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 Washington State Geologist Licensing Board and RCW 18.220.090 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Washington publishes three authorized stamp designs and prohibits variations from them. WAC 308-15-070 requires you to obtain, on licensure, a seal bearing your name, your license number and the legend “State of Washington Licensed Geologist,” and it prints a geologist stamp, an engineering geologist stamp and a hydrogeologist stamp. If you hold the engineering geologist or hydrogeologist specialty, that designation must appear on the seal. A licensee who holds a specialty and orders the plain geologist face has the wrong device, and one who does not hold a specialty and orders a specialty face has asserted a credential they do not have.
All three marks go on every final work product. WAC 308-15-075(1) requires that “You must apply your stamp/seal, signature, and the date on every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction, and submitted to other parties, as part of the public practice of geology.” The signature goes across the seal or stamp under subsection (3)(a), so size the die to leave your number readable underneath it.
No diameter appears anywhere. WAC 308-15-070, WAC 308-15-075 and RCW 18.220.090 state none, because the board controls the face by publishing the designs and prohibiting variations rather than by setting a figure.
Washington geologist seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Washington rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | RCW 18.220.090 |
| Required elements | Your name as licensed, Your license number, State of Washington Licensed Geologist and Your specialty designation, if you hold one | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-070 |
| Size and shape | Not addressed. No diameter appears in WAC 308-15-070, in WAC 308-15-075 or in RCW 18.220.090. The board controls the face by publishing three authorized designs and prohibiting variations from them. The sources here are. | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-070 (silent) |
| Device allowed | Both physical and digital seal formats are permissible under WAC 308-15-070, which is unusually direct. | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-070 |
| Signature and date | All three marks, every time. | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-075(1), (2), (3) |
| What must be sealed | Every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction and submitted to other parties as part of the public practice of geology. | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-075(1) |
| Electronic seal | Digital seal formats are expressly permissible under WAC 308-15-070, and the digital identification criteria in 308-15-075(3)(b) are the standard: unique, independently verifiable, under exclusive control, and invalidated if any data in the document changes. | Wash. Admin. Code 308-15-070, 308-15-075(3)(b) |
| Renewal and lapse | RCW 18.220.110 governs license renewal, fee and reinstatement, WAC 308-15-080 renewal, 308-15-083 retired status, 308-15-085 withdrawal from active practice and 308-15-087 reactivation. | RCW 18.220.110 |
| Firm requirements | Not applicable. | RCW ch. 18.220 |
| Regulator | The Washington State Geologist Licensing Board | RCW ch. 18.220, principally §§ 18.220.090, 18.220.110 and 18.220.190, read from the Washington State Legislature |
Is a seal required in Washington?
Washington licenses geologists and requires the seal on final work. RCW 18.220.090, headed Certificate of licensing and Seal, carries the statutory duty. WAC 308-15-070 requires that on licensure you obtain a seal bearing your name, license number, and the legend “State of Washington Licensed Geologist.” WAC 308-15-075(1) supplies the trigger: “You must apply your stamp/seal, signature, and the date on every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction, and submitted to other parties, as part of the public practice of geology.”
What must appear on the seal
- Your name as licensed
- Your license number
- State of Washington Licensed Geologist
- Your specialty designation, if you hold one
One element is conditional rather than optional. WAC 308-15-070 requires that if you hold an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist specialty credential, that designation must appear on the seal, and the rule prints three authorized facsimiles: a geologist stamp, an engineering geologist stamp and a hydrogeologist stamp. Variations from those designs are prohibited. A licensee who holds a specialty and orders the plain geologist face has the wrong device, and a licensee who does not hold one and orders a specialty face has asserted a credential they do not have.
Size and shape
Not addressed. No diameter appears in WAC 308-15-070, in WAC 308-15-075 or in RCW 18.220.090. The board controls the face by publishing three authorized designs and prohibiting variations from them. The sources here are the full section list of chapter 308-15 WAC and both seal sections.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Both physical and digital seal formats are permissible under WAC 308-15-070, which is unusually direct. An inked stamp is the safe physical buy, because geology work products in Washington are reports and plates that get copied and circulated, and because WAC 308-15-075 requires the signature to be placed across the seal or stamp, which is awkward against an unfilled embossed impression.
Signing and dating
All three marks, every time. WAC 308-15-075(1) requires the stamp or seal, the signature and the date on every final work product. Subsection (3)(a) requires a handwritten or digital representation of the handwritten identification that is original, permanently affixed, applied by the licensee, and placed across the seal or stamp. Subsection (3)(b) allows a digital identification that is unique, independently verifiable, under exclusive licensee control, and invalidated if document data changes. Subsection (2) provides that if you stamp, sign and date a work product prepared by another geologist, you are responsible to the same extent as if you had prepared it yourself.
Bound plates ride the report, loose ones need their own stamp
WAC 308-15-075(1)(a) draws a line most geologists learn the hard way. Figures, maps and plates bound into a final report do not need to be individually stamped, because the report’s own stamp, signature and date carry them. The moment those same figures, maps or plates are issued unbound, each one must be individually stamped, signed and dated. A single oversize plate handed to a client on its own is a work product in its own right.
