Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against la Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico (the Board of Examiners of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico), within the Departamento de Estado and Ley Núm. 173 de 12 de agosto de 1988, Arts. 2, 16 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
There is no professional land surveyor in Puerto Rico in the mainland sense; the credential is an agrimensor licenciado. It is granted by the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores, an examining board that sits inside the Departamento de Estado rather than a standalone surveying board, and practice is conditioned by Art. 2 of Ley Núm. 173 de 12 de agosto de 1988 on active membership in the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, a compulsory professional college with no US-state analogue. A separate arancel and estampillas regime attaches to professional documents through the CIAPR.
What the statute gives cleanly is the seal content. Art. 16 requires the licensee to keep and stamp “un sello o timbre de diseño especial autorizado por la Junta” carrying your own name, the profession you practice, your condition as a licensee, your license number and the inscription Puerto Rico. And it gives the mechanics: a handwritten signature, plans sealed and signed sheet by sheet, the responsible person signing and sealing the first page in a firm, and no stamping while suspended, inactive or expired.
The gap worth being honest about is the reglamento. Reglamento Núm. 7749 de 2009 is the operating regulation of the Junta and it is published at docs.pr.gov only as a scanned image with no text layer, so no dimension, device type or electronic determination for an agrimensor is verified here. Do not borrow the two inch figure or the expiration-date element from the architects’ Reglamento Núm. 7717; that belongs to a different Junta.
Puerto Rico land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Puerto Rico rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | Ley Núm. 173 de 12 de agosto de 1988, Arts. 2, 16 |
| Required elements | Your own name (nombre propio); The profession you practice (la profesión que ejerza); Your condition as a licensee (su condición de licenciado); Your license number (el número de su licencia); The inscription Puerto Rico | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 |
| Size and shape | Not verified. Art. 16 of Ley Núm. 173 gives no diameter. Any dimension for an agrimensor would sit in Reglamento Núm. 7749, which is published only as an image-only scan and could not be read. We did not. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 (no dimension) |
| Device allowed | Not verified. Art. 16 names no device type, permits nothing expressly and forbids nothing. What it does say about the electronic question is that the Junta decides: “La Junta determinará las maneras en que. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 |
| Signature and date | Sign in your own hand. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 |
| What must be sealed | All professional work, graphic or written, that the licensee makes or authorizes, prepared for the Government or for private enterprise. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 |
| Electronic seal | Delegated and not verified. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 (delegated |
| Renewal and lapse | Art. 16 prohibits signing or stamping during suspension, during inactivity and after the license has expired. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Art. 16 |
| Firm requirements | The mainland certificate of authorization model does not apply. | Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, Arts. 2, 16 |
| Regulator | La Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico (the Board of Examiners of Engineers and Land Surveyors of Puerto Rico), within the Departamento de Estado | Ley Núm. 173 de 12 de agosto de 1988, Ley para Crear la Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros, Arquitectos, Agrimensores y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico, Arts. 2, 13 and 16, read in Spanish from the official PDF hosted at docs.pr.gov by the Departamento de Estado |
Is a seal required in Puerto Rico?
The mainland format does not fit and the honest description is different. There is no professional land surveyor in the US sense: Puerto Rico licenses an agrimensor licenciado, the Junta is an examining board inside the Departamento de Estado, and practice additionally requires active membership in the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, a compulsory professional college with no US-state analogue. On the seal, Art. 16 of Ley Núm. 173 de 12 de agosto de 1988 applies to every professional the Act covers and requires the licensee to keep and stamp, where required, on all professional work, graphic or written, that the professional makes or authorizes, including mensuras, reports, designs, plans and analogous documents, “un sello o timbre de diseño especial autorizado por la Junta.”
