A wet ink stamp or embossing press seal has long been used as a professional engineer’s “stamp of approval” on drawings and documents.  The inclusion of this mark means that the work has been prepared by or under the direct supervision of the professional engineer.

The requirements of this stamp vary by state.  The appearance, size, wording, etc. may be unique to your particular state.  Some will include your particular engineering field (i.e. civil).  Individual municipalities may have their own codes and requirements in regard stamping drawings.

 Many states now allow “digital” stamps.  Of course this is a convenience but it does raise concerns over misuse.  “Digital signature” technology can be used to address these concerns.

The stamps or embossing presses can be obtain on-line from various places, or at your local office supply retailer (Office Depot, Office Max, or Staples).  The self inking stamps are the most convenient.  And if you are looking for an embosser, make sure that it is set up for the type of work you will be doing - likely either for making your mark from the bottom of a page or from the right side.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 11:42 pm and is filed under Requirements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.