Just a smattering of various laws around the US.. Note that most states use the "default" word FINAL to indicate when a seal is required. However, they don't specifically deny the practice of sealing partially complete plans except in a few states where it is specifically directed NOT to seal preliminary documents.
So BJC, I would suggest you are generally correct in that you CAN seal preliminaries if you desire as long as you are not in a state that specifically excludes this practice. But I personnally wouldn't and don't seal plans that aren't 100%. I follow what jheidt2543's practice and opinion is. In most cases, its just not required by jurisdictions or clients. And a client is best TOLD that they are getting a PE via the proper communication and response from the PE's - via marketing info and resumes, etc....not by a seal...Seals are not really intended to be used to market engineers, only to show a condition of responsibility for a particular design.
From the Texas PE Law:
(e) Preliminary documents released from a license holder’s control shall identify the purpose of the document, the engineer(s) of record and the engineer license number(s), and the release date by placing the following text or similar wording instead of a seal: “This document is released for the purpose of (Examples: interim review, mark-up, drafting) under the authority of (Example: Leslie H. Doe, P.E. 0112) on (date). It is not to be used for (Examples: construction, bidding, permit) purposes.”
From Alabama PE Law:
(5) The seal, signature, and date shall be placed on all final specifications, land surveys, reports, plats, drawings, plans, design information, and calculations whenever presented to a client or any public or governmental agency. All work products presented which are not final shall be so identified. Working drawings or documents are unfinished, in-progress drawings or documents that may or may not have a seal and signature. A working drawing or document must, however, contain a statement to the effect “PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, RECORDING PURPOSES OR IMPLEMENTATION.”
From Arkansas PE Law:
(2) All final drawings, specifications, plans, reports, calculations, or other engineering papers or documents involving the practice of engineering, as defined in this chapter, when issued or filed for public record, shall be dated and bear the signature and seal of the professional engineer qualified in the appropriate branch of engineering who prepared them or under whose immediate direction they were prepared.
From the Georgia PE Law:
(1) The seal and signature of the registrant shall be placed on all plans, specifications,
plats and reports whenever presented to a client or any public agency to certify that the
work thereon was done by the registrant or under the direct supervisory control of the
registrant on a daily basis.
(2) The seal, signature and date shall be placed on all original copy, tracings or other
reproducible documents so that the seal, signature, date will be reproduced when copies
are made.
(3) Each drawing shall be sealed and signed by the registrant responsible for each sheet.
When a firm, corporation, professional corporation, partnership, association, or other
entity performs the work, each drawing shall be sealed and signed by the registrant in
responsible charge.
From the Mississippi PE Law:
14.03 Seal on Documents
1. The seal, signature and date on a document constitute a certification that the document was prepared by the licensee or under his direct supervision.
2. a. Each sheet of plans, drawings, documents, specifications and reports for engineering practice and of maps, plats, charts shall be signed, sealed and dated by the licensee preparing them, prepared under his direct supervisory control, or reviewed by him in sufficient depth to fully coordinate and assume responsibility for documents prepared by another professional engineer.
b. Each sheet of maps, plats, charts, documents, and reports for land surveying practice shall be signed,
sealed, and dated by the licensee preparing them or prepared under his direct supervisory control.
3. Where more than one sheet is bound together in one volume, the licensee who prepared such volume, or under whose direction and control such volume was prepared, may sign, seal and date only the title or index sheet, providing that the signed sheet clearly identifies all of the other sheets comprising the bound volume, and provided that any of the other sheets which were prepared by, or under the direction and control of, another licensee, be signed, and/or sealed and dated by said other licensee.
Additions, deletions or other revisions affecting public health and safety or state and local codes may be made only if they are subsequently signed, sealed and dated by the licensee who made the revisions or under whose direction and control said revisions were made.
14.04 Prototypical Projects - Documents prepared for projects that are designed by other engineers to be built in various locations with few changes, except site adaptation, may be sealed by a Mississippi licensee under the following conditions:
1. Written permission of the original engineer(s) to adapt the documents.
2. Each sheet of plans, drawings, documents, specifications and reports shall be signed, sealed and dated by the engineer who performed the original design and shall also be signed, sealed and dated by the Mississippi licensee who has reviewed the documents in sufficient depth to fully coordinate and assume responsibility.
3. Documentation of all changes made to the original documents.
4. The following written certification shall accompany the seal and signature on each sheet: "I have reviewed this document in sufficient depth to accept full responsibility for its contents and to assure code compliance and coordination."
From the Ohio PE Law:
Plans, specifications, plats, reports, and all other engineering or
surveying work products issued by a registrant shall be stamped with the seal or bear a
computer-generated seal in accordance with this section, and be signed and dated by the
registrant, but no person shall stamp, seal, or sign any documents after the registration of
the registrant named thereon has expired or the registration has been revoked or
suspended, unless the registration has been renewed or reissued.
From the South Dakota PE Law:
All originals, copies, tracings, or other reproducibles of all final drawings, specifications, reports, plats, plans, land surveys, design information, and calculations prepared by the licensee or under the licensee’s responsible charge when presented to a client or any public or governmental agency. A licensee may not review or check technical submissions of another professional or unlicensed person and seal the documents as the licensee’s own work;
Preliminary work shall contain a note that the submittal is "Not for Construction" or other such explanation that it is not final;