What must appear on the seal
- Your own name (nombre propio)
- The profession you practice (la profesión que ejerza)
- Your condition as a licensee (su condición de licenciado)
- Your license number (el número de su licencia)
- The inscription Puerto Rico
These five elements come from the statute, which applies to every profession under the Act. Not verified: what further specification the surveying Junta’s own regulation adds. Reglamento Núm. 7749 de 2009, the operating regulation of the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores, is published at docs.pr.gov only as a scanned image PDF with no text layer, so we could not read its seal article. Do not fill the gap with the architects’ Reglamento Núm. 7717, which prescribes a two inch circular seal and an expiration date for Arquitecto and Arquitecto Paisajista; that is a different board and a different regulation.
Size and shape
Not verified. Art. 16 of Ley Núm. 173 gives no diameter. Any dimension for an agrimensor would sit in Reglamento Núm. 7749, which is published only as an image-only scan and could not be read. We did not obtain a readable copy and report no figure. Note specifically that the two inch figure in the architects’ Reglamento Núm. 7717 governs Arquitecto and Arquitecto Paisajista and cannot be assumed for an agrimensor.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not verified. Art. 16 names no device type, permits nothing expressly and forbids nothing. What it does say about the electronic question is that the Junta decides: “La Junta determinará las maneras en que se aceptarán las firmas y sellos cibernéticos o digitalizados.” Whether Reglamento Núm. 7749 prescribes an inked, embossed or electronic device is unread. Ask the Junta for the seal article of its reglamento before ordering.
Signing and dating
Sign in your own hand. Art. 16 requires the professional to sign the document “con su puño y letra,” and provides that stamping the seal and signing certifies the work was done by the professional or under the professional’s control and supervision. Plans are sealed and signed sheet by sheet, and in a partnership or corporation the participating professionals seal and sign while the responsible person signs and seals the first page. Signing or stamping during suspension, during inactivity or after the license has expired is prohibited. Not addressed: Art. 16 does not require a date beside the signature.
There is no professional land surveyor here, there is an agrimensor
Forcing Puerto Rico into the mainland template produces something false. The credential is an agrimensor licenciado under Ley Núm. 173 de 1988, granted by an examining Junta that sits inside the Departamento de Estado rather than by a standalone surveying board. Practice is conditioned on active membership in the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, a compulsory professional college that has no analogue in any US state and is not the same thing as a voluntary society. A separate arancel and estampillas regime attaches to professional documents through the CIAPR. None of that maps onto a state board plus an optional association.
Which documents must be sealed
All professional work, graphic or written, that the licensee makes or authorizes, prepared for the Government or for private enterprise. Art. 16 names mensuras among the document classes, alongside specifications, reports, designs, plans and analogous documents, so the surveying work product is expressly within the article. Plans are sealed and signed sheet by sheet. Not verified: whether Reglamento Núm. 7749 adds surveying-specific document classes or a certification statement, because it could not be read.
Electronic and digital seals
Delegated and not verified. Art. 16 leaves the acceptance of cyber or digitized signatures and seals to the Junta, and the Junta’s regulation could not be read. Not verified: whether the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores has issued such a determination and what it requires. Note the countervailing statutory requirement that the signature be in the professional’s own hand, which constrains any fully electronic workflow. A separate arancel and estampillas regime attaches to professional documents in Puerto Rico through the CIAPR, and its mechanics are likewise unverified here.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Art. 16 prohibits signing or stamping during suspension, during inactivity and after the license has expired. Not verified: whether Reglamento Núm. 7749 puts an expiration date on the face of an agrimensor’s seal as Reglamento Núm. 7717 does for architects and landscape architects, and whether the license number is reissued or the device surrendered. Ask the Junta, because if the date is on the face the die has to be replaced each renewal cycle.
Firm requirements
The mainland certificate of authorization model does not apply. There is no firm seal and no firm certificate number on the document. Art. 2 of Ley Núm. 173 conditions practice on active membership in the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, a compulsory professional college with no US-state analogue, and a separate arancel and estampillas regime administered through the CIAPR attaches to professional documents. Within a firm, Art. 16 allocates responsibility by signature: participating professionals seal and sign their work and the responsible person signs and seals the first page.
