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 Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists and 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.58, 37.59 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
A Pennsylvania geologist seal is Board Design C at exactly 1 3/4 inches in diameter. 49 Pa. Code § 37.58(a) prints three authorized designs inside the rule and requires the registrant’s seal to be identical to the applicable one: Design A for Registered Professional Engineer, Design B for Registered Professional Land Surveyor and Design C for Registered Professional Geologist. Section 37.58(b) lists the four contents, being the legend, your name as registered, your registration number and a reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Because the designs are published as images rather than as text, copy the arrangement from Design C as printed in the Pennsylvania Code.
The size is a point rather than a range, and it is not the common one. Section 37.58(c) states that “The seal shall be 1 3/4 inch in diameter” and that “The diameter of a pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch if the design is in the same relative proportions.” The 1 5/8 inch device most suppliers stock as a default is out of specification here.
One chapter governs engineers, surveyors and geologists identically. The 1 3/4 inch diameter, the pocket allowance, the four permitted device types, the signature across the seal, the date of issuance on the first page and the digital sealing tests in section 37.60 are word for word the rule the engineers and surveyors follow. Only the legend and the design letter change.
Pennsylvania geologist seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Pennsylvania rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.58, 37.59 |
| Required elements | The legend Registered Professional Geologist, Your name as registered, Your registration number and A reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 49 Pa. Code § 37.58(b) |
| Size and shape | 1 3/4 inch in diameter, with one exception: a pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch. | 49 Pa. Code § 37.58(c) |
| Device allowed | Four devices, conditionally. | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.58(d), 37.59(2) |
| Signature and date | Signing across the seal is permitted, with one protected element. | 49 Pa. Code § 37.59(2), (4), (7) |
| What must be sealed | Final or complete documents issued to a client for the client’s records, or submitted to public or governmental agencies for final review. | 49 Pa. Code § 37.59(1), (2), (3), (6) |
| Electronic seal | Section 37.60, added December 16, 2022 and effective December 17, 2022 at 52 Pa.B. 7709, sets parallel requirements for a digital signature and a digital seal. | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.56a, 37.60 |
| Renewal and lapse | Registration is biennial and expires on a fixed date: section 37.19(a) provides that registration for a biennial period “shall expire on September 30 of every odd numbered year.” Section 37.59(5) then bars a registrant from affixing or permitting a seal and signature to be applied to a document “after the expiration of the registrant’s licensure status,” or to aid another person in evading the act. | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.18, 37.19, 37.59(5) |
| Firm requirements | No firm seal, no certificate of authorization and no firm number on the document. | 49 Pa. Code §§ 37.58(b), 37.71 |
| Regulator | The Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists | Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law, Act 367 of 1945, 63 P.S. §§ 151(l) and 154, cited as the authority for the seal sections |
Is a seal required in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania licenses professional geologists under the same board, the same chapter and the same seal sections as engineers and land surveyors. 49 Pa. Code section 37.58(a) requires every registrant to obtain, at the registrant’s own expense, “a seal in the identical design authorized by the Board.” Section 37.59(2) supplies the trigger: when a registrant issues final or complete documents to a client for the client’s records, or submits final or complete documents to public or governmental agencies for final review, the seal and signature of the registrant who prepared or directed and controlled the preparation, “along with the date of issuance, shall be prominently displayed on the first page of all documents.” The statutory hook is the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law at 63 P.S. sections 151(l) and 154.
What must appear on the seal
- The legend Registered Professional Geologist
- Your name as registered
- Your registration number
- A reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Nothing is optional. Section 37.58(a) reproduces three Board authorized designs inside the rule and requires the registrant’s seal to be identical to the applicable one: Design A for Registered Professional Engineer, Design B for Registered Professional Land Surveyor and Design C for Registered Professional Geologist. A geologist takes Design C. Section 37.58(b) lists the four contents. Because the designs are published as images rather than as text, the arrangement of those four elements on the face must be copied from Design C as printed in the Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania offers no specialty geology legend, unlike California, whose section 3008 prescribes separate Certified Engineering Geologist, Certified Hydrogeologist and Professional Geophysicist seals.
