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 Mississippi State Board of Architecture and 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4, 3.2.4 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Your license is not active until the Board has your seal imprint. Rule 3.4 turns the stamp into a licensing condition: a sample of the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint must reach the Board within sixty days of the date on the Official Notice of Registration letter, and until the Board or its designee has received and approved the seal, “The architect’s license shall not be considered active, thus practice will not be allowed.” Order the device before the sixty days start running, not after the first project arrives.
The seal is circular and one and one-half inches in diameter, carrying your name, your registration number and the words Registered Architect State of Mississippi. That is a single figure rather than a range. Do not size it from a neighboring Mississippi board: the Landscape Architecture Advisory Committee sets two inches at Pt. 202, R. 1.11.1, and the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors allows 1 5/8 to 2 inches at Pt. 901, R. 6.2.2.b. The architect figure is the smallest.
The signature goes over the stamp, not beside it. Rule 3.2.4 permits a manual, electronic or digital signature and requires it and the date of execution to appear over the stamp on all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control.
Mississippi architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Mississippi rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4, 3.2.4 |
| Required elements | Your name, Your registration number and Registered Architect State of Mississippi | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4 |
| Size and shape | Circular and one and one-half inches in diameter. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4 |
| Device allowed | Two devices are named in the rule: an official seal or a rubber stamp. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4, 3.2.4 |
| Signature and date | Signature and date of execution, over the stamp. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.2.4 |
| What must be sealed | Drawings, specifications and contract documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control, which rule 3.2.4 describes as the purpose of the stamp. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.2.4, 3.4 |
| Electronic seal | Mississippi permits an electronic or digital signature for architects and says nothing about an electronic seal image. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.2.4 |
| Renewal and lapse | Mississippi makes the seal a condition of an active license, which is unusual. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4 |
| Firm requirements | Not addressed in the seal provisions. | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201, R. 3.4 (no firm element on the seal) |
| Regulator | The Mississippi State Board of Architecture | 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 201 (Mississippi State Board of Architecture), rules 3.2.4 and 3.4 (Seal of Registrant), read from the Part 201 rule document published by the Mississippi Secretary of State in the Mississippi Administrative Code (system number 282, last amended 5/7/2026) |
Is a seal required in Mississippi?
Rule 3.4, headed Seal of Registrant, creates the duty on registration: “Upon official notification of registration, the architect shall secure an official seal or rubber stamp for use in this state.” Rule 3.2.4 supplies the use rule and ties the signature to it: each architect obtains a stamp for properly identifying drawings, specifications and contract documents, and “The manual, electronic, or digital signature of the architect and date of execution shall appear over the stamp on all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control.”
What must appear on the seal
- Your name
- Your registration number
- Registered Architect State of Mississippi
Three elements and a fixed shape. Mississippi says Registered Architect, where its own surveying board says licensed professional surveyor and its landscape architecture rules say Registered Landscape Architect. Nothing about a firm, a discipline or an expiry date is authorized on the face. The one thing Mississippi adds that almost no other state does is an approval step: a sample of the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint must be furnished to the Board within sixty days of the date shown on the Official Notice of Registration letter.
Size and shape
Circular and one and one-half inches in diameter. Rule 3.4: “Seals are to be circular in form and 1 ½ inches in diameter.” A single figure, not a range. Note the divergence inside Mississippi: the Landscape Architecture Advisory Committee rules at 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 202, R. 1.11.1 set a two inch seal, and the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors sets a range of 1 5/8 to 2 inches at 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 901, R. 6.2.2.b.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Two devices are named in the rule: an official seal or a rubber stamp. Rule 3.4 requires a sample of “the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint” to be furnished to the Board, which confirms that either is acceptable. The safe buy is a rubber stamp at one and one-half inches, because rule 3.2.4 requires the signature and the date of execution to appear over the stamp and both have to read on the documents that leave the office.
Signing and dating
Signature and date of execution, over the stamp. Rule 3.2.4 permits the signature to be manual, electronic or digital, and fixes its position: it and the date of execution “shall appear over the stamp on all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control.” Over, not beside. That is the same convention the Mississippi landscape architecture rules use at Pt. 202, R. 1.11.3, and it is different from the Mississippi engineer and surveyor practice, where the Board’s guidance treats the seal, signature and date as a set without a superimposition rule.
Your license is not active until the Board has your seal imprint
Rule 3.4 turns the stamp into a licensing condition. A sample of the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint must reach the Board within sixty days of the date on the Official Notice of Registration letter, and until the Board or its designee has received and approved the seal, “The architect’s license shall not be considered active, thus practice will not be allowed.” Order the device before the sixty days start running, not after the first project arrives.
Which documents must be sealed
Drawings, specifications and contract documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control, which rule 3.2.4 describes as the purpose of the stamp. The sources here are Part 201 for every seal and stamp provision. Take any further document-specific requirement from the current text of Part 201 rather than from the landscape architecture rules in Part 202, which carry their own list of original sheets, project manual cover and index pages and addenda.