What to check before you order
Ask the Junta Examinadora de Ingenieros y Agrimensores for the seal article of its reglamento before ordering, because no dimension or device type for an agrimensor is published in readable form. What the statute fixes is the content: your own name, the profession you practice, your condition as a licensee, your license number and the inscription Puerto Rico. Do not copy the architects’ specification, a two inch circle with an expiration date, from Reglamento Núm. 7717; that belongs to a different Junta. Sign in your own hand, which the Act requires, seal and sign each sheet of plans, and if you work through a firm make sure the responsible professional also signs and seals the first page.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for an agrimensor in Puerto Rico?
Yes. Art. 16 of Ley Núm. 173 de 1988 applies to every professional the Act covers and requires the licensee to keep and stamp, where required, on all professional work, graphic or written, that the professional makes or authorizes, including mensuras, reports, designs, plans and analogous documents, a seal of a special design authorized by the Junta.
What has to appear on a Puerto Rico agrimensor seal?
Five elements under Art. 16: your own name, the profession you practice, your condition as a licensee, your license number and the inscription Puerto Rico. Those come from the statute, which applies to every profession under the Act. What further specification the Junta’s own regulation adds is not verified, because Reglamento Núm. 7749 is published only as an image-only scan.
What size is a Puerto Rico agrimensor seal?
Not verified. Art. 16 gives no diameter. Any dimension would sit in Reglamento Núm. 7749, which could not be read. The two inch figure in the architects’ Reglamento Núm. 7717 governs Arquitecto and Arquitecto Paisajista and cannot be assumed for an agrimensor, so ask the Junta for the seal article of its reglamento before ordering.
Embossed, inked or electronic in Puerto Rico?
Not verified. Art. 16 names no device type, permits nothing expressly and forbids nothing. What it does say about the electronic question is that the Junta decides: “La Junta determinará las maneras en que se aceptarán las firmas y sellos cibernéticos o digitalizados.” Whether Reglamento Núm. 7749 prescribes an inked, embossed or electronic device is unread.
Does Puerto Rico require a handwritten signature?
Yes. Art. 16 requires the professional to sign the document “con su puño y letra,” and provides that stamping the seal and signing certifies the work was done by the professional or under the professional’s control and supervision. Art. 16 does not require a date beside the signature.
How are plans sealed in Puerto Rico?
Sheet by sheet. Art. 16 requires plans to be sealed and signed sheet by sheet, and in a partnership or corporation the participating professionals seal and sign their work while the responsible person signs and seals the first page.
Which documents does Art. 16 reach?
All professional work, graphic or written, that the licensee makes or authorizes, prepared for the Government or for private enterprise. Art. 16 names mensuras among the document classes, alongside specifications, reports, designs, plans and analogous documents, so the surveying work product is expressly within the article. Whether Reglamento Núm. 7749 adds surveying-specific document classes or a certification statement is not verified.
Can I seal and sign electronically in Puerto Rico?
The question is delegated to the Junta and the determination could not be obtained, so treat it as unverified. Note the countervailing statutory requirement that the signature be in the professional’s own hand, which constrains any fully electronic workflow. The arancel and estampillas regime that attaches to professional documents through the CIAPR is likewise unverified here.
Can I stamp while my Puerto Rico license is inactive?
No. Art. 16 prohibits signing or stamping during suspension, during inactivity and after the license has expired. Whether the reglamento puts an expiration date on the face of an agrimensor’s seal, as Reglamento Núm. 7717 does for architects and landscape architects, is not verified, and it matters: if the date is on the face the die has to be replaced each renewal cycle. Ask the Junta.
Does a Puerto Rico firm need its own seal?
No. The mainland certificate of authorization model does not apply: there is no firm seal and no firm certificate number on the document. Art. 2 conditions practice on active membership in the Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, and within a firm Art. 16 allocates responsibility by signature, with participating professionals sealing and signing their work and the responsible person signing and sealing the first page.
