A Letter From our President
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Knowing the current law and how it works is an important step in understanding why advocacy matters…
California law provides for the certification of interior designers per the Business and Professions Code section 5800, et seq.(BPC 5800). This code section reserves the title of “Certified Interior Designer” (CID) and delegates the evaluation of interior designers and the ability to award the title to a non-profit “interior design organization”. No specific organization is designated by law to administer this title.
The “interior design organization” may provide the stamp to an individual who provides “evidence of passage of an interior design examination approved by that interior design organization” along with a combination of education and diversified interior design experience.
The California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) is the organization responsible for administering the requirements of the Certified Interior Designers Law. California is the only state that authorizes a private organization, rather than a state regulatory body, to provide a stamp to be used in the building permitting process. California is also the only state where that same private organization is also responsible for administering the qualifying examination for interior designers.
The Interior Design Exam (IDEX) is the only permissible qualifying examination for CIDs. This examination, created by CCIDC, is not recognized by any other state or by the federal government. California interior designers who seek to expand their portfolios to include federal projects or to acquire the required permits for their work in other regulated states must pass the NCIDQ examination; no reciprocity exists for the California CID credential or the IDEX.
CCIDC issues the CID to interior designers with proper qualifications, however, the Business and Professions Code also states “Nothing in this chapter shall preclude certified interior designers or any other person from submitting interior design plans to local building officials.” This means that any person in the state is allowed to submit an interior design plan for consideration by building officials, who may use their discretion to accept or reject interior design plans for permit.
Acceptance of plans with a CID stamp for review by local building departments is inconsistent across the state. There is no state board oversight and CIDs are not uniformly considered “registered design professionals” as defined in the International Building Code (Chapter 2 Definitions, Section 201: Registered Design Professional) and existing law provides local building departments discretion to accept or reject plans with a CID stamp. In many jurisdictions across the state, CIDs cannot independently obtain the necessary permits on their own work – work that is squarely within their scope of practice and qualifications. A project that is permissible for a CID to perform independently in one locality may be required to be completed under the supervision of, and stamped by, an architect in another.
Interior designers’ scopes of practice vary from residential spaces to complex commercial spaces. Many interior designers never choose to work on a code-impacted project. Others work on hospitals, schools, hotels, office buildings and industrial buildings. These interior designers must have a working knowledge of all local, state, national and international building codes, and health and safety codes. These interior designers provide a full range of services.
So why do we advocate?...
We advocate to raise the bar, to ensure that qualified interior designers can practice to their fullest capabilities by providing them with the tools needed to succeed in California both independently and as part of a corporate partnership. Strengthening the profession benefits California consumers by increasing competition and ensuring access for interior designers to work independently, as they are qualified to do, in non-structural, non-seismic code-based built environments.
We advocate for using a combination of education, experience, and passage of the nationally recognized NCIDQ exam as the qualification requirements.
We advocate to be recognized as “registered design professionals” as defined in the International Building Code, which will enable Registered Interior Designers equal access to the permitting process across the state.
We advocate to eliminate the misunderstanding and misinformation of our profession, and to promote smart policies that move us forward together.
Bill Weeman, IIDA, CID
