FAQs

Practice Act: A practice act prohibits the actual practice or performance of professional service by anyone not licensed by the state. In most states, architects, engineers and doctors have practice acts. Five states have practice acts for interior designers.

 

Title Act:  A title act prohibits anyone not certified, licensed, or registered by the state from representing or identifying himself or herself as a "Certified, Licensed, or Registered Interior Designer."  It does not prohibit professional practice or performance of services by interior designers, nor prohibit anyone from calling himself or /herself an interior designer.

Interior designers are legally recognized in 28 U.S. states and many Canadian provinces (This number includes Puerto Rico).

As of December 2010, 20 states hold a Title Act; 5 states hold a Practice / Title Act; 2 states have a permitting statue; and 1 State has a Self Certification Title Act in the United States.*

 

In order to become "reistered" or "licensed"; or to gain "certification", depends on each states specific bill language.  The common factors recognized in each state's legislation or regulation of the profession is for candidates to meet and document minimum standards of statewide accepted and defined quantities of education and experience, in addition to submitting to the board successful passing results of a professional examination (most requiring the NCIDQ as that standard).

 

Each state's requirements may or may not be the same as Oregon's requirements, so please visit the website of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) to get the most accurate information on individual state boards,  their requirements, and to keep current on this annually evolving regulation topic.  Please Contact us for Oregon's requirements, our current bill language, or if you have comments about this content. . 

 

*This information was complied from ASID regulation website resources available in 2010 .

We are an organization dedicated to enact and sustain interior design registration over the long term. IDC-Oregon provides professional recognition and support for interior design professionals seeking this goal.  Our responsibility is to inform and collaborate with local interior design affiliations, Oregon chapters of International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and to work with them in tandem to educate the public on the professional services and responsibilities of the interior designer.   We also educate professionals and encourage other organizations involvement that are interested to support our efforts.

If you provide decorative services or client assistance in the selection of building finish materials, window treatments, wall coverings, paint, floor coverings, surface-mounted fixtures, and loose furnishings not subject to regulation under applicable codes and regulations, your work will not be adversely impacted by legislation.

 

IDC-Oregon values interior decorative services and recognizes the importance of this service to the public.   Depending on the final passing of the legislation language, there might be some restrictions on what terms you use to describe your design services.   This law aims to help consumers be informed about various design roles many specialty qualified experts may offer and perform as interior designers.   Legislation will establish minimum benchmark levels for education, experience, and examination in order to define a minimum level of competency for those who are liable to safeguard public spaces..

IDC-Oregon is not trying to regulate terms such as design consultant, interior consultant, interior decorator, et. al. We seek a government regulated professional industry with unified accepted definitions of "interior design", "interior designer", "Registered Interior Design", and "Registered Interior Designer" to safeguard the public and environment.

The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design. NCIDQ serves to identify to the public those interior designers who have met the minimum standards for professional practice by passing the 3rd party administered NCIDQ Examination. Completion of the NCIDQ Examination recognizes that an individual has met minimum competency standards for the practice of interior design.

Section 1: Codes, Building Systems, Construction Standards and Contract Administration

Section 2: Design Application, Project Coordination and Professional Practice

Section 3: Practicum

Licensing provides a level of accountability that is otherwise non-existent.   It is for consumer protection.  The current non-governmental system of professional associations does not provide any enforcement for interior design qualification.  Consumers should have confidence in the professionals their hire.

Interior Designers problem solve spatial problems and situations that deal with fire codes, building codes, and accessibility guidelines.  They also have proficiency of the design process, sustainable design practices, and evidence based design methods. 

 

Title or Practice Act: You Decide Survey Answers:

We would like to take this opportunity to answer a few comments that we were asked as part of our 2010 survey (PDF). 

Each question below is numbered to respond to the corresponding number in the published results of the survey. We respect maintaining your anonymity so please contact us if you have additional comments or concerns with this content. 

We appreciate and welcome your feedback!

 

3.   Yes, architects are "acceptable to practice" if they are Registered Architects and therefore able to practice interior design as defined by their profession.  If they want to use the title "Registered Interior Designer" they must submit to the Board, pay a fee, and become registered.

 

4. Yes, Residential practices are free to practice in their area of expertise. We are not including single-occupancy type residential work in the practice scope.  No state regulates residential interior design or residential architectural design less than 4000 square feet, so we have no precedent.  Also, we cannot protect the title “Interior Design” or “Interior Designer” as various courts have ruled these terms are public domain and protected under the first amendment to the constitution.  We respect these decisions by the courts, therefore we are using “Registered Interior Design” and “Registered Interior Designer.”

 

6. In regards to the term "Interior Architect", no state regulates “Interior Architect” so we have no precedent to use that title in the State of Oregon. Currently any discussions regarding “interior architect” are on a national level with professional organizations and regulatory bodies.

 

21. A Practice Act (See definition above) will not impose on kitchen and bath designers holding that credential.  Their practice is safeguarded under a couple exemptions.  First, if they practice interior design in single-occupancy type homes, they may do so (Also see response to question 4).   Second, many kitchen and bath designers also hold CCB licenses, therefore are exempt because they already hold a practice type registration license with that Oregon state board.

 

25. Weather or not you will need to gain a university level degree or other formal education if you are already practicing interior design in the State of Oregon is addressed through a "grandfather clause".  There are grandfathering provisions that would not require designers to go back to school to continue to practice.  The act will assure the next generations of career candidates are meeting minimum levels of university education as the foundation for professional competency.   

 

"Good vs Bad"

The comment in this question is inaccurate as contractors in Oregon have a practice act, not a title act.  This legislation is not about “good design” or “talent” but about understanding the design process, multiple occupancy types, interior materials and construction practices, and how this impacts the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants. Rather than policing or defining "good" or "bad" design, it is the government’s job to protect the public from unqualified practitioners whose work impacts the safety of the public.  We support professional liability for interior designers.

 

29.  In regards to supporting the Act that is most likely to pass, this data is continually being gathered as professionals speak out on what they believe best represents their profession.   Any additional examples are welcome to help us engage the greater public in a dialog on why this legislation is important to pass.  Please continue to keep the communication open and freely contact us anytime to continue the discussion.

 

31. Indeed there are many issues for the legislature to address this session, especially in this economy.  We appreciate as a 'No' voter you took the time to tell us your viewpoint.   However, we believe this Practice Act will allow qualified professionals to practice their profession and submit for construction and building permits, thus increasing the scope Registered Interior Designers may offer.  In return, this will spur competition, provide business opportunities, help new emerging small interior design businesses, and possibly reduce construction costs as clients will not need to hire architects to provide construction drawings for non-structural interior remodels and tenant improvements.  Fees, thus providing a new revenue stream for the state, will also support registration.  Interior design students will have better opportunities to practice in Oregon, and stay in our state instead of moving away to other states that have registration.

 

33. The added expense to practitioners of the profession will be fees for those wishing to practice as Registered Interior Designers in addition to errors and omissions insurance for those who do not currently have any insurance.  For those who do have insurance, informal surveys have shown that in states with registration, E&O insurance rates were reduced.  The additional business brought by being able to stamp and seal drawings will more than outweigh the cost of registration and insurance.  Again, this does not define good design, only safe design.  Please also see our response to question 25.

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