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 South Dakota State Board of Technical Professions, within the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation and SDCL 36-18A-44 (four sealing professions) on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
South Dakota does not license, register or certify geologists, and it has thought about the closest credential and decided that one gets no seal either. The Board of Technical Professions licenses architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors and petroleum release service professionals, and SDCL 36-18A-44 confines the seal to professional engineers, architects, land surveyors and landscape architects. After listing those four titles, the same statute closes with “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal,” and ARSD 20:38:37:01 repeats the bar. That is the work a consulting geologist in another state might well be doing.
So there is nothing to comply with, which also means nothing is restricted. No required diameter, no required legend, no approved artwork and no filing step, and your stamp is a design decision rather than a compliance one. Acorn will cut it to whatever you want on it: your own name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, or a geologist credential you actually hold from a state that issues one.
Put your own name, your firm name, and any credential you actually hold, named with the state that issued it. Leave off “Licensed” and “Registered” and any state-issued title unless the state issued you one, and keep off the concentric-circle construction with the word South Dakota arranged as a seal legend, because that is the form the four real South Dakota seals take.
South Dakota geologist seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Dakota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Not licensed here | SDCL 36-18A-44 (four sealing professions) |
| Required elements | No South Dakota geologist credential exists and No seal is prescribed | SDCL 36-18A-44 (titles limited to Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor and Landscape Architect) |
| Size and shape | No size is prescribed, because no seal is prescribed. | SDCL 36-18A-44 (applies to the four licensed design professions) |
| Device allowed | Not applicable. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Signature and date | Not applicable. | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45.1 |
| What must be sealed | No South Dakota document requires a geologist’s seal. | SDCL 36-18A-45 |
| Electronic seal | Not applicable. | SDCL 36-18A-45.1 |
| Renewal and lapse | Not applicable. | SDCL ch. 36-18A |
| Firm requirements | Not applicable. | SDCL 36-18A-48 |
| Regulator | The South Dakota State Board of Technical Professions, within the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation | South Dakota Codified Laws chapter 36-18A, chiefly §§ 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45 and 36-18A-48, with 36-18A-44 as amended by SL 2016 ch. 196 |
Is a seal required in South Dakota?
South Dakota does not license, register or certify geologists, so no South Dakota geologist seal exists and no South Dakota authority prescribes one. The Board of Technical Professions licenses architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors and petroleum release service professionals, and SDCL 36-18A-44 confines the seal to professional engineers, architects, land surveyors and landscape architects. The Department of Labor and Regulation’s nine occupational boards and commissions include no geology board. Geologic work in South Dakota reaches sealed paper through the engineer of record, and the state maintains a Geological Survey as a scientific agency rather than as a licensing authority.
What must appear on the seal
- No South Dakota geologist credential exists
- No seal is prescribed
There is nothing to make optional. SDCL 36-18A-44 names four titles and permits only the optional prefix Licensed or Registered on them. Geologist is not among them, and the statute goes on to bar petroleum release assessors and remediators, the credentials closest to geologic practice that this board does issue, from holding a seal at all. So even the most geology-adjacent South Dakota credential carries no seal.
Size and shape
No size is prescribed, because no seal is prescribed. The 1 to 2 inch outer circle and the five-eighths inner circle in SDCL 36-18A-44 belong to the four licensed design professions. Checked SDCL ch. 36-18A, ARSD art. 20:38 and the Department of Labor and Regulation list of boards and commissions, with no geology credential found.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not applicable. The device list in SDCL 36-18A-44, covering an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal or other facsimile acceptable to the board, is available to licensees. A geologist working in South Dakota should keep any report stamp to a plain name and business block and avoid the concentric-circle construction and the word South Dakota arranged as a seal legend.
Signing and dating
Not applicable. The adjacent-to-or-across-the-seal rule in SDCL 36-18A-44 and the digital signature criteria in SDCL 36-18A-45.1 attach to licensees of this board.
The closest thing to a geologist here is a petroleum release assessor, and the statute bars that credential from sealing
South Dakota never adopted geologist licensure. What it did adopt, under the same Board of Technical Professions, is a pair of credentials for petroleum release assessors and petroleum release remediators, which is the work a consulting geologist in another state might well be doing.
SDCL 36-18A-44 then does something unusual. After listing the four titles that may appear on a seal, it closes with “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal”, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 repeats the bar. So South Dakota has thought about the geology-adjacent credential and decided it gets no seal.
