Sec.20-300-10. License seals and stamps

(a) Each licensee, upon notification of licensure, will be authorized to obtain an official seal of a size and design prescribed by the Board. The seal shall be applied to all plans, maps, surveys, sketches, drawings, specifications, and documents pertaining to any project submitted by the licensee to his or her client. Where drawings or documents are bound together, the application of the seal on one sheet or page shall be considered sufficient, except in filing plans for building permits and appurtenant structures where each sheet shall be sealed.

(b) A rubber stamp of identical size and design to the specified seal shall suffice. Where a licensee is classified as a professional engineer and as a land surveyor, two seals are necessary. The licensee shall not affix his or her seal to any plan, map, survey, sketch, drawing, specification, or other document not prepared personally or under his or her supervisory control. A licensee may seal, or sign and seal, documents not prepared by the licensee or by an employee under the licensee's supervisory control, provided the licensee shall prepare, and retain for a period of not less than six years, a thorough written evaluation of the professional services represented by the documents, including but not limited to, drawings, specifications, reports, design calculations and references to applicable codes and standards. Such written evaluation shall clearly identify the project and the documents to which it relates, the sources of the documents, the name of the person or organization for which the written evaluation was conducted and the date of the evaluation. The seal and signature of the licensee shall also be affixed thereto.

(c) In lieu of a handwritten signature and live seal on paper documents, a licensee shall be permitted to place a digital signature on electronic documents if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) The digital signing process satisfies the requirements of the Digital Signature Standard (“DSS”) established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This standard may be obtained at the following website: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/;

(2) The digital signature keys are unique to the licensee;

(3) The digital signature keys can be verified by a trusted third party or some other approved process as belonging to the licensee;

(4) The private key used for signing electronic documents is under the licensee's direct and exclusive control; and

(5) An electronic document that is altered in any way after being digitally signed fails the verification process.

(6) A licensee may transmit an electronic document without a digital signature provided that any graphical facsimile of the licensee's handwritten signature or stamp does not appear on the document. For cases where the facsimile signature or stamp cannot be erased or removed, a note shall be placed on the document in a prominent location stating that “This shall not be considered a sealed document.”

(d) An electronic document, digitally signed according to the criteria described in subsection (c) of this section, shall be considered “sealed by” or “stamped with a seal of” a licensed surveyor or a licensed professional engineer.

(e) Users of private digital keys are responsible for their use in digitally signing electronic documents. A lost or compromised private digital key shall be reported to the board and the department of consumer protection immediately, but not later than fifteen (15) days after discovery. In such cases, the lost or compromised key shall not be used and the licensee shall cause a new key pair to be generated in accordance with the criteria described in subsection (c) of this section. Failure to report such loss may subject the holder to disciplinary action by the board. Misuse of the lost or compromised key by others shall remain the responsibility of the licensee until such misuse or loss is reported pursuant to this subsection.

(f) The licensed land surveyor shall indicate on any map or survey which bears his or her seal and signature, for submittal to his or her client or town clerks as required under section 7-31 of the general statutes, that said map or survey is substantially correct to the degree of accuracy shown thereon. The accuracy shall be classified in accordance with section 20-300b-11 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

(g) Holders of official seals and/or stamps are responsible for their use in sealing and/or stamping of engineering and land surveying documents. Loss of seals and/or stamps shall be reported to the board of examiners and the department of consumer protection immediately, but not later than fifteen (15) days after discovery. Failure to report such loss may subject the holder to disciplinary action by the board. A petition for the issuance of a new license may be submitted concurrently with report of the loss. Misuse of the lost seal and/or stamp by others shall remain the responsibility of the licensee until such loss is reported pursuant to this subsection.

(Effective February 23, 1990; Amended March 07, 2013)