Interior Design License Florida

Learn about the pathways to obtaining an interior design license in Florida. Discover how Harbor Compliance can help you manage your licensure journey.

A Complete Guide to Obtaining Your Interior Design License in Florida

The interior design industry in Florida is largely regulated by licensing rules of practice. As such, becoming a certified interior designer involves meeting certain requirements and completing certifications. This ensures that professionals can operate ethically and provide safe interior structures in the public interest.

Apart from certifying your credibility as an interior designer, obtaining a license ensures that you can operate legally in the state of Florida. Interior design in Florida is governed by a Practice Act, which requires individuals to have an interior design certification before they can practice at all.

This article will walk you through the entire process of obtaining an interior design license in Florida, highlighting the requirements you need to fulfill.

You’ll also learn how Harbor Compliance can assist firms in obtaining and managing licenses and help both individuals and organizations stay on top of their licensure journey.

Florida Interior Design License—What You Need To Know

Section 481 of the Florida Statute provides general rules governing licensure and registration, including the qualifying examinations, renewals, and applicable fees. It broadly defines interior design as “designs, consultations, studies, drawings, specifications, and administration of design construction contracts relating to nonstructural interior elements of a building or structure.”

Furthermore, a licensed interior designer is defined as a natural person who holds a valid certificate of registration to practice interior design.

While interior design firms in Florida are not required to obtain a license, individuals running them must be duly registered to maintain good standing.

A Florida interior design license can be issued to an individual in various ways, such as through an examination (for first-time applications) or an endorsement (in cases where there has been a prior license from another state). The Florida Board of Architecture and Interior Design is the regulatory body in charge of licensing in this field.

A license enables an individual to practice legally and confers on them the right to sign and seal interior design documents for permitting purposes.

Upon obtaining a Florida interior design license, individuals must renew it every two years to retain their status as certified interior designers.

Florida Interior Design License Application Process

There are five application types for individuals seeking to obtain a Florida interior design license. Each applicant follows substantially the same process, but the requirements they need to meet differ:

1. Registration by Examination (ID 1)—This application is for individuals who have successfully completed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination and want to obtain registration as interior designers in Florida.
2. Registration by Endorsement (ID 4)—This applies to individuals who hold an out-of-state license and want to be registered in Florida. To qualify, they must have taken and passed the NCIDQ examination.
3. Architect Seeking a Separate Interior Designer Registration (AR 4)—This application is for licensed architects who want to obtain a separate interior design registration. To qualify, they must have an active license issued by the Department of Business and Professional Education Agency.
4. Professional Licensure for Military Personnel/Veterans/Military Spouses (MVL 003)—This applies to individuals who are serving or have served and received an honorable discharge in the U.S. armed forces, as well as their spouses. To apply, they must hold a valid license from another state, the District of Columbia, any U.S. territory or possession, or a foreign jurisdiction.
5. Professional Licensure Under the Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA 1)—This applies to individuals and their spouses seeking to qualify for Professional License Portability in Florida. They must be currently serving as active duty members in the U.S. Army and have relocated to Florida on military orders. The applicants are also required to own a valid interior design license from another state, the District of Columbia, any possession or territory of the U.S., or a foreign jurisdiction.

Examination Requirements

Applicants looking to qualify for a design license by passing the exam need to do the following:

1. Take the NCIDQ exam
2. Pay the application and exam fees

NCIDQ Examination

This is the primary qualifying examination for obtaining an interior design license. It typically consists of three parts:

1. Fundamentals (IDFX)
2. Professional (IDPX)
3. Practicum (PRAC)

In addition to the exam, individuals must meet the following requirements before applying for this type of license:

• Education—Individuals must have undergone a degree program accredited by the CIDQ to qualify. These include:
  • A Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) or non-CIDA bachelor’s or master’s degree.
  • A bachelor's or master's degree in a different major, in addition to an interior design degree or diploma.
  • An associate degree, certificate, or diploma.

  *Each of these qualifications must also be coupled with a minimum of 60 semester hours in interior design.

• Experience—Individuals are also required to have sufficient work experience based on their educational qualifications:
  • Two years of full-time experience—For applicants with a CIDA or non-CIDA bachelor’s or master’s degree, OR a bachelor's or master's degree in a different major.
  • Three years of full-time experience—For applicants with an associate degree, certificate, or diploma.

NCIDQ Application and Exam Fees

There are two ways to take the NCIDQ examination, and the application fees apply differently. The first route consists of taking all three necessary exams—IDFX, IDPX, and PRAC. Alternatively, an individual may take the examination in two parts—the IDFX first and then the IDPX and PRAC exams.

