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 New Jersey State Board of Architects, through its Licensed Landscape Architect committee and N.J.A.C. 13:27 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
The famous New Jersey ban on rubber stamp seals does not reach landscape architects. That prohibition sits in N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(a), a rule of the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Landscape architects are not that board’s licensees. Anyone extending that two profession rule to you is extending it past its chapter, and the same goes for the FIPS PUB 186-4 digital seal standard at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A and the title block rule at 13:40-8.3.
New Jersey licenses landscape architects through the State Board of Architects rather than through a separate board. The Division of Consumer Affairs lists a Licensed Landscape Architect committee among its boards and committees, and the Board of Architects directs applications, complaints, examinations, verification of licensure, renewals and reinstatements to its own staff. The sealing rules therefore live in N.J.A.C. 13:27, the architects chapter.
Ask the Board for the current codified landscape architect sealing text before you order anything. The Board no longer publishes the chapter itself: its Laws and Regulations page points to the Office of Administrative Law text hosted on LexisNexis, which requires accepting terms and conditions before the text opens, and otherwise to an unofficial code the Board itself flags as possibly not current. The elements, the size and the permitted device all sit in that text.
New Jersey landscape architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | New Jersey rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Conditional | N.J.A.C. 13:27 |
| Required elements | A serrated outer border of fine radial ticks; The words “STATE OF NEW JERSEY” around the upper arc; Your place name on a second line beneath it; The words “LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” around the lower arc; The word “LICENSED” beneath the legend; Your license number in the center, in the form “AS00123”; A dotted inner ring enclosing the center block | Acorn Sales production artwork, New Jersey landscape architect seal |
| Size and shape | This is what Acorn actually makes for New Jersey, taken from our own production artwork rather than from a published rule. | Acorn Sales production artwork, New Jersey landscape architect seal |
| Device allowed | Not verified for landscape architects specifically. | New Jersey State Board of Architects, Frequently Asked Questions (fee schedule) |
| Signature and date | Not addressed from a primary source. | N.J.A.C. 13:27, codified text not retrieved |
| What must be sealed | Not addressed from a primary source. | N.J.A.C. 13:27, codified text not retrieved |
| Electronic seal | Not addressed from a primary source. | N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A (engineers and land surveyors only) |
| Renewal and lapse | Handled by the State Board of Architects, which states that it manages landscape architect renewals and reinstatements directly. | New Jersey State Board of Architects, Frequently Asked Questions |
| Firm requirements | Yes, and it is its own certificate. | New Jersey State Board of Architects, Frequently Asked Questions (Certificate of Authorization) |
| Regulator | The New Jersey State Board of Architects, through its Licensed Landscape Architect committee | N.J.A.C. 13:27, Architects regulations, cited but not retrieved |
Is a seal required in New Jersey?
New Jersey licenses landscape architects, and it does so through the State Board of Architects rather than through a separate board. The Division of Consumer Affairs lists a Licensed Landscape Architect committee among its professional and occupational boards and committees, and the Board of Architects directs all landscape architect matters, including applications, complaints, examinations, verification of licensure, renewals and reinstatements, to its own staff. The sealing duty therefore sits in N.J.A.C. 13:27, the architects chapter, rather than in N.J.A.C. 13:40. The codified sealing text is not published in readable form and is identified below as a named gap, so the requirement is recorded as conditional on that text rather than asserted.
What must appear on the seal
- A serrated outer border of fine radial ticks
- The words “STATE OF NEW JERSEY” around the upper arc
- Your place name on a second line beneath it
- The words “LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT” around the lower arc
- The word “LICENSED” beneath the legend
- Your license number in the center, in the form “AS00123”
- A dotted inner ring enclosing the center block
The list above is Acorn’s own production artwork, not a published specification. It is what we cut and ship for this credential, and it is offered as a starting point rather than as the rule. As for what the state itself publishes: Not addressed from a primary source. The Board’s Laws and Regulations page points to N.J.A.C. 13:27 through the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law text hosted on LexisNexis, which requires accepting terms and conditions before the text opens, and otherwise to the Justia unofficial code, which the Board itself flags as possibly not current. We did not accept the terms gate and we do not treat an unofficial republication as primary. Ask the Board for the codified landscape architect sealing paragraphs before ordering any device.
