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 Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design and Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Minnesota does not require a landscape architect to own or use a seal. Minn. R. 1800.4300 says each person “may, upon licensure or certification, also obtain a seal,” and that a stamped seal “may be used on documents in addition to the signed and dated certification required under part 1800.4200.” Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 is written the same way. There is no diameter to get right because there is no required seal.
What is compulsory is the certification. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 makes the certification and signature mandatory on plans, drawings, specifications, plats, reports and other documents that require a signature, and subp. 4 fixes your wording: “I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Landscape Architect under the laws of the state of Minnesota,” followed by your signature, your typed or printed name, the date and your license number. The practical purchase here is a certification block stamp, not a round seal.
If you do want the optional round seal, it is yours to size and shape, because no rule prescribes either. The rule gives it your name and the legend “licensed landscape architect” and no number. Beyond that the face is a design decision: your name, your firm name, a monogram, a logo, a credential you actually hold. Minnesota licensed you, so Licensed Landscape Architect is yours to use, but leave off any other state-issued title you were not granted, since titles are the part that states do restrict.
Minnesota landscape architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Minnesota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | No, but an optional seal is specified | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Required elements | On the optional seal: your name; On the optional seal: the legend “licensed landscape architect”; In the mandatory certification block: the prescribed landscape architect certification sentence; In the block: your signature; In the block: your typed or printed name; In the block: the date; In the block: your license number | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. No dimension appears in Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 or in Minn. R. 1800.4300, and the board publishes none. Checked both provisions in full and Minn. R. 1800.4200 in full. A Minnesota landscape. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 |
| Device allowed | For the optional seal, a regular seal with a rubber stamp facsimile permitted on tracings or on papers that a regular seal would damage. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subds. 2 and 3 |
| Signature and date | Signature, certification, license number and the date the signature was affixed travel together. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 |
| What must be sealed | Plans, drawings, specifications, reports and other documents prepared under Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02 to 326.15 that require a signature, with the certification page of each report named expressly in Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4a. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3 |
| Electronic seal | Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 permits the certification and signature to be “electronic, as defined by Minnesota Statutes, section 325L.02, paragraph (h); facsimile; or digital.” The cross-reference is to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act definition rather than to any design-profession standard. | Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 |
| Renewal and lapse | A seal may be used during the life of an unrevoked, unexpired and unsuspended license, and stamping after expiration, revocation or suspension is unlawful unless the license has been renewed or reissued. | Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 |
| Firm requirements | Minnesota registers firms offering landscape architecture services and issues a Firm Registration certificate, with professional firm status under Minn. Stat. ch. 319B available as a separate election. | Minn. Stat. ch. 319B |
| Regulator | The Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design | Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02, 326.03 and 326.12, with Minn. R. 1800.4200 and 1800.4300, from the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, and the board’s firm licensure information. |
Is a seal required in Minnesota?
Minnesota does not require a landscape architect to own or use a seal. Minn. R. 1800.4300: each person “may, upon licensure or certification, also obtain a seal,” and a stamped seal “may be used on documents in addition to the signed and dated certification required under part 1800.4200.” Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 is written the same way. The mandatory item is the certification: Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 provides that the certification and signature on plans, drawings, specifications, plats, reports and other documents that require a signature is mandatory, implementing Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3.
What must appear on the seal
- On the optional seal: your name
- On the optional seal: the legend “licensed landscape architect”
- In the mandatory certification block: the prescribed landscape architect certification sentence
- In the block: your signature
- In the block: your typed or printed name
- In the block: the date
- In the block: your license number
The optional seal carries only your name and the prescribed legend “licensed landscape architect,” with no number. The mandatory certification sentence in Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 reads: “I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Landscape Architect under the laws of the state of Minnesota.” Landscape architects share the plan, specification or report object with architects, engineers and certified interior designers, and differ from land surveyors, who certify a survey, plan or report, and from geologists and soil scientists, who certify a plan, document or report.
Size and shape
Not addressed. No dimension appears in Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 or in Minn. R. 1800.4300, and the board publishes none. Checked both provisions in full and Minn. R. 1800.4200 in full. A Minnesota landscape architect seal has no legally required size or shape, because there is no legally required seal.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
For the optional seal, a regular seal with a rubber stamp facsimile permitted on tracings or on papers that a regular seal would damage. For the mandatory certification, Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 allows electronic, facsimile or digital form. The practical purchase is a certification block stamp carrying the prescribed landscape architect sentence.
Signing and dating
Signature, certification, license number and the date the signature was affixed travel together. The certification and signature “must appear on all pages of plans and drawings that must be signed, but only on the first page of specifications, plats, reports, or other documents that must be signed.” Nothing requires signing across a seal. Once applied, the certification is permanent and “must not be removed at a later date for any reason.”
No seal is required, so there is no diameter to get right and one sentence to get exactly right
Landscape architects arriving in Minnesota from almost anywhere else expect a round stamp with a diameter in the rules. Minnesota has neither. Minn. R. 1800.4300 makes the seal optional in terms, and there is no rule anywhere in chapter 1800 or in Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02 to 326.15 requiring a seal on any document. The regulation prescribes the legend for a seal you may choose to own and says nothing at all about its size or shape.
What is compulsory is the certification block, and its wording is fixed by Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 for each of the board’s seven credentials. Yours reads “I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Landscape Architect under the laws of the state of Minnesota,” followed by signature, typed or printed name, date and license number.
Placement is the other thing to internalize. Every page of the plans and drawings takes the certification. Specifications and reports take it only on the first page. And the act is irreversible: subpart 5 says the signature “becomes a permanent part of that document and must not be removed at a later date for any reason.”