Size and shape
1 3/4 inch in diameter, with one exception: a pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch. Section 37.58(c) states that “The seal shall be 1 3/4 inch in diameter” and that “The diameter of a pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch if the design is in the same relative proportions” as the design in subsection (a). It is a single figure rather than a range, so a 1 5/8 inch device is out of specification even though that is the commonest size sold nationally.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Four devices, conditionally. Section 37.58(d) allows “a metal seal, rubber stamp, computer image which is a facsimile of the seal or digital seal, if the registrant first obtains a seal in accordance with this section,” so a facsimile is derivative of a properly obtained seal rather than a substitute for one. Placement then decides which device goes where: under section 37.59(2) the seal on the first page of a final or complete document must be impressed, stamped or digital, while facsimile or digital seals appear on all subsequent pages of plans or plats. For geology, where the typical product is a bound report rather than a plan set, the practical order is a 1 3/4 inch rubber or self inking stamp for the first page plus a matching facsimile image.
Signing and dating
Signing across the seal is permitted, with one protected element. Section 37.59(4): “When a registrant’s signature is applied, it shall be applied near or across the seal, but not in a location that obliterates the registration number.” The date is the date of issuance, displayed prominently on the first page with the seal and signature under section 37.59(2), rather than a date printed on the seal face. Section 37.59(7) enumerates the only three permitted combinations: physical seal with a handwritten signature in permanent ink containing the registrant’s name; digital seal with a handwritten signature in permanent ink containing the name; or digital seal with a digital signature containing the name. A printed facsimile of a handwritten signature is not among them.
Design C, and a geologist seal that is the same size as an engineer’s to the sixteenth
Pennsylvania is one of the very few states that regulates geologists in the same chapter as engineers and land surveyors and gives all three an identical seal specification. Section 37.58(a) prints three Board authorized designs and section 37.58(b) lists one set of contents. The geologist takes Design C and the legend Registered Professional Geologist. Everything else, including the 1 3/4 inch diameter, the 1 1/2 inch pocket allowance, the four permitted device types, the signature across the seal, the date of issuance on the first page and the digital sealing tests in section 37.60, is word for word the same rule the engineers and surveyors follow.
Which documents must be sealed
Final or complete documents issued to a client for the client’s records, or submitted to public or governmental agencies for final review. The seal, signature and date of issuance go on the first page under section 37.59(2). Where several registrants contributed, section 37.59(3) has each seal and sign the first page, or the first page of the identifiable portion or section each prepared or directed and controlled, if the respective responsibilities can be reasonably segregated. Section 37.59(1) permits use of the seal and signature “only when the work being sealed and signed was prepared by the registrant or under the registrant’s complete direction and control.” A holder of a Pennsylvania temporary permit uses the seal of the home state and affixes a signature and a copy of the temporary permit, under section 37.59(6). Preliminary and draft documents get no marking rule; the duty is keyed to documents that are final or complete, which is the opposite of Illinois, where 225 ILCS 745/60(b) expressly seals preliminary and draft geologic records offered to the public.
Electronic and digital seals
Section 37.60, added December 16, 2022 and effective December 17, 2022 at 52 Pa.B. 7709, sets parallel requirements for a digital signature and a digital seal. Each must be unique to the registrant, capable of verification, under the sole control of the registrant, and linked to a document so that it is invalidated if any data in the document is changed, and both must be attached to or logically associated with the electronic document through an electronic authentication process. Section 37.60(c) provides that a hard copy printed from the transmitted electronic file bears the facsimile of the digital signature and seal and confirms that the file was not altered after the initial digital signing, with alterations voiding the signature and seal. Section 37.56a defines sole control as “A situation in which only the registrant decides when and where the signature and seal are applied.” No vendor technology and no federal standard is named.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Registration is biennial and expires on a fixed date: section 37.19(a) provides that registration for a biennial period “shall expire on September 30 of every odd numbered year.” Section 37.59(5) then bars a registrant from affixing or permitting a seal and signature to be applied to a document “after the expiration of the registrant’s licensure status,” or to aid another person in evading the act. Reactivation under section 37.18 requires the current fee, a reactivation application verifying the period of non-practice and completion of delinquent continuing education. The registration number does not change and no expiration date appears on the seal, so renewal never obsoletes the device. Chapter 37 imposes no surrender or destruction duty, unlike the Pennsylvania architect chapter, which has a surrender procedure at section 9.145.
Firm requirements
No firm seal, no certificate of authorization and no firm number on the document. Pennsylvania regulates the firm at the naming stage under section 37.71, which requires an application for a certificate of approval of a fictitious or corporate name before articles of incorporation or fictitious name registrations go to the Corporation Bureau, identifying the parties with an ownership interest and the licensed and unlicensed professional staff. Note the approval test named in that section runs to registration as a professional engineer or professional land surveyor, so a geology only practice should read section 37.71 closely against its own facts. Either way, the certificate never appears on a sealed report, and section 37.58(b) closes the seal to the individual’s legend, name, number and the Commonwealth reference.
