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 Maryland State Board for Professional Land Surveyors and Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501, 15-502 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
The pictorial Great Seal of Maryland does not belong on a surveyor’s device. Maryland’s reputation for putting it at the center of professional seals comes from COMAR 09.23.01.03, which governs professional engineers, matched by COMAR 09.18.02.06C for certified interior designers. The surveyor subtitle does not do it. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(b) asks for a design determined by the Board, the legend professional land surveyor or licensed property line surveyor, and the name of the licensee who holds the seal. That is the whole statutory list.
Two things are conspicuously absent from it. There is no license number, which almost every other professional seal in the country carries, and there is no expiration date. Because the design is left to the Board, ask the Board for its determined design rather than handing a supplier the statute and letting them fill the gaps from an engineer template. Maryland also licenses two surveying credentials, and the legend is what distinguishes them, so order the one your license actually names.
Third, and most easily missed, § 15-502(a) requires only the name and the seal or a facsimile of the seal. It does not require a date. Every other Maryland design credential is a sign, seal and date credential: architects at § 3-501, certified interior designers at § 8-403, landscape architects at § 9-501 and professional engineers at § 14-4A-02. The surveyor is the outlier, and that is worth confirming with the Board before relying on it in practice.
Maryland land surveyor seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Maryland rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Conditional | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501, 15-502 |
| Required elements | The legend professional land surveyor, or licensed property line surveyor, Your name as the licensee who holds the seal and A design determined by the Board | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(b) |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. No diameter appears in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501 or 15-502, and COMAR 09.13 has no seal chapter. The sources here are the chapter list for COMAR 09.13, which runs chapter 01. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501 (silent) |
| Device allowed | Seal or facsimile, both accepted by the statute. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-502(a) |
| Signature and date | Name and seal, with no date requirement in the statute. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-502(a) |
| What must be sealed | Any plan, plat, report or specification issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, endorsed by the surveyor who prepared the document, under § 15-502(a). | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-502 |
| Electronic seal | Not addressed. There is no electronic or digital seal regulation in COMAR 09.13, whose eight chapters are listed above and contain no sealing chapter, and no digital signature definition in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501, 15-502 (silent) |
| Renewal and lapse | The seal is keyed to the licensee under § 15-501(b)(2)(ii), which requires the name of the licensee who holds it. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(b) |
| Firm requirements | Not addressed in the sealing provisions. | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501, 15-502 |
| Regulator | The Maryland State Board for Professional Land Surveyors | Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. tit. 15, §§ 15-501 and 15-502, read from the Maryland General Assembly |
Is a seal required in Maryland?
Maryland words the surveyor seal as permissive and the endorsement as mandatory. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(a) provides that “Each professional land surveyor and each licensed property line surveyor may obtain a seal for use as required under § 15-502 of this subtitle.” Section 15-502(a) then makes the use compulsory: before issuing to a client or submitting to a public authority any plan, plat, report or specification, the surveyor who prepared the document “shall endorse on the document the licensee’s: (1) name; and (2) seal or a facsimile of the seal,” and § 15-502(b) bars a public authority from accepting an unendorsed surveying document.
What must appear on the seal
- The legend professional land surveyor, or licensed property line surveyor
- Your name as the licensee who holds the seal
- A design determined by the Board
No Great Seal of Maryland, and no license number in the statutory list. Section 15-501(b) requires the seal to be of a design determined by the Board and to include the legend, either professional land surveyor or licensed property line surveyor, and the name of the licensee who holds the seal. It does not mention the pictorial device of the Great Seal of Maryland, which COMAR 09.23.01.03 requires of professional engineers and COMAR 09.18.02.06C requires of certified interior designers, and it does not list the license number. Maryland licenses two surveying credentials and the legend is what distinguishes them, so order the one your license actually names.
