Do I need a stamped site plan?

How this works

A site plan meets a seal requirement at a particular point in the approval path, and the point differs by state and by document. The checker reads three stages: the concept, pre-application or preliminary site plan; the site plan submitted for approval; and the construction documents or permit set. For the state and stage you pick, it lists each rule our research verified from a statute, a board rule, an ordinance or an agency's own document, in the rule's words and with its citation. A preliminary site plan is the first of those documents, and preliminary vs final site plan explains how the stages differ.

Arizona shows why the stage matters. The Board of Technical Registration requires a registrant to seal a document before submitting it to "any regulatory or review body," "unless the document is marked 'preliminary,' 'draft,' or 'not for construction'" (A.A.C. R4-30-304(D)) ^[1]. Missouri draws the same line in its statute: licensees must "affix the seal to all final technical submissions," while "Nothing in this section... shall require any professional to seal preliminary or incomplete documents" (RSMo 327.411) ^[2]. The Arizona and Missouri state pages set out the rest of their approval layers.

The answers the checker gives

Each rule carries one of three answers, and a state and stage with no verified rule reads "Not verified in our research."

Seal required. The rule requires the document to be sealed, or prepared and certified by a licensed professional. North Carolina requires final drawings by a licensee to "be certified and stamped with the seal" when issued (G.S. Chapter 89C) ^[3]. Kentucky requires an architect for a business use group with a capacity of one hundred (100) persons or more (KRS 323.033(1)(b)) ^[4]. Alabama's board rule says "Any building 2,500 square feet or larger that is erected, enlarged, or altered requires the services of a registered architect, other than those exempted" ^[5].

Unsealed plan accepted. The rule lets the plan go forward without a seal. Missouri's statute, as quoted above, requires no seal on preliminary or incomplete documents ^[2], and Arizona's Board rule accepts a document marked "preliminary," "draft" or "not for construction" without one ^[1]. For a house, Wendell, North Carolina says "The site plan does not have to be professionally drawn for residential structures" ^[6].

Exemption. A statute names the buildings below a line that need no architect, no engineer or no seal at all, and each exemption shows with the profession it waives. Michigan requires no seal for a residential building of up to 3,500 sq ft calculated floor area (MCL 339.2014(e)) ^[7], and its licensing law lets unlicensed persons design detached 1- and 2-family residences up to 3,500 sq ft calculated floor area, licensed adult foster care homes excepted (MCL 339.2012(1)(d)) ^[8]. Virginia exempts business and mercantile buildings up to 5,000 sq ft total net floor area or three stories, and factory and storage buildings up to 15,000 sq ft or three stories (Va. Code 54.1-402) ^[9]. Minnesota's licensing law does not apply to plans for a building for the preparer's "exclusive occupancy or use" unless public health or safety or employee safety is involved (Minn. Stat. 326.02, subd. 5) ^[10], and certain building types listed in 326.03, subd. 2, including farm buildings, may be designed without a license ^[11].

Where the line falls for buildings

The building thresholds decide when the construction set needs an architect. Kentucky's list runs by use group and capacity: assembly, business and mercantile buildings with a capacity of one hundred (100) persons or more, smaller church buildings excepted, institutional and educational use groups regardless of capacity, and residential buildings of more than twelve (12) dwelling units or a capacity of fifty (50) persons or more (KRS 323.033(1)) ^[4]. The same statute calls for an architect or engineer for factory, storage and utility buildings at 100 or more persons and for high hazard buildings at any size ^[4]. Alabama sets its line at 2,500 square feet, for buildings erected, enlarged or altered ^[5].

Houses sit below most of these lines. Arizona lets a nonregistrant design a detached single-family dwelling (A.R.S. 32-144(A)) ^[12]. New York exempts residence buildings of 1,500 sq ft gross area or less, excluding garages, carports, porches, cellars and uninhabitable basements or attics, under Education Law 7307(5) ^[13]. Ohio requires no seal on plans for residential buildings as defined in section 3781.06, and none for work that does not involve technical design analysis (ORC 3791.04(A)(2)(b), (c)) ^[14]. Pennsylvania's Architects Licensure Law exempts drawings for detached one-family or two-family dwellings of not more than three stories and their accessory structures (63 P.S. 34.15) ^[15]. Los Angeles lets an unlicensed person prepare the architectural plans for a two-story single-family dwelling, and "only the structural drawings need" a licensed signature where engineering details appear ^[16]. The do I need an architect for a site plan guide sets these lines side by side.

Seals that arrive with another document

A concept plan can go forward unsealed while a study or permit around it needs a seal. NCDOT Division 10, District 2 requires traffic impact analyses, traffic signal studies, soft digs and drainage studies for a driveway permit to be prepared under the direct charge of, and sealed by, a North Carolina licensed professional ^[17]. San Antonio requires a design professional to prepare the construction documents for all Group A (Assembly) occupancies (City Code Sec. 10-8(a)(1)) ^[18], the rule behind the restaurant conversion case study.

Residential permits follow local rules. Cobb County, Georgia requires a current plan and survey of the property "sealed by a registered land surveyor" before a building permit (Dev. Standards s.103.19.1) ^[19]. Davie, Florida asks a pool permit applicant to "Provide a signed/sealed survey" ^[20], and Miami Beach lists a "Site Survey Signed & Sealed" for a new residential pool ^[21]. The pool site plan page covers the rest of that permit.