For a buyer the consequence is twofold. There is no South Dakota geologist seal to order, and an order for a petroleum release assessor or remediator seal is also a refusal rather than a build, because the statute forbids it by name.
Compare the range across this group of states. Arizona registers professional geologists and gives them a 1-1/2 inch ink seal. Missouri registers them through a separate board with a 1-3/4 inch seal and an RG prefix. Tennessee licenses them with a department-authorized design. Alaska certifies them and prescribes no seal. South Dakota, Hawaii and Nevada do not license them at all.
Which documents must be sealed
No South Dakota document requires a geologist’s seal. SDCL 36-18A-45 attaches the duty to a licensee’s final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations. Where a geologic report supports a permit or a design submittal, the sealed instrument is the engineer’s and the geologic report travels as supporting material.
Electronic and digital seals
Not applicable. The digital signature test in SDCL 36-18A-45.1 is written for licensees of the Board of Technical Professions.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Not applicable. There is no South Dakota geologist credential to renew, lapse or revoke. A geologist holding a license from another state gains no South Dakota sealing right from it.
Firm requirements
Not applicable. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires a certificate of authorization from a business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation. Geology is not in that list. A firm doing geologic work needs a certificate of authorization only if it also offers one of the listed services, and petroleum release assessment and remediation, which it may well offer, is inside the list even though it carries no seal.
What to check before you order
There is nothing compliant to order. South Dakota issues no geologist credential, so no South Dakota authority has prescribed a design, a size or a legend for one. Note as well that South Dakota expressly bars petroleum release assessors and remediators from using a seal, so that adjacent credential cannot be stamped either. Keep any report device to a plain name and business block, and avoid the concentric-circle construction and the word South Dakota arranged as a seal legend. Where a South Dakota submittal needs a seal, the licensed engineer of record supplies it.
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Frequently asked questions
Does South Dakota require a geologist to have a seal?
No, and it could not, because it issues no geologist credential. SDCL 36-18A-44 names four titles that may appear on a seal, permitting only the optional prefix Licensed or Registered on them, and geologist is not among them. The Department of Labor and Regulation’s nine occupational boards and commissions include no geology board.
Is the South Dakota Geological Survey a licensing board?
No. The state maintains a Geological Survey as a scientific agency rather than as a licensing authority, so it issues no credential and prescribes no seal.
Can a petroleum release assessor use a seal here?
No, and the statute says so by name. SDCL 36-18A-44 bars petroleum release assessors and remediators, and interns, from using a seal, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 repeats it. So even the most geology-adjacent South Dakota credential carries no seal, and ordering one for that credential is not an option.
What can I put on a South Dakota geologist stamp?
Whatever is true of you. Your name as you use it professionally, your firm name, contact details, a monogram or logo, and the exact name of any credential you hold with the state that issued it named alongside. A plain name and business block reads well and claims nothing.
What should I keep off it?
The concentric-circle construction and the word South Dakota arranged as a seal legend. The 1 to 2 inch outer circle and the five-eighths inch inner circle in SDCL 36-18A-44 belong to the four licensed design professions, and a geology lookalike borrows a form the state reserves.
What size and shape should it be?
Any size and any shape, because no seal is prescribed for you. Because nothing is prescribed, the size is yours. The round dies Acorn makes most often for unregulated devices fall between 1-1/2 and 2 inches, and rectangular blocks around 2-1/2 by 1 inch, which is a legibility judgment from our own production rather than any rule.
Who seals geologic work in South Dakota?
The licensed engineer of record. SDCL 36-18A-45 attaches the duty to a licensee’s final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations, so where a geologic report supports a permit or a design submittal, the sealed instrument is the engineer’s and your report travels as supporting material.
Does South Dakota set a digital signature standard I have to meet?
Not for you. The digital signature test in SDCL 36-18A-45.1 and the adjacent-to-or-across-the-seal rule in SDCL 36-18A-44 are written for licensees of the Board of Technical Professions. South Dakota sets no electronic standard for geologists because it sets none for them at all.
Do I need a certificate of authorization for my firm?
Only if you also offer a listed service. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires a certificate of authorization from a business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation. Geology is not in that list, though petroleum release assessment and remediation is, even though it carries no seal.
How does South Dakota compare with nearby states?
The range is wide. Arizona registers professional geologists and gives them a 1-1/2 inch ink seal, Missouri registers them through a separate board with a 1-3/4 inch seal and an RG prefix, and Tennessee licenses them with a department-authorized design. Alaska certifies them and prescribes no seal, and South Dakota, Hawaii and Nevada do not license them at all.
