PE stamp in Massachusetts: 780 CMR and the Board seal

When a Massachusetts PE stamp is required

The Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors licenses Professional Engineers. Cities and towns enforce the Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR, through the local building commissioner or inspector of buildings. The tenth edition is based on the 2021 International Codes with Massachusetts amendments. It first took effect October 11, 2024. A concurrency period with the ninth edition ended June 30, 2025, so applications filed after that date use the tenth edition only. The project address controls the license.

780 CMR requires plans, computations, and specifications for new construction, alterations, repairs, additions, and changes of occupancy to be prepared under the direct supervision of a registered design professional and to bear that person’s seal and signature, unless the building official waives documents the code does not require a design professional to prepare. AllInStamp matches a Massachusetts-licensed PE and verifies the registration before sealing.

Boston ISD and other municipalities

Boston Inspectional Services Department, Cambridge, Worcester, Springfield, and smaller towns each run their own filing process against the same 780 CMR. Sheet size, energy-form habits, and whether the town has adopted the Stretch Energy Code still change locally. Name the municipality. A Boston filing is not the same intake as a suburban building department.

Alternative means and methods that depart from a prescriptive 780 CMR requirement are submitted to the building official in a narrative kept separate from the plans. If the town has already issued that request, include it with the upload.

The professional seal under 250 CMR 5.03

The seal contains “Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” the registrant’s name, the registration number, and the words “Professional Engineer,” and it may include the licensed branch. It may be a rubber stamp, an embossed seal, or a digitized image about one and one-half inches in outside diameter. Documents filed with public authorities are signed, dated, and sealed. On a printed plan set, each sheet is signed, sealed, and dated.

The signature is a legible handwritten signature adjacent to the seal, without covering it, or a properly encrypted digital signature. A digital signature uses an authentication process uniquely tied to the registrant and to the document, so a change to the file invalidates the signature. The registrant seals work produced personally or under the registrant’s direct charge and supervision. Adopting another registrant’s work requires a documented review and full responsibility for that work.

Construction control is a separate scope

Buildings that 780 CMR places under construction control need a registered design professional’s responsibilities during construction, in addition to the sealed drawings. A stamp on the permit set does not by itself include those affidavits and site obligations. Say so in the quote if the building official has asked for construction control.

Coastal work in Boston, the North Shore, the Cape, and the islands adds flood-zone criteria. Inland and western Massachusetts add ground snow. Put the values the design used on the structural notes.

How to get a Massachusetts set sealed

Upload the PDF plan set and calculations, and note the city or town and whether the filing is under the tenth edition. Include prior comments on a resubmittal. Out-of-state drawings can be reviewed. The seal is applied only by a Massachusetts registrant who takes responsible charge of the work.

Start a new quote with Massachusetts prefilled. Intake typically responds within 24–48 hours. Stamp turnaround then follows page count and whether rush service is selected.

FAQ

Which Massachusetts building code applies to a new permit?

Applications filed after June 30, 2025 use the tenth edition of 780 CMR only. That edition is based on the 2021 International Codes with Massachusetts amendments. The ninth edition concurrency period has ended.

Does Massachusetts accept a digital PE signature?

Yes, when it is a properly encrypted digital signature under 250 CMR 5.03: uniquely associated with the registrant, authenticable by the recipient, and invalidated if the document changes. A handwritten signature next to the seal is the other accepted form.

Is construction control included in a stamp quote?

Live stamp quotes cover review and sealing of the uploaded set. Construction-control affidavits and construction-phase duties are scoped separately when 780 CMR requires them.