Which documents must be sealed
Plans, drawings, specifications, reports and other documents prepared under Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02 to 326.15 that require a signature, with the certification page of each report named expressly in Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4a. The statutory carve-out excludes documents of an intraoffice or intracompany nature and drafts or work of a preliminary, schematic or design development nature as judged by the licensed individuals who would normally be responsible for preparing them.
Electronic and digital seals
Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 permits the certification and signature to be “electronic, as defined by Minnesota Statutes, section 325L.02, paragraph (h); facsimile; or digital.” The cross-reference is to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act definition rather than to any design-profession standard. No certificate authority, algorithm or tamper-evidence test is named, and the only hard limit is that a stamped or printed signature must accurately depict your actual signature.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
A seal may be used during the life of an unrevoked, unexpired and unsuspended license, and stamping after expiration, revocation or suspension is unlawful unless the license has been renewed or reissued. Biennial renewal, with no change to the license number and no duty to surrender or destroy the device. The certification on a document already issued is permanent.
Firm requirements
Minnesota registers firms offering landscape architecture services and issues a Firm Registration certificate, with professional firm status under Minn. Stat. ch. 319B available as a separate election. No rule requires a firm registration number on a certified document, and the firm holds no seal; the certification names you in the first person.
What to check before you order
Ask for a certification block stamp rather than a round seal. Hand the supplier the landscape architect sentence from Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 in full and proofread the title line for “a duly Licensed Landscape Architect,” since a template lifted from the architect or engineer entry will otherwise carry the wrong title. Add ruled lines for Signature, Typed or Printed Name, Date and Lic. No. Size it to fit your sheet, because Minnesota prescribes no dimension for anything here. If you want the optional round seal too, it takes your name and the legend “licensed landscape architect” and carries no number.
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Frequently asked questions
Do Minnesota landscape architects need a seal?
No. Minn. R. 1800.4300 makes the seal optional in terms, and there is no rule anywhere in chapter 1800 or in Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02 to 326.15 requiring a seal on any document. The mandatory item is the certification under Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1, implementing Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 3.
What does Minnesota require instead of a seal?
A certification block. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 fixes the landscape architect sentence: “I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Landscape Architect under the laws of the state of Minnesota.” With it go your signature, your typed or printed name, the date the signature was affixed, and your license number. Landscape architects share the plan, specification or report object with architects, engineers and certified interior designers, and differ from land surveyors, who certify a survey, plan or report, and from geologists and soil scientists, who certify a plan, document or report.
What size is a Minnesota landscape architect seal?
There is no required size, because there is no required seal. No dimension appears in Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 or in Minn. R. 1800.4300, and the board publishes none. If you buy the optional seal, size and shape are yours to choose.
What can go on an optional Minnesota landscape architect seal?
The rule gives the optional seal your name and the legend “licensed landscape architect,” with no number. Past that, nothing is prescribed, so nothing is restricted: your firm name, a monogram, an address, a logo, or a credential you actually hold are all a matter of taste. Minnesota licensed you, so Licensed Landscape Architect is a title you are entitled to. Leave off any other state-issued title you were not granted, because that is the part that does get restricted.
What should I buy in Minnesota, a stamp or a block?
A certification block stamp is the practical purchase. Give your supplier the landscape architect sentence from Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4 in full and proofread the title line for “a duly Licensed Landscape Architect,” since a template lifted from the architect or engineer entry carries the wrong title. Add ruled lines for Signature, Typed or Printed Name, Date and Lic. No. For the optional seal, Minn. Stat. § 326.12, subd. 2 contemplates a regular seal with a rubber stamp facsimile permitted on tracings or on papers a regular seal would damage.
Where does the Minnesota certification go on a set?
The certification and signature “must appear on all pages of plans and drawings that must be signed, but only on the first page of specifications, plats, reports, or other documents that must be signed.” Nothing requires signing across a seal. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 4a names the certification page of each report expressly.
Can I remove a Minnesota certification later?
No. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 5 makes the act irreversible: once applied, the signature “becomes a permanent part of that document and must not be removed at a later date for any reason.”
Which Minnesota documents need the certification?
Plans, drawings, specifications, reports and other documents prepared under Minn. Stat. §§ 326.02 to 326.15 that require a signature. The statutory carve-out excludes documents of an intraoffice or intracompany nature and drafts or work of a preliminary, schematic or design development nature as judged by the licensed individuals who would normally be responsible for preparing them.
Can I certify electronically in Minnesota?
Yes. Minn. R. 1800.4200, subp. 1 permits the certification and signature to be “electronic, as defined by Minnesota Statutes, section 325L.02, paragraph (h); facsimile; or digital.” The cross-reference is to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act definition rather than to any design-profession standard. No certificate authority, algorithm or tamper-evidence test is named, and the only hard limit is that a stamped or printed signature must accurately depict your actual signature.
What happens to a Minnesota seal on lapse?
A seal may be used during the life of an unrevoked, unexpired and unsuspended license, and stamping after expiration, revocation or suspension is unlawful unless the license has been renewed or reissued. Renewal is biennial, the license number does not change, and there is no duty to surrender or destroy the device. A certification already applied to an issued document is permanent.
Does a Minnesota landscape architecture firm need registration?
Minnesota registers firms offering landscape architecture services and issues a Firm Registration certificate, with professional firm status under Minn. Stat. ch. 319B available as a separate election. No rule requires a firm registration number on a certified document, and the firm holds no seal: the certification names you in the first person.
