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 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
The inner circle is a ratio, not a number. Most states that prescribe concentric circles give two fixed figures. SDCL 36-18A-44 gives a range and a ratio: the seal “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.” Change the outer size and the inner size has to move with it. At 1-1/2 inches outer the inner circle is 15/16 of an inch; at 1-3/4 inches outer it is 1-3/32 inches.
That is where template dies fail. A generic 1-3/4 inch concentric-circle blank with a 1-1/4 inch inner ring produces a seal whose inner circle is about five-sevenths of the outer, not five-eighths. The outer dimension is legal and the seal still looks right, so nobody catches it until somebody measures.
The second South Dakota feature is a choice most states do not offer. The statute requires the appropriate title and then says “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” Architect, Licensed Architect and Registered Architect are all compliant, so decide which you want rather than letting a supplier pick. One more item belongs on the order: the word on the seal is South Dakota, not the State of South Dakota and not an abbreviation.
South Dakota architect seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | South Dakota rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Yes | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45 |
| Required elements | The name, South Dakota, Your name as licensee, Your license number and The title Architect, 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 | Four device classes are named, with a catch-all the board controls: “The seal may be an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” The safe buy is a rubber or self-inking stamp sized so the inner circle stays crisp, because SDCL 36-18A-45 conditions compliance on the seal, signature and date being placed so they can be legibly reproduced, and because the same seal has to work on originals, copies, tracings and electronic submittals. | SDCL 36-18A-44 |
| Signature and date | Placement is permissive: “The licensee’s signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal.” South Dakota does not require signing through the stamp, so beside it is acceptable provided the trio reproduces legibly. | SDCL 36-18A-44, 36-18A-45.1 |
| What must be sealed | All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or 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. | SDCL 36-18A-45 |
| Electronic seal | The standard is functional rather than proprietary. | 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 disciplinary action. | 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, Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors, 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?
South Dakota carries the whole scheme in statute, and the mandate is one sentence covering four professions at once. SDCL 36-18A-44 opens “Any licensed professional engineer, architect, land surveyor, and landscape architect shall use an appropriate seal.” SDCL 36-18A-45 sets the trigger and the certification effect: application of the seal, signature and date certifies that the work was done by the licensee or under the licensee’s responsible charge, and the three must be placed so they can be legibly reproduced on all originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or other reproductions of all final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information and calculations “when presented to a client or any public or governmental agency.” ARSD 20:38:37:01 adds that the seal shall be used on all final documents and makes improper use or failure to sign and seal final work grounds for discipline.
What must appear on the seal
- The name, South Dakota
- Your name as licensee
- Your license number
- The title Architect, optionally prefixed Licensed or Registered
South Dakota is one of the few states that hands the licensee a choice of wording. SDCL 36-18A-44 requires the appropriate title from the list Professional Engineer, Architect, Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect, then adds “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” So Architect, Licensed Architect and Registered Architect are all lawful, and the choice is yours. A combination of titles on one seal is allowed for a person holding more than one South Dakota license, which means an architect who is also a landscape architect can carry both on a single die. Two categories are barred from holding a seal at all: SDCL 36-18A-44 ends “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal”, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 repeats it. No expiration date is required on the face.
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 states that the seal “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.” That is a range plus a ratio rather than a fixed pair of numbers, which is unusual. A 1-1/2 inch outer circle therefore needs a 15/16 inch inner circle, and a 1-3/4 inch outer needs a 1-3/32 inch inner. A die with an outer circle and no inner circle does not meet the statute.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Four device classes are named, with a catch-all the board controls: “The seal may be an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” The safe buy is a rubber or self-inking stamp sized so the inner circle stays crisp, because SDCL 36-18A-45 conditions compliance on the seal, signature and date being placed so they can be legibly reproduced, and because the same seal has to work on originals, copies, tracings and electronic submittals. Keep an embosser for supplementary use.