Size and shape
Not addressed. No diameter appears in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501 or 15-502, and COMAR 09.13 has no seal chapter. The sources here are the chapter list for COMAR 09.13, which runs chapter 01 Code of Ethics for the Practice of Professional Land Surveying and Property Line Surveying, chapter 02 Hearing Regulations, chapter 03 Survey Markers, chapter 04 Disciplinary Actions, chapter 05 Fees, chapter 06 Minimum Standards of Practice, chapter 07 Educational Equivalency Requirements and chapter 08 Continuing Professional Competency Requirements. Because the statute leaves the design to the Board, ask the Board for its determined design rather than working to a number.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Seal or facsimile, both accepted by the statute. Section 15-502(a)(2) requires the licensee to endorse the “seal or a facsimile of the seal,” which puts an impression device and a printed or computer generated reproduction on the same footing. The safe buy is a rubber stamp facsimile: Maryland survey plats are recorded and reproduced, and a blind embossed impression does not survive a county copy.
Signing and dating
Name and seal, with no date requirement in the statute. Section 15-502(a) requires the licensee to endorse the name and the seal or a facsimile of the seal. It does not require a date, which is a genuine divergence inside Maryland: § 3-501 requires architects to sign, seal and date, § 9-501 requires landscape architects to sign, seal and date, § 8-403 requires certified interior designers to sign, seal and date, and § 14-4A-02(a) requires professional engineers to endorse an original signature and date of signature plus the seal. The surveyor subtitle asks for name and seal. Check the Board’s current practice before relying on the omission.
No Great Seal, no number in the statute, and no date requirement
Maryland’s reputation for putting the pictorial Great Seal of Maryland at the center of professional seals comes from one regulation, COMAR 09.23.01.03, which governs professional engineers, and is matched by one other, COMAR 09.18.02.06C for certified interior designers. The surveyor subtitle does not do it. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(b) asks for a design determined by the Board, the legend professional land surveyor or licensed property line surveyor, and the name of the licensee. That is the whole statutory list.
Which documents must be sealed
Any plan, plat, report or specification issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, endorsed by the surveyor who prepared the document, under § 15-502(a). Section 15-502(b) supplies the receiving end: “A public authority may not accept any surveying plan, plat, report, or specification unless the document is endorsed as required under subsection (a) of this section.” COMAR 09.13.06 sets minimum standards of practice for boundary surveys, topographic surveys, planimetric surveys, location drawings, as constructed or record surveys, metes and bounds descriptions, right of way and easement surveys and special purpose surveys, and COMAR 09.13.03 governs survey markers.
Electronic and digital seals
Not addressed. There is no electronic or digital seal regulation in COMAR 09.13, whose eight chapters are listed above and contain no sealing chapter, and no digital signature definition in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. §§ 15-501 or 15-502. That is a gap beside the Maryland architects rule at COMAR 09.21.02.03E and F and the Maryland engineers rule at COMAR 09.23.03.09E, both of which define a digital signature. What the statute does allow is a facsimile of the seal under § 15-502(a)(2), which covers a computer generated seal image.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
The seal is keyed to the licensee under § 15-501(b)(2)(ii), which requires the name of the licensee who holds it. Fees sit in COMAR 09.13.05, disciplinary actions in COMAR 09.13.04 and continuing professional competency in COMAR 09.13.08. Because the statutory element list carries no expiration date and no license number, renewal has no effect on the device. Nothing in the subtitle requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered.
Firm requirements
Not addressed in the sealing provisions. Sections 15-501 and 15-502 put nothing about a firm on the seal or on the endorsement. COMAR 09.13.06.12 addresses business practices as part of the minimum standards of practice. That is a contrast with Maryland architects, whose COMAR 09.21.02.04 requires an entity titleblock with the entity name and a principal’s certification text, and with Maryland engineers, where Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 14-402 requires a firm permit.
What to check before you order
Ask the Maryland State Board for Professional Land Surveyors for its determined design before you order, because Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(b) leaves the design to the Board and states no diameter. The statutory content is the legend, either professional land surveyor or licensed property line surveyor depending on which credential you hold, and your name. Do not let a supplier put the pictorial Great Seal of Maryland at the center: that belongs to the Maryland professional engineer and certified interior designer seals, not to yours. A rubber stamp facsimile is the practical device, because § 15-502(a)(2) accepts a facsimile and Maryland plats are recorded and copied. Endorse your name and seal on every plan, plat, report and specification you issue or submit.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a seal required for land surveyors in Maryland?
