The current seal issued to licence holders indicates the type of licence held and the individual’s licence number. Older seals do not include the licence number and may identify the holder as a “Registered Professional Engineer.” Any of these seals is acceptable.
Seals for holders of temporary or limited licences differ from that of a professional engineer. These seals are rectangular and contain additional information. The limited licence seal includes a description of the holder’s allowed scope of practice. The temporary licence seal includes the expiry date of the holder’s licence and the name of the Ontario professional engineer collaborating with the temporary licence holder.
Section 53 of the act sets out the proper use of the seal. The seal must be signed and dated by the licence holder. Clients and other parties should not accept a document that has been sealed but has not been signed or dated.
Affixing the seal on documents and drawings indicates they are final for the intended purpose and have been prepared by or under the supervision of a person licensed to practise professional engineering who is assuming responsibility for them. By sealing documents and drawings, licence holders acknowledge that they assume professional responsibility for the design, opinions, judgments or directions given in the documents and drawings.
For full details on the proper use of the professional engineer’s seal, please see PEO’s Use of the Professional Engineer's Seal Guideline.