Professional Stamp
Licensed architects (RA) and professional engineers (PE) review and certify your design documents.
What a Professional Stamp Covers
A professional stamp is the seal of a licensed architect or professional engineer certifying that they prepared or reviewed a set of documents and take professional responsibility for them. Most DMV jurisdictions require sealed drawings for structural work, most commercial scopes, and anything where public safety turns on the design. The seal is not a formality bought at the end. The licensee has to actually review the work, which is why a stamp cannot be issued on documents the professional has not examined.
PermitCare's Licensed Architects (RA) and Professional Engineers (PE) conduct comprehensive review of all designs, construction, and permit documents and provide their professional certification stamp.
When You Need One
- The jurisdiction has rejected a submission for lacking a professional seal
- Structural work: load-bearing walls, beams, foundations, retaining walls
- Most commercial construction and tenant fit-out drawing sets
- MEP drawings, where the jurisdiction requires engineered documents
- Drawings prepared by a contractor or draftsperson that now need certification to be filed
- An engineering evaluation of an existing structure, common in code violation cases
What PermitCare Handles
- Comprehensive review of the design, construction, and permit documents by a licensed RA or PE
- Written comments where the documents need correction before they can be sealed
- The professional certification stamp on the reviewed set
- Structural calculations supporting the sealed design where the scope requires them
- Engineering evaluation letters for existing conditions
- Continuity, since the professional who sealed the set is available to answer the reviewer's comments
Documents Usually Required
Exact requirements are set by the jurisdiction you file in. This is the package most submissions are built from.
- The complete drawing set to be reviewed, in an editable or high-resolution format
- Structural calculations, if they already exist
- The project scope and the jurisdiction it will be filed in, since requirements differ
- Existing conditions documentation for work on an existing building
- Product data for specified structural or engineered components
Common Questions
Can you stamp drawings someone else prepared?
Only after reviewing them properly, and only if they are correct or can be corrected. A licensed professional takes responsibility for what they seal, so review is genuine work rather than a signature at the end. If the set needs changes before it can be sealed, we say so and identify what those are.
When does a jurisdiction require a stamped drawing?
Requirements vary, but the common triggers are structural work, most commercial scopes, and any project above a size or complexity threshold the jurisdiction sets. The reliable way to find out is to check before drafting rather than after a rejection, because redrawing to an engineered standard costs more than starting there.
What is the difference between an architect's seal and an engineer's seal?
Broadly, architects seal building design, spatial layout, and code compliance for the overall structure, while engineers seal the technical systems: structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, civil. Many projects need both. PermitCare has licensed architects and professional engineers in house, so one team can cover both.
Is a stamp the same as approval?
No. A seal is the professional's certification that they take responsibility for the design. Approval is the jurisdiction's decision that the design meets code and can be built. Sealed drawings still go through plan review.
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