Owning one is permissive and endorsing is mandatory. Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 15-501(a) provides that “Each professional land surveyor and each licensed property line surveyor may obtain a seal for use as required under § 15-502 of this subtitle.” Section 15-502(a) then makes the use compulsory: before issuing to a client or submitting to a public authority any plan, plat, report or specification, the surveyor who prepared it “shall endorse on the document the licensee’s: (1) name; and (2) seal or a facsimile of the seal.”
What has to appear on a Maryland land surveyor seal?
Three things under § 15-501(b): the legend professional land surveyor or licensed property line surveyor, your name as the licensee who holds the seal, and a design determined by the Board. The statute does not mention the pictorial Great Seal of Maryland and does not list the license number.
What size is a Maryland land surveyor seal?
No diameter appears in §§ 15-501 or 15-502, and COMAR 09.13 has no seal chapter at all. Its eight chapters run from the Code of Ethics through Hearing Regulations, Survey Markers, Disciplinary Actions, Fees, Minimum Standards of Practice, Educational Equivalency Requirements and Continuing Professional Competency Requirements. Because the statute leaves the design to the Board, ask the Board for its determined design rather than working to a number.
Seal or facsimile in Maryland?
Both, on the same footing. Section 15-502(a)(2) requires the licensee to endorse the “seal or a facsimile of the seal,” which puts an impression device and a printed or computer generated reproduction alongside one another. A rubber stamp facsimile is the practical choice, since Maryland survey plats are recorded and reproduced and a blind embossed impression does not survive a county copy.
Does Maryland require a date with the seal?
The statute does not. Section 15-502(a) requires the licensee to endorse the name and the seal or a facsimile of the seal, and says nothing about a date. That is a genuine divergence inside Maryland, where architects, landscape architects, certified interior designers and professional engineers are each required to date as well as sign and seal. Check the Board’s current practice before relying on the omission.
Which Maryland documents have to be endorsed?
Any plan, plat, report or specification issued to a client or submitted to a public authority, endorsed by the surveyor who prepared it. Section 15-502(b) supplies the receiving end: “A public authority may not accept any surveying plan, plat, report, or specification unless the document is endorsed as required under subsection (a) of this section.”
What practice standards sit behind the Maryland seal?
COMAR 09.13.06 sets minimum standards of practice for boundary surveys, topographic surveys, planimetric surveys, location drawings, as constructed or record surveys, metes and bounds descriptions, right of way and easement surveys and special purpose surveys, and COMAR 09.13.03 governs survey markers.
Is there a Maryland electronic seal rule for surveyors?
No. There is no electronic or digital seal regulation in COMAR 09.13, whose eight chapters contain no sealing chapter, and no digital signature definition in §§ 15-501 or 15-502. That is a gap beside the Maryland architects rule at COMAR 09.21.02.03E and F and the Maryland engineers rule at COMAR 09.23.03.09E, both of which define a digital signature. What the statute does allow is a facsimile of the seal under § 15-502(a)(2), which covers a computer generated seal image.
Does renewal affect my Maryland seal?
No. The seal is keyed to the licensee under § 15-501(b)(2)(ii), which requires the name of the licensee who holds it, and the statutory element list carries no expiration date and no license number, so renewal has no effect on the device. Nothing in the subtitle requires the seal to be destroyed or surrendered. Fees sit in COMAR 09.13.05, disciplinary actions in COMAR 09.13.04 and continuing professional competency in COMAR 09.13.08.
Does a Maryland surveying firm appear on the document?
Not under the sealing provisions. Sections 15-501 and 15-502 put nothing about a firm on the seal or on the endorsement, and COMAR 09.13.06.12 addresses business practices as part of the minimum standards of practice. That contrasts with Maryland architects, whose COMAR 09.21.02.04 requires an entity titleblock with the entity name and a principal’s certification text, and with Maryland engineers, where § 14-402 requires a firm permit.