Size and shape
This is what Acorn actually makes for New Jersey, taken from our own production artwork rather than from a published rule. The board prescribes no diameter, height or proportion for this credential. What follows is the die we cut. The printed die measures about 1-1/2 inches across, drawn inside a 1-5/8 inch guide. The number carries the AS prefix New Jersey uses for landscape architects, which is worth checking against your license before artwork is approved.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not verified for landscape architects specifically. What is verifiable is that this Board deals in seal presses: its published fee schedule lists a Replacement or Duplicate Seal Press Fee of forty dollars. That fee appears in the architect fee list, and whether the same arrangement governs the Board’s landscape architect licensees could not be confirmed. An impression device is the conservative assumption for a Board that charges for seal presses, but confirm with the Board before buying anything.
Signing and dating
Not addressed from a primary source. Whether a New Jersey landscape architect signs across the seal, signs adjacent to it, or dates beside it sits in N.J.A.C. 13:27. The draft signing rule at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(f) and the title block rule at 13:40-8.3 belong to the engineers and land surveyors board and do not bind this Board’s licensees.
Landscape architecture is its own authorization, under the architects’ board
New Jersey licenses landscape architects, and the place to look is not where most people look. There is no separate New Jersey board of landscape architects. The Division of Consumer Affairs lists a Licensed Landscape Architect committee, and the State Board of Architects handles applications, complaints, examinations, verifications, renewals and reinstatements for the credential. The rules live in N.J.A.C. 13:27, the architects chapter.
Which documents must be sealed
Not addressed from a primary source. The list of landscape architectural documents that must be sealed in New Jersey sits in N.J.A.C. 13:27. What the Board does publish, and what matters for scope, is that landscape architecture is a distinct authorization in New Jersey: a firm offering it needs its own certificate of authorization from this Board, separate from the architecture certificate.
Electronic and digital seals
Not addressed from a primary source. The FIPS PUB 186-4 digital signature and seal standard at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A belongs to the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Whether the State Board of Architects has adopted an equivalent standard for landscape architects in N.J.A.C. 13:27 could not be verified. The Division of Consumer Affairs has been adopting Digital Signature and Seals rules board by board, including adoptions effective May 18, 2026 for the master plumbers board and the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors board, which is a reason to check the Board’s adoption notices rather than assume.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Handled by the State Board of Architects, which states that it manages landscape architect renewals and reinstatements directly. The architect side of the Board’s published fee schedule shows the pattern: biennial renewal, a fifty dollar late fee and a one hundred dollar reinstatement application fee, with reinstatement requiring the application, the reinstatement fee, all delinquent biennial renewal fees and documented continuing education for each inactive period. The landscape architect specific fee figures and the effect of lapse on the seal were not verified.
Firm requirements
Yes, and it is its own certificate. The Board states plainly that a firm wishing to offer architecture, landscape architecture and engineering needs three certificates of authorization: one from the State Board of Architects to offer architecture, “a second one from the New Jersey State Board of Architects to offer the services of landscape architecture and a third one from the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors to offer the services of engineering.” Landscape architecture is therefore a separately authorized service in New Jersey even though it shares a board with architecture.
What to check before you order
Ask the New Jersey State Board of Architects for the current codified landscape architect sealing text in N.J.A.C. 13:27 before you order anything, because the Board no longer publishes the chapter itself and the free online versions are either behind a terms of use gate or flagged by the Board as possibly not current. Do not buy to the engineers and land surveyors rule: N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1, with its refusal of rubber stamp facsimiles and its FIPS PUB 186-4 digital seal standard, belongs to a different board and does not govern you. Note that this Board deals in seal presses, charging forty dollars for a replacement or duplicate, so an impression device is the conservative expectation until the Board tells you otherwise.
Browse landscape architect stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Which New Jersey board licenses landscape architects?