Signing and dating
Placement is permissive: “The licensee’s signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal.” South Dakota does not require signing through the stamp, so beside it is acceptable provided the trio reproduces legibly. The date accompanies the signature. Digital signatures are optional and governed by SDCL 36-18A-45.1: if used, the signature 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 digital 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 digital signature using a board-approved process is presumed to meet those criteria, 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.
The inner circle is a ratio, and the title prefix is your choice
Most states that prescribe concentric circles give two fixed numbers. South Dakota gives a range and a ratio. SDCL 36-18A-44 allows an outer circle anywhere from one inch to two inches, then requires the inner circle to measure five-eighths of whatever outer diameter you chose. Change the outer size and the inner size has to move with it.
That is where template dies fail. A supplier who keeps a generic 1-3/4 inch concentric-circle blank with a 1-1/4 inch inner ring produces a South Dakota seal whose inner circle is about five-sevenths of the outer, not five-eighths. The outer dimension is legal and the seal still looks right, so nobody catches it until somebody measures.
The second South Dakota feature is a choice most states do not offer. The statute requires the appropriate title and then says “Titles may be prefixed with the words, Licensed or Registered.” Architect, Licensed Architect and Registered Architect are all compliant, so decide which you want rather than letting a supplier pick. And if you hold more than one South Dakota license, the statute allows a combination of titles on a single seal.
One more thing belongs on the order form. The word on the seal is South Dakota. Not the State of South Dakota, and not an abbreviation.
Which documents must be sealed
All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or 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. ARSD 20:38:37:01 requires drawings prepared by a licensed professional to carry “the seal and license number with a signature of the licensee who is in responsible charge on each sheet of those drawings”, and SDCL 36-18A-45(3) adds that on a multi-profession project the title or index sheet is sealed, signed and dated by the prime professional coordinating the project, with each sheet sealed by whoever prepared it or is in responsible charge of it. Carve-outs: SDCL 36-18A-45(2) allows preliminary work to carry a Not for Construction or Preliminary note instead of a seal, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 exempts review drafts and presentation documents such as renderings or drawings used to communicate conceptual information only. Going the other way, the same rule provides that “Any exempt project services performed by a licensed professional shall be sealed”, and that construction administration work must be sealed if it affects the intent of the project or changes life safety aspects.
Electronic and digital seals
The standard is functional rather than proprietary. SDCL 36-18A-45.1 sets the four-part digital signature test described above and makes board approval of a process a safe harbor rather than a precondition, and it expressly makes use of a digital signature optional. Electronic submittals are already inside the sealing requirement, 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 product 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 disciplinary action. 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. Checked SDCL ch. 36-18A and ARSD art. 20:38 for seal and stamp language.
Firm requirements
A certificate of authorization is required, and no firm seal exists. SDCL 36-18A-48 provides that any business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation in the state shall register with the board by applying for a certificate of authorization, and makes the entity responsible for the conduct of its agents, employees, officers, partners, members or managers without relieving any individual of responsibility for that individual’s own conduct. A licensee who renders occasional, part-time or consulting services to a business entity may not be designated as the person in responsible charge. SDCL 36-18A-47 separately 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 to appear on a sealed document; checked both.
What to check before you order
Choose your outer diameter first, anywhere from 1 inch to 2 inches, then have the inner circle cut at exactly five-eighths of it. At 1-1/2 inches outer that is a 15/16 inch inner circle. Four text items go on the die: South Dakota, your name, your license number, and the title Architect, which you may prefix with Licensed or Registered if you prefer. If you hold a second South Dakota license you may combine the titles on one seal. Embossed, rubber stamp, computer-generated and board-accepted facsimiles are all lawful, and the inked stamp is the practical primary device because the seal, signature and date must reproduce legibly on copies, tracings and electronic submittals. Your signature may sit adjacent to or across the seal, so interior space is less of a constraint here than in states that require signing through the die.
Browse architect stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Is an architect seal required in South Dakota?
