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 ch. 36-18A (credentials licensed by the Board of Technical Professions) on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
South Dakota names four titles that may go on a seal, and interior designer is not one of them. SDCL 36-18A-44 lists “Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect” and allows only the prefix Licensed or Registered on those four. The same section then does something unusual and closes with “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal.” So the Board of Technical Professions licenses six things and lets four of them seal. Interior design is not among the six.
Nor is it anywhere else in the state. The Department of Labor and Regulation administers nine occupational boards and commissions in total, covering accountancy, technical professions, cosmetology, electrical work, abstracters, barbering, plumbing, real estate and athletics. There is no interior design board and no registry, which means no prescribed design, no diameter, no legend and nothing to file. Your stamp is a design decision, and Acorn will make it to whatever you want on it: your own name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, or a credential you actually hold such as NCIDQ.
Two things to steer around. Put your own name, your firm name, and any credential you actually hold, such as NCIDQ. Leave off “Licensed” and “Registered” and any state-issued title unless the state issued you one, because that is the part some states do restrict. And avoid the South Dakota concentric-circle geometry, which is distinctive enough to read as a claim on its own.
South Dakota interior designer seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Dakota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Not licensed here | SDCL ch. 36-18A (credentials licensed by the Board of Technical Professions) |
| Required elements | No South Dakota interior design 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 an interior designer’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 |
Is a seal required in South Dakota?
South Dakota does not license, register or certify interior designers, so no South Dakota interior design seal exists and no South Dakota authority prescribes one. The Department of Labor and Regulation administers nine occupational boards and commissions, being accountancy, technical professions, cosmetology, electrical, abstracters, barber examiners, plumbing, real estate and athletics, and interior design is not among them. The Board of Technical Professions itself licenses architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors and petroleum release service professionals. Interior design practice in South Dakota is open, and where a permit set needs a seal it comes from the architect or engineer of record.
What must appear on the seal
- No South Dakota interior design credential exists
- No seal is prescribed
There is nothing to make optional, and the statute makes the point cleanly. SDCL 36-18A-44 lists the titles a South Dakota seal may carry, being “Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect”, and allows only the prefix Licensed or Registered on those four. There is no fifth title. A die reading anything like Registered Interior Designer with South Dakota on it would state a credential the state does not issue.
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 interior design credential found.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not applicable. The four device classes in SDCL 36-18A-44, being an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal or other facsimile found acceptable to the board, are available to licensees. An interior designer practicing in South Dakota who wants something for correspondence should keep it 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 a licensee of this board.
South Dakota bars two of its own credentials from holding a seal, and never created an interior design one
The clearest way to see where interior design sits in South Dakota is to read the end of SDCL 36-18A-44. The statute lists four titles that go on a seal, then says “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal.” So the Board of Technical Professions licenses six things and lets four of them seal. Interior design is not one of the six.
Nor is it anywhere else in the state. The Department of Labor and Regulation administers nine occupational boards and commissions in total, covering accountancy, technical professions, cosmetology, electrical work, abstracters, barbering, plumbing, real estate and athletics. There is no interior design board and no interior design registry.
For a buyer that settles it. There is no prescribed design, no prescribed diameter, no legend and nothing to file. Interior design services may be offered freely in South Dakota, and a permit set that needs a seal gets one from the architect or engineer of record.
It is worth resisting the temptation to adapt the South Dakota seal geometry, because it is distinctive and it would read as a claim to a Board of Technical Professions license. The concentric circles with an inner ring at exactly five-eighths of the outer, and the word South Dakota on the face, belong to the four licensed design professions.
Which documents must be sealed
No South Dakota document requires an interior designer’s seal. SDCL 36-18A-45 attaches the duty to final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations presented by a licensee, and on an interior alteration requiring a permit the sealing professional is the architect or engineer of record.
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 interior design credential to renew, lapse or revoke.
Firm requirements
Not applicable. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires a certificate of authorization from any business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation. Interior design is not in that list, so an interior design firm registers with the board only if it also offers one of those services.
What to check before you order
There is nothing compliant to order. South Dakota issues no interior design credential, so no South Dakota authority has prescribed a design, a size or a legend for one. If you want something for correspondence, keep it to a plain name and business block, and stay away from the concentric-circle construction with an inner ring at five-eighths of the outer, and from the word South Dakota arranged as a seal legend, because those belong to the four licensed design professions. Where your project needs a sealed permit set, the architect or engineer of record supplies it.
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Frequently asked questions
Does South Dakota license interior designers?
No. The Board of Technical Professions licenses architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors and petroleum release service professionals under SDCL ch. 36-18A, and interior design is not among them. Nor does any of the other eight boards the Department of Labor and Regulation administers cover it. Interior design practice in South Dakota is open.
Is an interior designer seal required in South Dakota?
No rule requires one and none is prescribed. SDCL 36-18A-45 attaches the sealing duty to final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations presented by a licensee of this board, and SDCL 36-18A-44 supplies the design. Neither reaches you.
What can I put on a South Dakota interior designer stamp?
Anything accurate about you: your name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, contact details, or the exact name of a private certification such as the NCIDQ certificate from the Council for Interior Design Qualification. Nothing prescribes a layout for you, so the shape and size are yours. A rectangular name and business block is the format most people settle on.
What should I keep off a South Dakota interior designer stamp?
The statutory geometry and the statutory words. SDCL 36-18A-44 builds the licensee device as concentric circles with the inner ring at five-eighths of the outer, carrying the word South Dakota and one of the four permitted titles. Copying that construction, or setting the bare word “Registered” over a license-style number, reads as a claim to a Board of Technical Professions license. Naming NCIDQ in plain words does not.
What size should a South Dakota interior designer stamp be?
Whatever suits the sheet. 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, and SDCL ch. 36-18A and ARSD art. 20:38 say nothing about interior design. Choosing a size and outline that are visibly not the statutory device is worth doing deliberately.
Rubber stamp, embosser or computer-generated image?
All three, and none is required. The four device classes in SDCL 36-18A-44, being an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal or another facsimile the board finds acceptable, are available to licensees rather than to you. In practice an inked stamp survives copying and a dry emboss does not, which usually settles it.
Who seals a South Dakota permit set for an interior alteration?
The architect or engineer of record. SDCL 36-18A-45 puts the duty on the licensee presenting final documents, and SDCL 36-18A-44 requires that licensee’s signature adjacent to or across the seal. No South Dakota document requires an interior designer’s seal, and no interior design credential from any source substitutes for the licensee’s.
Can I sign South Dakota interior design documents electronically?
Nothing restricts you. The digital signature test in SDCL 36-18A-45.1 is written for licensees of the Board of Technical Professions, and South Dakota sets no electronic signing standard for interior designers because it sets no signing standard for them at all.
Does a South Dakota interior design firm need a certificate of authorization?
Only if it also offers a licensed service. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires a certificate of authorization from any business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation. Interior design is not in that list, so an interior design practice registers with the board only on account of one of those services.
Is there a South Dakota interior design registration to renew?
There is none to renew, lapse or revoke, because there is none to hold. A private certification such as NCIDQ renews on the issuing organization’s own schedule and has no bearing on South Dakota practice authority, since the state grants none for this profession.
