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, 36-18A-45, 36-18A-71 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
South Dakota says Land Surveyor, not Professional Land Surveyor. SDCL 36-18A-44 gives a closed list of four titles: Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect. Engineers get the word Professional; surveyors do not. The only permitted variation is the optional prefix, because the statute adds “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” So Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor and Registered Land Surveyor are each fine, and Professional Land Surveyor, which is the wording most of the surrounding states use, is not on the list.
The geometry is a ratio rather than a pair of figures. The outer circle may be anywhere from 1 inch to 2 inches in diameter and the inner circle must measure five-eighths of whatever you chose, so a generic concentric-circle blank that happens to be legal in North Dakota or Wyoming will usually be out of ratio here. A die with no inner circle does not meet the statute at all.
And there is a hard stop at the recording desk. SDCL 36-18A-71 provides that no register of deeds may file or record any map, plat, survey or other land surveying submission that does not have the surveyor’s personal signature, seal and date impressed and affixed. That is why an inked stamp is the working device: the impression has to survive recording, copying and microfilming with the inner circle intact.
South Dakota land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Dakota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45, 36-18A-71 |
| Required elements | The name, South Dakota, Your name as licensee, Your license number and The title Land Surveyor, optionally prefixed Licensed or Registered | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Size and shape | Outer circle at least 1 inch and no greater than 2 inches in diameter; inner circle exactly five-eighths of the outer diameter. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Device allowed | SDCL 36-18A-44 allows “an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” For a surveyor the inked stamp is the working device, because SDCL 36-18A-71 requires the signature, seal and date to be “impressed and affixed” on anything going to a register of deeds, and because SDCL 36-18A-45(1) conditions compliance on legible reproduction across copies, tracings and electronic submittals. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Signature and date | Placement is permissive. | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45.1, 36-18A-71 |
| What must be sealed | All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals and other reproductions of final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations presented to a client or any public or governmental agency, with ARSD 20:38:37:01 requiring the seal and license number with the signature of the licensee in responsible charge “on each sheet of those drawings.” The recording bar in SDCL 36-18A-71 is the surveyor-specific provision: no register of deeds may file or record any map, plat, survey or other land surveying submission that does not carry the surveyor’s personal signature, seal and date. | SDCL 36-18A-45, 36-18A-71 |
| Electronic seal | Functional criteria, no named product. | SDCL 36-18A-45(1), 36-18A-45.1 |
| Renewal and lapse | ARSD 20:38:37:01 makes the licensee responsible for the security and proper use of the seal and makes improper use, or failure to sign and seal final work, grounds for discipline. | ARSD 20:38:37:01 |
| Firm requirements | A certificate of authorization is required, and no firm seal exists. | SDCL 36-18A-47, 36-18A-48, 36-18A-49, 36-18A-50 |
| 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, 36-18A-45.1, 36-18A-47, 36-18A-48 and 36-18A-71, with 36-18A-44 and 36-18A-45 as amended by SL 2016 ch. 196 |
Is a seal required in South Dakota?
The mandate covers four professions in one sentence. SDCL 36-18A-44 provides that “Any licensed professional engineer, architect, land surveyor, and landscape architect shall use an appropriate seal.” SDCL 36-18A-45 makes application of the seal, signature and date a certification that the work was done by the licensee or under the licensee’s responsible charge, and requires the three to be placed so they can be legibly reproduced on all originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or other reproductions of final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations “when presented to a client or any public or governmental agency.” Surveyors carry one further duty nobody else does: SDCL 36-18A-71 bars a register of deeds from filing or recording any map, plat, survey or other land surveying submission without the surveyor’s personal signature, seal and date impressed and affixed.
What must appear on the seal
- The name, South Dakota
- Your name as licensee
- Your license number
- The title Land Surveyor, optionally prefixed Licensed or Registered
The prefix is the licensee’s choice. SDCL 36-18A-44 requires the appropriate title from Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor and Landscape Architect, then provides that “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor and Registered Land Surveyor are all compliant. Note what is not on the list: Professional Land Surveyor is the title most neighboring states use, and it is not one of the four South Dakota titles, so a die reading Professional Land Surveyor does not match the statute. A combination of titles on one seal is allowed where the licensee holds more than one South Dakota license. Interns may not hold a seal at all.