Yes, in one sentence covering four professions. SDCL 36-18A-44 opens “Any licensed professional engineer, architect, land surveyor, and landscape architect shall use an appropriate seal.” SDCL 36-18A-45 sets the trigger and the certification effect: application of the seal, signature and date certifies that the work was done by the licensee or under the licensee’s responsible charge. ARSD 20:38:37:01 adds that the seal shall be used on all final documents and makes improper use or failure to sign and seal final work grounds for discipline.
What has to appear on a South Dakota architect seal?
Four items under SDCL 36-18A-44: the name South Dakota, your name as licensee, your license number, and the title Architect, which you may prefix with Licensed or Registered. No expiration date is required on the face.
What size is a South Dakota architect seal?
An outer circle of at least one inch and no greater than two inches, with an inner circle measuring exactly five-eighths of whatever outer diameter you chose. A die with an outer circle and no inner circle does not meet the statute.
Can I use an embosser in South Dakota?
Yes. Four device classes are named, with a catch-all the board controls: “The seal may be an embossed seal, a rubber stamp, a computer-generated seal, or other facsimile found acceptable to the board.” A rubber or self-inking stamp sized so the inner circle stays crisp is the practical primary device, because SDCL 36-18A-45 conditions compliance on the seal, signature and date being placed so they can be legibly reproduced, and because the same seal has to work on originals, copies, tracings and electronic submittals. Keep an embosser for supplementary use.
Can I put two credentials on one South Dakota seal?
Yes. A combination of titles on one seal is allowed for a person holding more than one South Dakota license, so an architect who is also a landscape architect can carry both on a single die. Two categories are barred from holding a seal at all: SDCL 36-18A-44 ends “Petroleum release assessors and remediators, or interns, may not use a seal,” and ARSD 20:38:37:01 repeats it.
Where do the signature and date go in South Dakota?
Placement is permissive: “The licensee’s signature and the date shall be adjacent to or across the seal.” South Dakota does not require signing through the stamp, so beside it is acceptable provided the trio reproduces legibly. The date accompanies the signature.
Which documents have to be sealed in South Dakota?
All originals, copies, tracings, electronic submittals or 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. ARSD 20:38:37:01 requires drawings prepared by a licensed professional to carry “the seal and license number with a signature of the licensee who is in responsible charge on each sheet of those drawings,” and SDCL 36-18A-45(3) adds that on a multi-profession project the title or index sheet is sealed, signed and dated by the prime professional coordinating the project, with each sheet sealed by whoever prepared it or is in responsible charge of it.
What does not need a South Dakota seal?
SDCL 36-18A-45(2) allows preliminary work to carry a Not for Construction or Preliminary note instead of a seal, and ARSD 20:38:37:01 exempts review drafts and presentation documents such as renderings or drawings used to communicate conceptual information only. Going the other way, the same rule provides that “Any exempt project services performed by a licensed professional shall be sealed,” and that construction administration work must be sealed if it affects the intent of the project or changes life safety aspects.
Is a digital signature required in South Dakota?
No, it is optional. SDCL 36-18A-45.1 provides that if one is used it 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 digital 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 digital signature using a board-approved process is presumed to meet those criteria, so board approval is a safe harbor rather than a precondition. 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 product is named.
What happens to my South Dakota seal if my license lapses?
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 disciplinary action. 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.
Does a South Dakota firm need a certificate of authorization?
Yes, and its number stays off the document. SDCL 36-18A-48 provides that any business entity that desires to practice engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, or petroleum release assessment or remediation in the state shall register with the board by applying for a certificate of authorization, and makes the entity responsible for the conduct of its agents, employees, officers, partners, members or managers without relieving any individual of responsibility for that individual’s own conduct. A licensee who renders occasional, part-time or consulting services to a business entity may not be designated as the person in responsible charge. SDCL 36-18A-47 separately 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 to appear on a sealed document.