What to check before you order
Order the Board’s Design C, copied from the figure printed at 49 Pa. Code section 37.58(a), at exactly 1 3/4 inch in diameter. The face carries the legend Registered Professional Geologist, your name as registered, your registration number and a reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, laid out as the published design shows. A pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch only if the design keeps the same relative proportions. Order a matching facsimile image alongside the physical stamp, because the first page of a final or complete document takes an impressed, stamped or digital seal while later pages of plans or plats take a facsimile or digital seal. Pennsylvania has no specialty geology legend, so one device is the whole order. Do not buy a facsimile of your handwritten signature.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a geologist seal required in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Section 37.58(a) requires every registrant to obtain, at the registrant’s own expense, “a seal in the identical design authorized by the Board,” and section 37.59(2) supplies the trigger: when final or complete documents are issued to a client for the client’s records, or submitted to public or governmental agencies for final review, the seal and signature “along with the date of issuance, shall be prominently displayed on the first page of all documents.” The statutory hook is 63 P.S. §§ 151(l) and 154.
What size is a Pennsylvania geologist seal?
1 3/4 inch in diameter, a single figure rather than a range. A pocket seal may be reduced to 1 1/2 inch only if the design keeps the same relative proportions as the printed design. Anything else, including the widely stocked 1 5/8 inch die, is out of specification.
Which design do I order?
Design C. Section 37.58(a) reproduces Design A for engineers, Design B for land surveyors and Design C for geologists, and the difference between them is confined to the legend and the design letter. Your legend reads Registered Professional Geologist.
Is there a Pennsylvania specialty geology seal?
No. There is one geologist design and one legend. California by contrast prescribes separate seals for a Certified Engineering Geologist, a Certified Hydrogeologist and a Professional Geophysicist, so a Pennsylvania geologist moving west buys more stamps, not fewer.
Which devices are allowed?
Four, conditionally. Section 37.58(d) allows “a metal seal, rubber stamp, computer image which is a facsimile of the seal or digital seal, if the registrant first obtains a seal in accordance with this section,” so a facsimile is derivative of a properly obtained seal rather than a substitute for one. Placement decides which goes where: under section 37.59(2) the seal on the first page of a final or complete document must be impressed, stamped or digital, while facsimile or digital seals appear on all subsequent pages of plans or plats.
Where does my signature go?
Near or across the seal. Section 37.59(4) provides that “When a registrant’s signature is applied, it shall be applied near or across the seal, but not in a location that obliterates the registration number.” Section 37.59(7) then allows only three combinations: physical seal with a handwritten signature in permanent ink containing your name; digital seal with a handwritten signature in permanent ink containing your name; or digital seal with a digital signature containing your name. A printed facsimile of a handwritten signature is not among them.
Which documents have to be sealed?
Final or complete documents issued to a client for the client’s records, or submitted to public or governmental agencies for final review, with the seal, signature and date of issuance on the first page. Preliminary and draft documents get no marking rule, because the duty is keyed to finality. That is the opposite of Illinois, where 225 ILCS 745/60(b) expressly seals preliminary and draft geologic records offered to the public.
How does a multi-registrant document work?
Section 37.59(3) has each registrant seal and sign the first page, or the first page of the identifiable portion or section each prepared or directed and controlled, if the respective responsibilities can be reasonably segregated. Section 37.59(1) permits use of the seal and signature “only when the work being sealed and signed was prepared by the registrant or under the registrant’s complete direction and control.”
How does digital sealing work?
Section 37.60, effective 17 December 2022, sets parallel requirements for a digital signature and a digital seal: each must be unique to the registrant, capable of verification, under the sole control of the registrant, and linked to the document so that it is invalidated if any data changes, with both attached to or logically associated with the electronic document through an electronic authentication process. Section 37.56a defines sole control as “A situation in which only the registrant decides when and where the signature and seal are applied.” No vendor technology and no federal standard is named.
I have a Pennsylvania temporary permit. Do I need a Pennsylvania seal?
No. Section 37.59(6) has a temporary permit holder use the seal of the home state and affix a signature and a copy of the temporary permit.
Does renewal obsolete my Pennsylvania seal?
No. Registration is biennial and expires on 30 September of every odd numbered year under section 37.19(a), but the registration number does not change and no expiration date appears on the seal. Section 37.59(5) does bar affixing the seal and signature after the expiration of your licensure status, or aiding another person in evading the act. Reactivation under section 37.18 requires the current fee, a reactivation application verifying the period of non-practice and completion of delinquent continuing education. Chapter 37 imposes no surrender or destruction duty, unlike the architect chapter with its surrender procedure at section 9.145.