Size and shape
Outer circle at least 1 inch and no greater than 2 inches in diameter; inner circle exactly five-eighths of the outer diameter. SDCL 36-18A-44 requires a seal that “shall be legible and shall have an outer circle with a diameter measuring at least one inch and no greater than two inches and an inner circle with a diameter measuring five-eighths of the diameter of the outer circle.” The inner circle is a ratio, so it changes whenever the outer diameter changes. A die with no inner circle does not meet the statute.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
SDCL 36-18A-44 allows “an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” For a surveyor the inked stamp is the working device, because SDCL 36-18A-71 requires the signature, seal and date to be “impressed and affixed” on anything going to a register of deeds, and because SDCL 36-18A-45(1) conditions compliance on legible reproduction across copies, tracings and electronic submittals. Size the die so the inner circle survives reduction and microfilming.
Signing and dating
Placement is permissive. SDCL 36-18A-44 provides that “The licensee’s signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal”, so beside the seal is acceptable, subject to the legible reproduction test. Digital signatures are optional under SDCL 36-18A-45.1 and must be unique to the licensee, capable of verification, under the sole control of the licensee using it, and linked to the document so that the signature is invalidated if any data in the document is changed, with an electronic authentication process attached to or logically associated with the document. A board-approved process is presumed compliant, and any hard copy printed from the transmitted file must bear the facsimile of the signature and seal and confirm the file was not altered after the initial digital signing.
South Dakota says Land Surveyor, not Professional Land Surveyor, and the register of deeds enforces it
SDCL 36-18A-44 gives a closed list of four titles: Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect. Note where the word Professional appears and where it does not. Engineers get it; surveyors do not. The only permitted variation is the optional prefix, because the statute adds “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” So Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor and Registered Land Surveyor are each fine, and Professional Land Surveyor, which is the wording used in most of the surrounding states, is not on the list.
The second South Dakota specific is geometric. The outer circle may be anywhere from 1 to 2 inches and the inner circle must measure five-eighths of whatever you chose. A generic concentric-circle blank that happens to be legal in North Dakota or Wyoming will usually be out of ratio here, and the error is invisible without a rule.
The third is a hard stop rather than a style point. SDCL 36-18A-71 provides that no register of deeds may file or record any map, plat, survey or other land surveying submission that does not have the surveyor’s personal signature, seal and date impressed and affixed. That is why the inked stamp is the working device: it has to survive recording, copying and microfilming with the inner circle intact.
Which documents must be sealed
All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals and other reproductions of final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations presented to a client or any public or governmental agency, with ARSD 20:38:37:01 requiring the seal and license number with the signature of the licensee in responsible charge “on each sheet of those drawings.” The recording bar in SDCL 36-18A-71 is the surveyor-specific provision: no register of deeds may file or record any map, plat, survey or other land surveying submission that does not carry the surveyor’s personal signature, seal and date. Carve-outs: SDCL 36-18A-45(2) lets preliminary work carry a Not for Construction or Preliminary note instead of a seal, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 exempts review drafts and presentation documents used to communicate conceptual information only. Exempt project services performed by a licensed professional must still be sealed.
Electronic and digital seals
Functional criteria, no named product. SDCL 36-18A-45.1 sets the four-part digital signature test and makes board approval a safe harbor rather than a precondition, and expressly makes digital signing optional. Electronic submittals are inside the sealing duty already, since SDCL 36-18A-45(1) lists them among the things the seal, signature and date must legibly reproduce on. No certificate authority, file format or vendor is named.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
ARSD 20:38:37:01 makes the licensee responsible for the security and proper use of the seal and makes improper use, or failure to sign and seal final work, grounds for discipline. Not addressed: neither SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45 nor ARSD 20:38:37:01 requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered on expiration, lapse, retirement or revocation, and none says whether a license number changes on reinstatement. That second gap matters to surveyors, whose numbers sit on recorded plats. Checked SDCL ch. 36-18A and ARSD art. 20:38.
Firm requirements
A certificate of authorization is required, and no firm seal exists. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires any business entity that desires to practice land surveying in the state to register with the board by applying for a certificate of authorization, makes the entity responsible for its agents, employees, officers, partners, members and managers, and bars designating a licensee who renders only occasional, part-time or consulting services as the person in responsible charge. SDCL 36-18A-47 requires a firm or office to have an appropriately licensed person in charge. Nothing in SDCL ch. 36-18A or ARSD art. 20:38 requires the certificate of authorization number on a sealed document.
