Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against Montana Board of Real Estate Appraisers, Business Standards Division, Montana Department of Labor and Industry on 22 September 2026 · Updated 22 September 2026
Montana puts its appraiser report marking rule inside a section about hanging your certificate on the wall, which is why it is so often missed. Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305 is headed Issuance and display of certificate. Its first three subsections deal with the paper credential: the Board issues a certificate and a pocket card, the certificate must include the dates of issuance and renewal, and a certified real estate appraiser shall conspicuously display the certificate at the appraiser’s principal place of business. Then subsection (4) changes subject entirely and becomes the report rule. Neither seal nor stamp appears anywhere in Title 37, chapter 54, or in the Board’s rule chapter at ARM 24.207.
Subsection (4) is what a Montana appraiser stamp is built around. A certified real estate appraiser shall designate the class for which the appraiser is certified and place the certificate number on each appraisal report, contract, or other instrument that the appraiser uses in conducting real estate appraisal activities. Two elements, on every instrument, not just the report. Montana does not tell you how to apply them, which means an ink stamp, an embosser, a graphic file or plain typing all discharge the duty equally.
Montana real estate appraiser seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Montana rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | No. Neither seal nor stamp occurs in Mont. Code Ann. Title 37 ch. 54 or in any rule of ARM ch. 24.207 | Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, ch. 54; ARM ch. 24.207 |
| Required elements | A designation of the class for which you are certified, plus the certificate number, on each appraisal report, contract or other instrument used in conducting real estate appraisal activities | Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(4) |
| Size and shape | Not prescribed. No diameter, dimension or shape appears in the statute or the rules, because no seal or stamp is prescribed at all | Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, ch. 54; ARM ch. 24.207 |
| Device allowed | Not restricted. Montana names no instrument and no medium, so the class and number may be typed, stamped, embossed or dropped in as an image | Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(4) |
| Signature and date | Not prescribed by Montana. The signed certification on an appraisal report comes from USPAP rather than from a Montana seal or signature rule | Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, ch. 54; ARM ch. 24.207 |
| What must be sealed | Nothing. The 37-54-305(4) duty reaches each appraisal report, contract or other instrument used in conducting real estate appraisal activities, and it is a text duty rather than a sealing duty | Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(4) |
| Electronic seal | Not addressed. Neither Title 37 ch. 54 nor the Board’s ARM compilation contains a provision on an electronic seal or on a digital signature applied to a transmitted report | Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, ch. 54; ARM ch. 24.207 |
| Renewal and lapse | No expiry date is required on the report. The certificate itself must show the dates of issuance and renewal and be displayed conspicuously at your principal place of business | Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(1) to (3) |
| Firm requirements | Where an appraisal management company is involved, the appraiser must list the AMC approved registration number in the body of the appraisal report | Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-518(2) |
| Regulator | Montana Board of Real Estate Appraisers, Business Standards Division, Montana Department of Labor and Industry | Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, ch. 54; rules at ARM Title 24, ch. 24.207 |
Does Montana require an appraiser to seal a report?
No. Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, chapter 54 covers appraisers across five parts: general provisions, licensure, certification, regulation of practice, and appraisal management companies. Neither the word seal nor the word stamp occurs in any of them. The same is true of the Board’s rule chapter, ARM 24.207. The single section most likely to carry a seal provision, 37-54-305, was read in full and contains neither word, and so was ARM 24.207.2301 on unprofessional conduct for appraisers, which is the other place a device duty would normally surface. Montana never had an appraiser seal rule to repeal, either: the legislative history of 37-54-305 runs from its enactment in 1991 through amendments in 1997 and 2003, and no version of it carried seal language.
The section that does the work, read carefully
Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(4) is the whole of the report marking duty: a certified real estate appraiser shall designate the class for which the appraiser is certified and place the certificate number on each appraisal report, contract, or other instrument that the appraiser uses in conducting real estate appraisal activities. The verb on the first element is designate rather than print a fixed phrase, so Montana leaves the exact wording of the class to you while insisting the class be identifiable. The second element is exact: the certificate number, not an abbreviation of it. And the reach is broad. Contracts and other instruments used in appraisal activity carry the duty as well, which is the strongest practical argument in Montana for a stamp rather than a report template footer.
The rest of section 305, which is about the wall not the report
The first three subsections of the same section deal with the paper credential and are worth separating out, because they are easy to blur into the report duty. The Board issues a certificate and a pocket card to a person who meets the qualification requirements. The certificate must include the dates of issuance and renewal of certification. And a certified real estate appraiser shall conspicuously display the certificate in the appraiser’s principal place of business. Those dates belong on the certificate hanging in your office. Nothing in Montana law moves them onto the face of an appraisal report, which is why a Montana die does not need an expiry line the way a Connecticut or Hawaii one does.
The second Montana number, which catches people out
There is a second number-on-report duty in the chapter, and it is not yours. Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-518(2) provides that an appraiser shall list the appraisal management company’s approved registration number in the body of the appraisal report. That applies when the assignment comes through a registered AMC, it changes with the company rather than with you, and it does not belong on a die. Keeping it off the stamp is the point: a die is for facts that stay the same across every report, and an AMC number is a fact about the engagement. Put it in the report body where the statute asks for it.
What to engrave, and where the block goes
Build the die from the two statutory elements and your name. A workable Montana layout is your name on the first line, the certification class on the second and the certificate number on the third, for example your name, then Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, then State of Montana Certificate No. followed by the number. Montana fixes no position for the block relative to anything else, so it goes where it reads naturally, which on a report is beside the signature on the certification page. On an engagement letter or a contract it goes with your name at signature. The class must be identifiable from the wording, so spell it out rather than reducing it to initials.
