What is the name of the script used for carving seals?

The script used for carving seals is called seal script. In Chinese, it is zhuanshu (篆書), an ancient family of character forms especially associated with inscriptions, engraved seals, and decorative writing.

Seal script developed from earlier bronze-script traditions during the Zhou dynasty. The term can cover more than one historical variety, including large seal script and small seal script. When the name is used without qualification in modern discussions, it often refers to small seal script, the standardized form associated with the Qin state and dynasty.

After Qin unification in 221 BCE, Chancellor Li Si helped systematize the Qin form under the authority of Qin Shi Huang. Its vertically elongated, rounded, and carefully balanced characters became an imperial standard. Although later clerical and regular scripts became more practical for everyday administration, seal script continued to thrive in ceremonial inscriptions and seal carving.

The question’s wording simplifies a more varied history: seals have used different scripts, especially in earlier periods and across different regions. Nevertheless, “seal script” is the conventional and canonical answer. Cursive, regular, and clerical script are separate major styles, even though they may occasionally appear on seals.