Which documents must be sealed
Every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction and submitted to other parties as part of the public practice of geology. WAC 308-15-075(1)(a) gives the internal carve out: bound figures, maps and plates within final reports do not require individual stamping, but unbound versions of those same items must be individually stamped, signed and dated. Subsection (1)(b) handles drafts: “Draft geology or specialty geology work products do not have to be stamped/sealed, but these types of documents and associated figures, maps, and plates must be marked as draft.” RCW 18.220.190 lists activities for which a certificate of licensing is not required.
Electronic and digital seals
Digital seal formats are expressly permissible under WAC 308-15-070, and the digital identification criteria in 308-15-075(3)(b) are the standard: unique, independently verifiable, under exclusive control, and invalidated if any data in the document changes. The board names no certificate authority, no hash algorithm and no product.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
RCW 18.220.110 governs license renewal, fee and reinstatement, WAC 308-15-080 renewal, 308-15-083 retired status, 308-15-085 withdrawal from active practice and 308-15-087 reactivation. Because the seal carries a license number and no expiration date, renewal does not make the device stale. What does force a new device is a change in credential status: adding an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist specialty changes the required face under WAC 308-15-070.
Firm requirements
Not applicable. Chapter 18.220 RCW licenses individuals, and chapter 308-15 WAC puts only individual items on the seal. Washington issues no geology firm certificate of authorization and no firm number belongs on the face.
What to check before you order
Order the board authorized design from WAC 308-15-070 with your name, your license number and the legend State of Washington Licensed Geologist. If you hold the engineering geologist or hydrogeologist specialty, order that specialty face instead, because the designation must appear on the seal and variations from the published designs are prohibited. Washington states no diameter, so size the die so that your signature, which the rule places across the seal, still leaves your number readable. Physical and digital formats are both permitted. Plan for the date: every final work product gets the stamp, your signature and the date, so a separate dater is worth having alongside the seal.
Browse geologist stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Is a geologist seal required in Washington?
Yes. RCW 18.220.090, headed Certificate of licensing and Seal, carries the statutory duty, WAC 308-15-070 requires you to obtain the seal on licensure, and WAC 308-15-075(1) requires the stamp, signature and date on every final geology or specialty geology work product prepared by you or under your supervision or direction and submitted to other parties as part of the public practice of geology.
Which of the three designs do I order?
The one matching your credential. WAC 308-15-070 prints a geologist stamp, an engineering geologist stamp and a hydrogeologist stamp, and requires a specialty holder’s designation to appear on the seal. A Washington geologist seal order is really a two part question: your name and number, and which of the three faces your credential entitles you to.
What size is a Washington geologist seal?
No dimension is stated in WAC 308-15-070, WAC 308-15-075 or RCW 18.220.090. The board controls the face by publishing the authorized designs and prohibiting variations from them, so size the die so that your signature, which goes across the seal, still leaves your number readable.
Rubber stamp or digital?
Both formats are permissible under WAC 308-15-070, which is unusually direct about it. An inked stamp is the safe physical buy, because geology work products in Washington are reports and plates that get copied and circulated, and because the signature has to be placed across the seal, which is awkward against an unfilled embossed impression.
Do bound figures and plates need their own stamp?
Not while they are bound. WAC 308-15-075(1)(a) provides that bound figures, maps and plates within final reports do not require individual stamping, but unbound versions of those same items must be individually stamped, signed and dated. A single oversize plate handed to a client on its own is a work product in its own right.
What about drafts?
Mark them. Subsection (1)(b) provides that “Draft geology or specialty geology work products do not have to be stamped/sealed, but these types of documents and associated figures, maps, and plates must be marked as draft.” Washington does not let an unmarked, unstamped document be called preliminary later.
Where exactly does the signature go?
Across the seal or stamp. WAC 308-15-075(3)(a) requires a handwritten or digital representation of the handwritten identification that is original, permanently affixed, applied by the licensee, and placed across the seal or stamp. Subsection (3)(b) allows a digital identification that is unique, independently verifiable, under exclusive licensee control, and invalidated if document data changes.
What happens if I stamp someone else’s work?
You take it on. WAC 308-15-075(2) provides that if you stamp, sign and date a work product prepared by another geologist, you are responsible to the same extent as if you had prepared it yourself.
Does Washington name a digital sealing technology?
No. Digital seal formats are expressly permissible under WAC 308-15-070, and the criteria in 308-15-075(3)(b) are functional: unique, independently verifiable, under exclusive control, and invalidated if any data in the document changes. The board names no certificate authority, no hash algorithm and no product.
Does renewal or a status change affect my seal?
Renewal does not, because the seal carries a license number and no expiration date. What does force a new device is a change in credential status: adding an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist specialty changes the required face under WAC 308-15-070. Renewal, retired status, withdrawal from active practice and reactivation are at RCW 18.220.110 and WAC 308-15-080, -083, -085 and -087.
Does a Washington geology firm need a certificate of authorization?
No. Chapter 18.220 RCW licenses individuals, chapter 308-15 WAC puts only individual items on the seal, and Washington issues no geology firm certificate of authorization. No firm number belongs on the face.
