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 State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors and Alaska Stat. § 08.48.221 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Alaska never states a size. 12 AAC 36.180 prescribes the seal by reproducing a picture of it, and the board’s Seal Specifications page offers a downloadable CAD file for Registered Professional Land Surveyor without stating a diameter either. Reproduce the board artwork proportionally and keep the lettering legible at reduction, rather than importing a dimension from a neighboring state.
Strip the letters out of the number. 12 AAC 36.180(a) provides that “the license number noted on the seal must be only the numeric characters of the registrant’s license number and exclude alpha characters,” so an LS prefix does not belong in that field. No branch identifier appears on a surveyor seal either; that requirement belongs to engineers and structural engineers.
The date field is completed every time. 12 AAC 36.185(d) requires the date each time you sign and seal a document, “by electronically or manually inserting the date within the seal or within two inches of the seal,” so it is never pre-set in the die. And Alaska pushes onto the sheet what most states leave to a title block: 12 AAC 36.185(g) requires the business name, physical address and telephone number, the project name or identification, the project address or location, and the entity’s certificate of authorization number on every document that must be signed and sealed.
Alaska land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Alaska rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | Alaska Stat. § 08.48.221 |
| Required elements | State of Alaska legend; Your name as registered; Your registration number, numeric characters only; Registered Professional Land Surveyor; A signature space inside the seal; A date, inside the seal or within two inches of it | Alaska Stat. § 08.48.221(a) |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. 12 AAC 36.180 prescribes the seal by reproducing a picture of it and states no diameter, tolerance or inner-circle dimension anywhere. | 12 Alaska Admin. Code § 36.180 (silent) |
| Device allowed | 12 AAC 36.180 accepts the illustrated design “or a substantially similar electronic or digital representation of that design”, so an electronic seal is expressly authorized. | 12 Alaska Admin. Code § 36.180 |
| Signature and date | AS 08.48.221(a) requires the registrant to “stamp the documents with the seal and sign the seal”, and the board artwork carries the interior caption (Affix Original Signature), so the signature goes in or. | Alaska Stat. § 08.48.221(a) |
| What must be sealed | 12 AAC 36.185(a)(3) limits sealing to “final drawings, surveys, reports, and required construction documents” for which the registrant is qualified and claims responsibility, and requires a registrant to seal only the portion under the registrant’s direct professional knowledge and direct supervisory control where others prepared other portions. | 12 Alaska Admin. Code §§ 36.185(a), (b), 36.190, 36.195 |
| Electronic seal | The digital signature must be unique to the registrant using it, capable of verification, under the exclusive control of the registrant using it, and linked to the document so that the signature is invalidated if the document is changed. | 12 Alaska Admin. Code §§ 36.180, 36.185(f)(2) |
| Renewal and lapse | AS 08.48.221(a) provides that a registrant “may not affix or permit a seal and signature to be affixed to an instrument after the expiration of a certificate or for the purpose of aiding or abetting another person to evade or attempt to evade a provision of this chapter.” Renewal runs through AS 08.48.231 and the centralized licensing statute AS 08.01.100. | Alaska Stat. §§ 08.48.221(a), 08.48.231 |
| Firm requirements | A certificate of authorization is required and its number goes on the plat. | Alaska Stat. § 08.48.241 |
| Regulator | The State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors | Alaska Stat. ch. 08.48, chiefly §§ 08.48.221, 08.48.231 and 08.48.241, and 12 Alaska Admin. Code ch. 36, chiefly §§ 36.165, 36.180, 36.185, 36.190 and 36.195, read in full text on the Alaska Legislature site |
Is a seal required in Alaska?
AS 08.48.221(a) provides that when a registrant issues final drawings, specifications, surveys, plats, plates, reports or similar documents, “the registrant shall stamp the documents with the seal and sign the seal”, and makes the act a certification that the document was prepared by or under the registrant’s responsible charge and is within the registrant’s field of practice. Surveys, plats and plates are named in the statute itself, so a surveyor’s core work product is squarely inside the duty. 12 AAC 36.180 prescribes the land surveyor design and 12 AAC 36.185 governs how the seal is used, dated, validated and surrounded on the sheet.
What must appear on the seal
- State of Alaska legend
- Your name as registered
- Your registration number, numeric characters only
- Registered Professional Land Surveyor
- A signature space inside the seal
- A date, inside the seal or within two inches of it
Strip the letters from the number. 12 AAC 36.180(a) provides that “the license number noted on the seal must be only the numeric characters of the registrant’s license number and exclude alpha characters”, so an LS prefix does not belong in the number field. No branch identifier appears on a surveyor seal; that requirement belongs to engineers and structural engineers. What Alaska does require, and puts on the sheet rather than in the die, is the block in 12 AAC 36.185(g): the business name, physical address and telephone number, the project name or identification, the project address or location, and the certificate of authorization number of the entity, on all documents that must be signed and sealed.
