Utah State Seal

Great Seal of the State of Utah

Utah Seal

Adopted on April 3, 1896.

The official state seal was adopted on April 3, 1896, when Gov. Heber M. Wells signed "An Act Describing and Providing for the Great Seal of the State of Utah" (see Constitution of Utah V11:20). The great seal is described in Utah Code Annotated, 1953, Volume 7a, section 67-2-9 as follows:

"The Great Seal of the State of Utah shall be two and one-half inches in diameter, and of the following device; the center a shield and perched thereon an American Eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "INDUSTRY"; beneath the motto a beehive, on either side growing sego lilies; below the figures "1847"; on each side of the shield an American Flag.; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words, "THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF UTAH", with the figures "1896" at the base.

Utah Great Seal

The Great Seal of the State of Utah was adopted on April 3, 1896, at the first regular session of the Legislature (January, February, March, April 1896).

The state seal was, according to the most accurate accounts, designed by Harry Emmett Edwards in 1896; the original seal cost $65.00. Born in Ottawa, Canada, around 1862, he lived in Chicago for three years before moving to Utah in about 1893. In Utah he worked as a bartender for the Hogle Brothers and later became associated with the Onyx Bank. According to his sister-in-law, he had no formal art training but was a member of the National Society of Artists. He joined the Argenta Chapter of the Masonic Lodge on November 3, 1897, where he listed his occupation as "artist." He left Utah in about 1898 for the Klondike where he accumulated a fortune but lost it all in a fire in the Yukon. He died January 24, 1930, it is believed, in San Diego, California.

According to the Utah Code (1953 67-2-9 which has since been repealed),

"The great seal of the state of Utah shall be two and one-half inches in diameter, and of the following device: The center a shield and perched thereon an American eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "Industry"; beneath the motto a beehive, on either side growing sego lilies; below the beehive the figures "1847"; and on each side of the shield an American flag; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words "The Great Seal of the State of Utah," with the figures "1896" at the base.

Utah Code

Title 67
State Officers and Employees
Chapter 1a
Lieutenant Governor
Section 8
Form and contents of great seal.

67-1a-8. Form and contents of great seal.

The Great Seal of the State of Utah shall be 2-1/2 inches in diameter, and of the following device: the center a shield and perched thereon an American eagle with outstretching wings; the top of the shield pierced by six arrows crosswise; under the arrows the motto "Industry"; beneath the motto a beehive, on either side growing sego lilies; below the beehive the figures "1847"; and on each side of the shield an American flag; encircling all, near the outer edge of the seal, beginning at the lower left-hand portion, the words "The Great Seal of the State of Utah," with the figures "1896" at the base.

Enacted by Chapter 68, 1984 General Session

Title 6
State Officers and Employees
Chapter 1a
Lieutenant Governor
Section 7

Use and custody of great seal.

67-1a-7. Use and custody of great seal.

Except as otherwise provided by law, the lieutenant governor, or the lieutenant governor's designee, is authorized to use or affix the Great Seal of this state to any document whatever and only in pursuance of law, and is responsible for its safekeeping. Any person who illegally uses the Great Seal of this state, or such seal when defaced, is guilty of a felony.

Enacted by Chapter 68, 1984 General Session

Use of Seal

Rule R622-2. Use of the Great Seal of the State of Utah (Utah Division of Administrative Rules)


State Seals
State Seals