Electronic and digital seals
Mississippi permits an electronic or digital signature for architects and says nothing about an electronic seal image. Rule 3.2.4 allows the signature to be manual, electronic or digital, and requires it and the date of execution to appear over the stamp. No certificate authority, cryptographic standard, verification criteria or stripping language for uncertified transmissions appears in the seal and stamp provisions of Part 201 that we read. Confirm the electronic seal position with the Board before relying on a fully electronic Mississippi architectural document.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Mississippi makes the seal a condition of an active license, which is unusual. Rule 3.4 provides that a sample of the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint must be furnished to the Board within sixty days of the date on the Official Notice of Registration letter, and that “The architect’s license shall not be considered active, thus practice will not be allowed, until the Board or its designee has received and approved the architect’s seal.” A newly registered Mississippi architect who has not sent in the imprint cannot practice. Not addressed in the provisions we read: what happens to the device on expiration, suspension or revocation, and whether the registration number changes on reinstatement.
Firm requirements
Not addressed in the seal provisions. Rule 3.4 limits the face to the architect’s name, registration number and the Registered Architect State of Mississippi wording, and puts no firm name or firm number on it. The sources here are Part 201 for every seal and stamp provision. Take any certificate of authority requirement for architectural entities from the current text of Part 201 and from Miss. Code Ann. Title 73 ch. 1 rather than by analogy to the Mississippi engineering and surveying regime, where Miss. Code Ann. § 73-13-43 requires a certificate of authority for firms but puts no firm number on the sealed document.
What to check before you order
Order a circular device exactly one and one-half inches in diameter carrying your name, your registration number and the words Registered Architect State of Mississippi. An official seal or a rubber stamp both qualify, and a rubber stamp is the practical choice because your signature and the date of execution have to appear over the stamp. Send the Board a sample of the impression or imprint within sixty days of the date on your Official Notice of Registration letter; your license is not active and you may not practice until the Board has received and approved the seal. Sign and date over the stamp on all documents you prepared or that were prepared under your responsible control; the signature may be manual, electronic or digital. Do not order to the two inch Mississippi landscape architect figure.
Browse architect stamps and seals.
- How to Easily Place Your Mississippi Architect Stamp Order
- How to Use the Mississippi Architectural Embossed Stamp
Frequently asked questions
Is an architect seal required in Mississippi?
Yes, from the moment you are registered. Rule 3.4, headed Seal of Registrant, provides that “Upon official notification of registration, the architect shall secure an official seal or rubber stamp for use in this state.” Rule 3.2.4 supplies the use rule: each architect obtains a stamp for properly identifying drawings, specifications and contract documents.
What has to appear on a Mississippi architect seal?
Three elements under rule 3.4: your name, your registration number, and the words Registered Architect State of Mississippi. Mississippi says Registered Architect, where its own surveying board says licensed professional surveyor and its landscape architecture rules say Registered Landscape Architect. Nothing about a firm, a discipline or an expiry date is authorized on the face.
What size is a Mississippi architect seal?
Rule 3.4: “Seals are to be circular in form and 1 ½ inches in diameter.” A single figure, not a range, and not the two inch figure the same Board’s landscape architecture rules set.
Do I have to send my seal imprint to the Mississippi Board?
Yes, within sixty days of the date shown on the Official Notice of Registration letter. Rule 3.4 requires a sample of the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint to be furnished to the Board, and makes the license inactive until the Board or its designee has received and approved it. That approval step is unusual, and it gates practice rather than merely recording the device.
Can I use an embosser in Mississippi?
Two devices are named: an official seal or a rubber stamp. Rule 3.4 requires a sample of “the seal impression or rubber stamp imprint” to be furnished to the Board, which confirms either is acceptable. A rubber stamp at one and one-half inches is the practical buy, because rule 3.2.4 requires the signature and the date of execution to appear over the stamp and both have to read on the documents that leave the office.
Where do the signature and date go in Mississippi?
Over the stamp. Rule 3.2.4 fixes the position: the signature and the date of execution “shall appear over the stamp on all documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control.” Over, not beside. A stamp placed in a clean corner with a signature elsewhere on the sheet is not what the rule describes. The same convention appears in the Mississippi landscape architecture rules at Pt. 202, R. 1.11.3.
Can my Mississippi signature be electronic?
Yes. Rule 3.2.4 permits the signature to be manual, electronic or digital, and requires it and the date of execution to appear over the stamp. What the rule does not address is an electronic seal image: no certificate authority, cryptographic standard, verification criteria or stripping language for uncertified transmissions appears in the seal and stamp provisions of Part 201. Confirm the electronic seal position with the Board before relying on a fully electronic Mississippi architectural document.
Which documents have to be sealed in Mississippi?
Drawings, specifications and contract documents prepared by the architect or under the architect’s responsible control, which rule 3.2.4 describes as the purpose of the stamp. Take any further document-specific requirement from the current text of Part 201 rather than from the landscape architecture rules in Part 202, which carry their own list of original sheets, project manual cover and index pages and addenda.
What happens to my Mississippi seal if my registration lapses?
The seal provisions do not say. Rule 3.4 and rule 3.2.4 govern securing, approving and using the device, and neither addresses what happens on expiration, suspension or revocation, or whether the registration number changes on reinstatement.
Does a Mississippi firm name go on the seal?
No. Rule 3.4 limits the face to your name, registration number and the Registered Architect State of Mississippi wording, with no firm name and no firm number. Take any certificate of authority requirement for architectural entities from the current text of Part 201 and from Miss. Code Ann. Title 73 ch. 1 rather than by analogy to the Mississippi engineering and surveying regime, where Miss. Code Ann. § 73-13-43 requires a certificate of authority for firms but puts no firm number on the sealed document.