Size and shape
Not addressed. 12 AAC 36.180 prescribes the seal by reproducing a picture of it and states no diameter, tolerance or inner-circle dimension anywhere. The board’s Seal Specifications page offers a downloadable CAD file for Registered Professional Land Surveyor and states no size either. Reproduce the board artwork proportionally rather than importing a dimension from a neighboring state.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
12 AAC 36.180 accepts the illustrated design “or a substantially similar electronic or digital representation of that design”, so an electronic seal is expressly authorized. The rule does not distinguish an embosser from a rubber stamp, but the Alaska design carries interior fields for an original signature and a date, and a blind embossed impression cannot take ink in them, so an inked rubber stamp cut to the board artwork is the safe buy.
Signing and dating
AS 08.48.221(a) requires the registrant to “stamp the documents with the seal and sign the seal”, and the board artwork carries the interior caption (Affix Original Signature), so the signature goes in or across the seal. 12 AAC 36.185(d) requires the date each time the registrant signs and seals a document, “by electronically or manually inserting the date within the seal or within two inches of the seal.” Validation under 12 AAC 36.185(f) is by an original handwritten signature over each seal, or by an electronic image of the original handwritten signature plus a digital signature, with the image permanently affixed to each seal directly over the seal.
No diameter anywhere, a date that is re-entered every time, and a firm number on every plat
Three Alaska features decide a surveyor’s order, and none of them is a dimension, because Alaska never states one. 12 AAC 36.180 gives the design as a picture and the board’s Seal Specifications page gives it as a CAD file. Neither gives a size. A supplier who quotes you a standard 1-5/8 inch surveyor die is working from another state.
The date field is the second. 12 AAC 36.185(d) requires the date “each time” the registrant signs and seals, inserted “within the seal or within two inches of the seal.” The board artwork has a place for it, and it stays blank in the die.
Third, Alaska pushes onto the sheet what most states leave to a title block. 12 AAC 36.185(g) requires the business name, physical address and telephone number, the project name or identification, the project address or location, and the entity’s certificate of authorization number on every document that must be signed and sealed. A plat that carries a perfect seal and no certificate of authorization number is still non-compliant.
Finally, ignore the extract on the board’s seal page. Under the downloads it reprints a superseded version of 12 AAC 36.185(f), describing an electronic signature image retained with software that automatically removes or modifies it when the document changes. The current subsection (f) requires an original handwritten signature over each seal, or an electronic image of that signature together with a digital signature.
Which documents must be sealed
12 AAC 36.185(a)(3) limits sealing to “final drawings, surveys, reports, and required construction documents” for which the registrant is qualified and claims responsibility, and requires a registrant to seal only the portion under the registrant’s direct professional knowledge and direct supervisory control where others prepared other portions. There is no preliminary or draft carve-out stated; the operative word is final. Altering a sealed document is prohibited except under the site adaptation and field alteration procedure in 12 AAC 36.195, which requires written permission from the sealing registrant, and that matters on survey work where a plat is revised after issue.
Electronic and digital seals
The digital signature must be unique to the registrant using it, capable of verification, under the exclusive control of the registrant using it, and linked to the document so that the signature is invalidated if the document is changed. No certificate authority, PKI vendor or named standard is specified. The seal may be a substantially similar electronic or digital representation of the board design under 12 AAC 36.180.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
AS 08.48.221(a) provides that a registrant “may not affix or permit a seal and signature to be affixed to an instrument after the expiration of a certificate or for the purpose of aiding or abetting another person to evade or attempt to evade a provision of this chapter.” Renewal runs through AS 08.48.231 and the centralized licensing statute AS 08.01.100. For entities, 12 AAC 36.165 expires an unrenewed certificate of authorization after five years and requires reinstatement on application. Whether an individual registration number survives lapse and reinstatement is not addressed in 12 AAC 36.165 or AS 08.48.231, which is worth confirming for a surveyor whose number already appears on recorded plats. No surrender or destruction of the device is required.
Firm requirements
A certificate of authorization is required and its number goes on the plat. AS 08.48.241 lets a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited partnership offer land surveying services only if it files an application for a certificate of authorization with the board. There is no firm seal, but 12 AAC 36.185(g)(4) requires “the certificate of authorization number issued to the corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership” on all documents that must be signed and sealed, and 12 AAC 36.185(h) requires the registrant to identify which entity is responsible where more than one appears.
