are both individual. That contrasts with Maryland architects, whose COMAR 09.21.02.04 requires an entity titleblock carrying the entity name and a principal’s certification, and with Maryland engineers, where Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402 requires a firm permit.
What to check before you order
Buy two devices, not one. COMAR 09.28.01.05A points at an impression seal for the sealing and signing that Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 requires, and 09.28.01.05B separately permits a rubber stamp facsimile of that seal, with your live signature, for producing legible reproductions on tracings and prints. The face carries two items: the name of the landscape architect and the license number. Do not add the pictorial Great Seal of Maryland, which belongs to the Maryland professional engineer and certified interior designer seals. Maryland states no diameter here, so size for legibility. Sign, seal and date every final drawing, plan, specification, report or other document before you issue or submit it.
Browse landscape architect stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for landscape architects in Maryland?
Yes. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 9-501 provides that “Before a licensed landscape architect issues to a client or submits to a public authority any final drawing, plan, specification, report, or other document, the licensed landscape architect who prepared or approved the document shall sign, seal, and date the document.” COMAR 09.28.01.05A requires each licensed landscape architect to obtain an individual seal for use on documents prepared by the licensee or under the licensee’s supervision.
What has to appear on a Maryland landscape architect seal?
Two things. COMAR 09.28.01.05A states it plainly: “The seal shall imprint the name of the landscape architect and the license number.” No Great Seal of Maryland, no expiration date, no firm name, and no state name is stated as a required element in the regulation.
What size is a Maryland landscape architect seal?
Maryland does not state one. No diameter appears in COMAR 09.28, whose chapters are General Regulations, Code of Ethics, Fees and Continuing Professional Competency Requirements, nor in § 9-501. Size for legibility, and do not import the two inch figure COMAR 09.18.02.06D gives Maryland certified interior designers.
Do I need both an embosser and a rubber stamp in Maryland?
The regulation points at both. Subsection A contemplates the impression seal for the sealing and signing § 9-501 requires, and subsection B permits a rubber stamp facsimile of the seal with your live signature on tracings and prints to produce legible reproductions, while stating that it does not modify the § 9-501 requirements about the impression seal and signature. The stamp is a reproduction tool; the impression seal is still the seal.
What does live signature mean in the Maryland rule?
It is the regulation’s way of distinguishing your real signature from a stamped reproduction. COMAR 09.28.01.05B speaks of the “live signature” of the landscape architect when describing what may be applied to tracings and prints alongside the rubber stamp facsimile. Neither the statute nor the regulation states where the signature goes relative to the seal, and neither names an ink color.
Which Maryland documents have to be signed, sealed and dated?
Any final drawing, plan, specification, report or other document issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, sealed and signed by the landscape architect who prepared or approved it. COMAR 09.28.01.05A ties the individual seal to “documents prepared by the licensee or under the licensee’s supervision.” The word final in the statute is the carve out for work in progress, and COMAR 09.28 states no separate preliminary or draft marking rule.
Is an electronic Maryland landscape architect seal allowed?
COMAR 09.28 contains no electronic or digital seal provision and no digital signature criteria. The only sealing regulation, 09.28.01.05, contemplates an impression seal and a rubber stamp facsimile. That is a gap beside the Maryland architects rule at COMAR 09.21.02.03E and F, which defines a digital signature and imposes a View Format transmission rule, and beside the Maryland engineers rule at COMAR 09.23.03.09E. Treat an electronic Maryland landscape architect seal as unaddressed rather than authorized.
Does renewal change a Maryland landscape architect seal?
No. The seal carries a license number and no expiration date, so renewal does not make the device stale and the number does not change. Fees sit in COMAR 09.28.03 and continuing professional competency in COMAR 09.28.04. Nothing in COMAR 09.28 requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered.
Does a Maryland landscape architecture firm need a permit or a seal?
COMAR 09.28 prescribes no landscape architecture firm permit and no firm seal, and the two elements at 09.28.01.05A are both individual. That contrasts with Maryland architects, whose COMAR 09.21.02.04 requires an entity titleblock carrying the entity name and a principal’s certification, and with Maryland engineers, where Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402 requires a firm permit.