What to check before you order
Pick the outer diameter first, between 1 and 2 inches, and have the inner circle cut at exactly five-eighths of it. Four text items: South Dakota, your name, your license number, and the title Land Surveyor, which you may prefix with Licensed or Registered. Do not accept Professional Land Surveyor, which is not one of the four South Dakota titles. Take an inked stamp as your primary device, sized so the inner circle stays crisp through recording and microfilming, because SDCL 36-18A-71 requires your signature, seal and date to be impressed and affixed before a register of deeds may record the submission. Your signature may sit adjacent to or across the seal.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for land surveyors in South Dakota?
Yes. SDCL 36-18A-44 provides that “Any licensed professional engineer, architect, land surveyor, and landscape architect shall use an appropriate seal.” SDCL 36-18A-45 makes application of the seal, signature and date a certification that the work was done by the licensee or under the licensee’s responsible charge, and requires the three to be placed so they can be legibly reproduced on all originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or other reproductions of final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations “when presented to a client or any public or governmental agency.”
What has to appear on a South Dakota land surveyor seal?
Four items under SDCL 36-18A-44: the name South Dakota, your name as licensee, your license number and the title Land Surveyor, which may be prefixed with Licensed or Registered. A combination of titles on one seal is allowed where you hold more than one South Dakota license. Interns may not hold a seal at all.
What size is a South Dakota land surveyor seal?
Outer circle at least 1 inch and no greater than 2 inches in diameter, with an inner circle measuring exactly five-eighths of the outer diameter. The inner circle is a ratio, so it changes whenever the outer diameter changes.
Embossed, rubber or computer generated in South Dakota?
All three and more: SDCL 36-18A-44 allows “an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” For a surveyor the inked stamp is the working device, because SDCL 36-18A-71 requires the signature, seal and date to be impressed and affixed on anything going to a register of deeds, and SDCL 36-18A-45(1) conditions compliance on legible reproduction across copies, tracings and electronic submittals.
Where do the signature and date go in South Dakota?
Placement is permissive. SDCL 36-18A-44 provides that “The licensee’s signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal,” so beside the seal is acceptable, subject to the legible reproduction test.
Which South Dakota documents get the seal?
All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals and other reproductions of final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations presented to a client or any public or governmental agency, with ARSD 20:38:37:01 requiring the seal and license number with the signature of the licensee in responsible charge “on each sheet of those drawings.” Exempt project services performed by a licensed professional must still be sealed.
What South Dakota work is exempt from sealing?
Two narrow categories. SDCL 36-18A-45(2) lets preliminary work carry a Not for Construction or Preliminary note instead of a seal, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 exempts review drafts and presentation documents used to communicate conceptual information only.
Is digital signing required in South Dakota?
No, it is optional. SDCL 36-18A-45.1 makes digital signatures optional and sets a four-part test: unique to the licensee, capable of verification, under the sole control of the licensee using it, and linked to the document so that the signature is invalidated if any data in the document is changed, with an electronic authentication process attached to or logically associated with the document. A board-approved process is presumed compliant, and any hard copy printed from the transmitted file must bear the facsimile of the signature and seal and confirm the file was not altered after the initial digital signing. No certificate authority, file format or vendor is named.
What happens to my South Dakota seal if the license lapses?
ARSD 20:38:37:01 makes you responsible for the security and proper use of the seal and makes improper use, or failure to sign and seal final work, grounds for discipline. Neither SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45 nor ARSD 20:38:37:01 requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered on expiration, lapse, retirement or revocation, and none says whether a license number changes on reinstatement. That second gap matters to surveyors, whose numbers sit on recorded plats.
Does a South Dakota surveying firm need a certificate of authorization?
Yes, and it gets no seal. SDCL 36-18A-48 requires any business entity that desires to practice land surveying in the state to register with the board by applying for a certificate of authorization, makes the entity responsible for its agents, employees, officers, partners, members and managers, and bars designating a licensee who renders only occasional, part-time or consulting services as the person in responsible charge. SDCL 36-18A-47 requires a firm or office to have an appropriately licensed person in charge. Nothing in SDCL ch. 36-18A or ARSD art. 20:38 requires the certificate number on a sealed document.