What to check before you order
Work from the board’s downloadable Registered Professional Land Surveyor artwork and scale it proportionally, because Alaska prescribes no diameter. Order an inked rubber stamp, since the design carries interior fields for an original signature and a date. Give the supplier only the numeric characters of your license number, with no alpha prefix. Leave the date field blank, because it is completed each time you seal. Remember that your plats also have to carry the firm block and the certificate of authorization number required by 12 AAC 36.185(g), which is a drafting task rather than a stamp task.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for land surveyors in Alaska?
Yes, and surveys and plats are named in the statute. AS 08.48.221(a) provides that when a registrant issues final drawings, specifications, surveys, plats, plates, reports or similar documents, “the registrant shall stamp the documents with the seal and sign the seal,” and makes the act a certification that the document was prepared by or under the registrant’s responsible charge and is within the registrant’s field of practice. 12 AAC 36.180 prescribes the land surveyor design and 12 AAC 36.185 governs how the seal is used, dated, validated and surrounded on the sheet.
What has to appear on an Alaska land surveyor seal?
The State of Alaska legend, your name as registered, your registration number in numeric characters only, the words Registered Professional Land Surveyor, a signature space inside the seal, and a date either inside the seal or within two inches of it. The board artwork carries the interior caption (Affix Original Signature) and a place for the date; both fields stay blank in the die.
What size is an Alaska land surveyor seal?
No size is stated. 12 AAC 36.180 gives the design as a picture with no diameter, tolerance or inner-circle dimension, and the board’s Seal Specifications page gives it as a CAD file with no size either. A supplier who quotes a standard 1 5/8 inch surveyor die is working from another state.
Rubber stamp or embosser in Alaska?
12 AAC 36.180 accepts the illustrated design “or a substantially similar electronic or digital representation of that design,” so an electronic seal is expressly authorized. The rule does not distinguish an embosser from a rubber stamp, but the Alaska design carries interior fields for an original signature and a date, and a blind embossed impression cannot take ink in them, so an inked rubber stamp cut to the board artwork is the safe buy.
How is an Alaska seal validated?
By signature over the seal. 12 AAC 36.185(f) requires validation by an original handwritten signature over each seal, or by an electronic image of the original handwritten signature plus a digital signature, with the image permanently affixed to each seal directly over the seal. Note that the extract reprinted under the downloads on the board’s seal page is a superseded version of subsection (f), describing an electronic signature image retained with software that automatically removes or modifies it when the document changes.
Which Alaska documents get the seal?
12 AAC 36.185(a)(3) limits sealing to “final drawings, surveys, reports, and required construction documents” for which you are qualified and claim responsibility, and requires you to seal only the portion under your direct professional knowledge and direct supervisory control where others prepared other portions. There is no preliminary or draft carve-out stated; the operative word is final.
Can a sealed Alaska plat be altered later?
Not without permission. Altering a sealed document is prohibited except under the site adaptation and field alteration procedure in 12 AAC 36.195, which requires written permission from the sealing registrant. That matters on survey work where a plat is revised after issue.
What does Alaska require for digital signing?
Four properties and no named product. The digital signature must be unique to the registrant using it, capable of verification, under the exclusive control of the registrant using it, and linked to the document so that the signature is invalidated if the document is changed. No certificate authority, PKI vendor or named standard is specified, and the seal itself may be a substantially similar electronic or digital representation of the board design.
What happens if my Alaska registration expires?
You stop sealing. AS 08.48.221(a) provides that a registrant “may not affix or permit a seal and signature to be affixed to an instrument after the expiration of a certificate or for the purpose of aiding or abetting another person to evade or attempt to evade a provision of this chapter.” Renewal runs through AS 08.48.231 and the centralized licensing statute AS 08.01.100. Whether an individual registration number survives lapse and reinstatement is not addressed, which is worth confirming when your number already appears on recorded plats. No surrender or destruction of the device is required.
Does the Alaska firm number go on the plat?
Yes, as text rather than a stamp. AS 08.48.241 lets a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited partnership offer land surveying services only if it files an application for a certificate of authorization with the board. There is no firm seal, but 12 AAC 36.185(g)(4) requires “the certificate of authorization number issued to the corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership” on all documents that must be signed and sealed, and subsection (h) requires you to identify which entity is responsible where more than one appears. A plat with a perfect seal and no certificate of authorization number is still non-compliant. For entities, 12 AAC 36.165 expires an unrenewed certificate after five years and requires reinstatement on application.