Embosser, ink stamp or eSeal image
With no instrument prescribed, pick for how the document travels. An embosser gives a raised impression that reads well in the hand and photographs and scans badly, which is a real limitation for a Montana practice delivering PDFs to lenders. An ink stamp reproduces cleanly and handles a long class line. A graphic file suits electronic delivery and prints nothing. Because 37-54-305(4) reaches contracts and other instruments as well as reports, a self-inking stamp tends to earn its place here faster than in states where the duty stops at the report, since engagement paperwork rarely runs through the same template as the appraisal.
Sizing and layout
Size is a legibility decision rather than a compliance one. The class line is the long element: Certified General Real Estate Appraiser and Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser both set better across a rectangle than around a circle, where the curve costs point size. If you prefer a round embosser, center the name, curve the class above it and curve the certificate number below. Whatever the shape, the certificate number has to survive a scan and a fax, so resist shrinking it to make room for decoration. Send us the exact lines and we will set them at the largest legible size the die allows.
Electronic delivery
Montana has no electronic seal standard for appraisers, because it has no seal standard at all. Neither the statute nor the Board’s rule chapter speaks to a digital signature on a transmitted report, so electronic delivery is governed by USPAP and by client requirements rather than by a state device rule. In Montana terms an image of your class and number block carries the same weight as the same text typed into the file. The Real Estate Appraiser eSeal Electronic Image Stamp of Seal is $20.00 and is supplied as an image file you place in the report yourself.
Renewal, class changes and when a die goes stale
Because the dates of issuance and renewal live on the certificate rather than on the report, a Montana die survives renewals untouched. It retires when one of the two engraved facts changes. Moving from a residential to a general certification changes the class you must designate and commonly the number with it. A legal name change changes the name line. Nothing else forces new artwork, so most Montana appraisers get many years out of one die. Order the replacement once the new certificate is in hand, so the number on the die matches the number on the wall.
One limitation worth stating
The statutory side of this page was read on the Montana Legislature’s own MCA host, and the conclusion there is firm. The rules side has a gap. The live rules.mt.gov chapter browser returned an HTTP 405 error through this environment, so ARM ch. 24.207 was read instead from the Board’s own published compilation of the chapter, which is current as of 30 June 2021, alongside a republisher’s enumeration of the current rule titles. Neither seal nor stamp appears in either. The repealed rules in the chapter are 24.207.402, .403, .408, .503, .505, .506, .507, .510 and .520, and none of them is a seal rule. A post-2021 amendment adding one could not be ruled out from the live source, and nothing in the Board’s rule notices suggests one exists. Confirm with the Board if your client is asking for a sealed report.
Ordering, and what it costs
Send the lines exactly as you want them read, with the certificate number as it appears on your certificate. We set the artwork, send a proof and cut nothing until you approve it. For ink, the Real Estate Appraiser Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal is $39.95 and the Real Estate Appraiser MaxLight Pre Inked Rubber Stamp of Seal is $46.95. For a raised impression the Real Estate Appraiser Hybrid Seal Embosser is $42.95 and the Real Estate Appraiser Handheld Seal Embosser is $46.95.
Care, and what this page is
Re-ink a self-inking stamp from above instead of replacing it, let it stand a moment before the next impression, and clean lint out of the lettering with a soft brush. An embosser wants a dry drawer and a straight press. Keep both out of direct sun. This page is a research summary of Mont. Code Ann. Title 37 ch. 54 and ARM ch. 24.207 as they read on 22 September 2026, and it is not legal advice. Browse real estate appraiser stamps and seals, or contact us with your wording.
Frequently asked questions
Does Montana require a real estate appraiser to have a seal?
No. Neither seal nor stamp occurs anywhere in Mont. Code Ann. Title 37, chapter 54, or in the Board of Real Estate Appraisers’ rule chapter at ARM 24.207, and no repealed Montana appraiser seal rule was found.
What does Montana require on an appraisal report?
Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(4) requires a certified real estate appraiser to designate the class for which the appraiser is certified and to place the certificate number on each appraisal report, contract, or other instrument used in conducting real estate appraisal activities.
Does the duty stop at the report?
No. The subsection names each appraisal report, contract, or other instrument used in conducting real estate appraisal activities, so engagement letters and appraisal contracts carry the class and number too.
Does the certificate expiry date go on the report?
No. Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-305(2) puts the dates of issuance and renewal on the certificate itself, and 37-54-305(3) requires that certificate to be displayed conspicuously at your principal place of business. Nothing moves those dates onto a report.
Should the AMC registration number go on my stamp?
No. Mont. Code Ann. 37-54-518(2) requires the appraisal management company’s approved registration number in the body of the report, and that number changes with the engagement rather than with you, so it belongs in the report text and not on a die.
Can I use an electronic image instead of a physical stamp?
Yes, so far as Montana is concerned. No Montana provision names an instrument or addresses electronic seals, so an image carries the same weight as typed text provided the class and the certificate number read correctly.
Is the Montana research complete?
The statute is confirmed from the Legislature’s own host. The rule chapter was read from the Board’s own published compilation current to 30 June 2021 because the live rules portal was unreachable, so a later amendment could not be ruled out from the live source. Nothing in the Board’s notices suggests a seal rule was added.
When do I need new artwork?
When your certification class changes or your certificate number changes, which usually happens together, or when your legal name changes. A routine renewal on the same certification does not change either engraved element.
