I’ve talked about how much does it cost to build a house and the building permit process for residential projects. Those questions tend to be more frequent among the many questions I receive. Another question we get a lot actually deals with the issue of having an architect stamp – do your house plans include a stamp?
Take any given person in the general public that is searching for house designs, chances are high that they will end up making a purchase of a plan created by a building designer. After all, a large number of house plans are designed by what are known as building designers, residential designers, or home designers. When a homeowner is determined to build a specific plan done by a designer, but lives in a state that only allow registered architects house plans, what is a potential customer to do?
Question about an architect stamp
Does your company provide architect stamped house plans?
Solution to obtaining an architect stamp
The short answer is no. On the other hand, you do have an option. First, let us all be aware that even architects who sell house plans online do not stamp their plans prior to shipping it to the customer. Now that this fact is established, we can move on to providing a solution to having you plans stamped.
Let’s assume you live in a state that require all residential projects be prepared by a state licensed architect. You’ve found the perfect house floor plan, but it’s done by a home designer or architect not licensed in your state. One may be thinking that there is no recourse, but not so fast. You can have a local licensed architect stamp these plans for you. In order for this to happen a few things have to fall in place.
Find a local architect
Shop around for an architect who will review the stock house plan of another design professional and stamp their work. There will be a nominal fee involved. After you have found an architect, contact the designer about purchasing the plan. You will have to purchase an electronic CAD file in order for the Architect to perform this task. The reason is that in order for an architect to seal or stamp the plans, it has to be within the border of the architect who will be providing the stamp.
Secure drawing files
The electronic files will be a little more expensive when compared to buying blueprints. However, this cost is far less than having your architect create a similar design. CAD files allow the architect to import the drawings into their border so they can print and stamp the plans.
You and your architect will likely need to sign a license agreement with the original designer. The original designer will retain copyright ownership of the plans. It will take a little more work but, you can have those plans meet your state’s building department requirements. In the end, you will have the stock house plan you want at a price that can still be considered reasonable when compared to the cost of a custom design.
Last Updated on July 12, 2023