The State Board of Architects. There is no separate New Jersey board of landscape architects. The Division of Consumer Affairs lists a Licensed Landscape Architect committee, and the Board of Architects handles applications, complaints, examinations, verifications, renewals and reinstatements for the credential. The rules live in N.J.A.C. 13:27.
Does New Jersey ban rubber stamp seals for landscape architects?
The rule people are thinking of, N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(a), belongs to the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and refuses rubber stamp facsimiles for that board’s licensees. It does not reach landscape architects, who answer to a different board and a different chapter. What applies to you is whatever N.J.A.C. 13:27 says, which is a question for the Board.
What has to appear on a New Jersey landscape architect seal?
That is set by the current codified text of N.J.A.C. 13:27, which the Board no longer publishes directly. The free online versions are either behind a terms of use gate or flagged by the Board as possibly not current, so ask the Board for the codified landscape architect sealing paragraphs before ordering any device rather than working from an unofficial republication. Acorn’s own production artwork carries a serrated outer border, STATE OF NEW JERSEY on the upper arc with the place name beneath it, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT on the lower arc over the word LICENSED, the license number in the AS form in the center, and a dotted inner ring. That is what we cut, not a published specification.
What size is a New Jersey landscape architect seal?
No diameter could be verified from a primary source. It is not in the Board of Architects home page, its Laws and Regulations page or its Frequently Asked Questions including the full fee schedule. Do not assume the engineers and land surveyors treatment at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1, which is a different board’s rule and is itself silent on size. Acorn’s own production artwork for this seal prints at about 1-1/2 inches inside a 1-5/8 inch guide. That is our production record rather than a published rule, so the board remains the authority if it later publishes a figure.
Embosser or stamp for a New Jersey landscape architect?
The conservative assumption is an impression device, because this Board deals in seal presses: its published fee schedule lists a Replacement or Duplicate Seal Press Fee of forty dollars. That fee appears in the architect fee list, and whether the same arrangement governs the Board’s landscape architect licensees could not be confirmed. Confirm with the Board before buying.
Does a New Jersey landscape architect sign across the seal?
Whether you sign across the seal, sign adjacent to it, or date beside it sits in N.J.A.C. 13:27. The signing rule at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1(f) belongs to the engineers and land surveyors board and does not bind this Board’s licensees, so do not read it across.
Which New Jersey documents have to be sealed?
The list sits in N.J.A.C. 13:27 and is not published in readable form. What the Board does publish, and what matters for scope, is that landscape architecture is a distinct authorization in New Jersey: a firm offering it needs its own certificate of authorization from this Board, separate from the architecture certificate.
Is there a digital seal standard for New Jersey landscape architects?
The FIPS PUB 186-4 digital signature and seal standard at N.J.A.C. 13:40-8.1A belongs to the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Whether the State Board of Architects has adopted an equivalent standard for landscape architects in N.J.A.C. 13:27 could not be verified. The Division of Consumer Affairs has been adopting Digital Signature and Seals rules board by board, including adoptions effective May 18, 2026 for the master plumbers board and the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors board, which is a reason to check this Board’s adoption notices rather than assume.
How many certificates of authorization does a New Jersey firm need?
As many as the services it offers. The Board states plainly that a firm wishing to offer architecture, landscape architecture and engineering needs three certificates: one from the State Board of Architects to offer architecture, “a second one from the New Jersey State Board of Architects to offer the services of landscape architecture and a third one from the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors to offer the services of engineering.” An office that added landscape architecture and assumed its architecture certificate covered it is operating short a certificate.
How does renewal work for New Jersey landscape architects?
The State Board of Architects manages landscape architect renewals and reinstatements directly. The architect side of its published fee schedule shows the pattern: biennial renewal, a fifty dollar late fee and a one hundred dollar reinstatement application fee, with reinstatement requiring the application, the reinstatement fee, all delinquent biennial renewal fees and documented continuing education for each inactive period. The landscape architect specific figures, and the effect of lapse on the seal, were not verified, so take both from the Board.