Here’s a breakdown of the related application and examination fees for both routes:

Application fees:

• Route 1 (one part)
  • IDFX, IDPX, and PRAC—$225
• Route 2 (two parts)
  • IDFX—$95
  • IDPX and PRAC—$145

Exam fees:

• IDFX—$295
• IDPX—$355
• PRAC—$460

Submitting Your Application

Follow these steps to submit your application:

1. Complete and submit the application form on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation website.
2. Pay the application fee—Applicants taking the ID 1 and ID 4 pathways will pay a $30 filing fee (MVL 003 and SCRA 1 pathway applicants do not need to pay this fee, though they will be required to pay further renewal fees).

In addition, applicants taking the examination or endorsement route need to show proof of passing the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination to qualify for a license.

Florida Interior Design License Renewal

Section 481.215 of the Florida statute states that individuals with an interior design license must renew their license every two years, during which time they must submit satisfactory proof to the board for such renewal.

To qualify for renewal, individuals must fulfill the following criteria:

Failure to renew a license makes it delinquent, and in such a case, the individual must pay an additional delinquent fee of $25.

In addition, out-of-state registrants are required to submit a copy of their resident state statutes and rules regarding continuing education requirements.

Meet Your Florida Interior Design License Requirements With Harbor Compliance’s Assistance

Obtaining a license in Florida is crucial to practicing as an interior designer. Reaching and maintaining compliance for your business requires keeping up with renewal dates and continuing education requirements, which is even more tedious for out-of-state applicants, who already have to maintain their licensure in multiple states.

This is precisely where Harbor Compliance comes in—our solutions reduce the regulatory workload by helping you track your application and renewal processes. This, in turn, helps you maintain good standing across states and meet your state’s licensing requirements.

Harbor Compliance’s Architecture & Engineering Compliance Solutions provide you with expert service options to navigate the complexities associated with maintaining your interior design licenses. Our extensive database gives you up-to-date information regarding licensing requirements for Florida and other states throughout the U.S.

Interior design, as well as other architecture firms, can also use Harbor Compliance’s solutions to streamline the entire license obtaining and management process.

Benefits of Using Harbor Compliance’s Architecture & Engineering Compliance Solutions for Your Organization

Utilizing Harbor Compliance’s extensive service portfolio will enable an overall simplified licensing process for your business, alongside the following benefits:

• Access to expert management to oversee your entire licensing process. This includes professionals and compliance specialists who understand the complexities of navigating regulatory compliance.
• Access to Compliance Core™, our proprietary algorithm that compares your company data against an extensive, up-to-date database of 22,000+ compliance and regulatory rules for states, can save you time researching individual state requirements.
• Additional support and guidance from our team of experts so you can focus on handling your other equally important tasks.

You can also use our Software Suite, powered by Compliance Core™, to find information on over 800 license requirements in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector and replace manual tracking. The suite includes the following modules:

• License Manager—This module helps eliminate the need for state requirements tracking spreadsheets by enabling seamless license management, research, and renewal.
• Entity Manager—It allows full visibility of your entities and compliance statuses. It helps automate annual report and compliance tracking, maintain good standing, avoid late fees and penalties, and ensure continuity through organizational changes.
• Tax Manager—The module efficiently monitors local, state, and federal tax registrations, saving you the time you’d spend looking for key tax account information.
• Records Manager—It helps you store and organize your entity’s documents based on their type. You can also use it to track ownership and leadership information and customize meeting notifications.
• Requirements Research Engine—The module enables you to research licensing requirements for your business prior to expanding into new states/markets. The database contains detailed information on license requirements, enabling you to focus on growing your business instead of doing manual research.

The Process of Ordering Harbor Compliance Services

Harbor Compliance services cover three product offerings, depending on the option you find most suitable for your licensing needs:

1. Fully managed—This option provides a comprehensive service that allows you to delegate most of your licensing tasks to our dedicated team, including licensing renewals and business license application submission and filing.
2. Self-managed—This option gives you more control over your licensing affairs while still allowing you to benefit from our licensing management features to visualize and monitor your licensing status and conduct research.
3. Hybrid—With this option, you can delegate parts of your licensure workload to our team of experts while you manage other tasks on your own using our software solutions.

Once you have decided what service option you want to use, follow these steps to order our service:

1. Visit the Architecture & Engineering Compliance Solutions service page.
2. Open the Contact Us form.
3. Provide your information.
4. Click Let’s talk.

Harbor Compliance Additional Services

Florida Interior Design License FAQs

Below, you’ll find answers to some frequently asked questions concerning the Florida interior design license. For more details, you can visit our Information Center.

Let Harbor Compliance Help You Secure and Manage Your Firm’s Licenses

Practicing as an interior designer in Florida entails constantly managing and keeping track of licensing requirements and renewals. Navigating these processes can be time-consuming and require a lot of manual work, which is why partnering with a service like Harbor Compliance is key to maintaining good standing with the state and growing your business.

Get started with our licensing services—you can request a demonstration to see the product in action and let us help you with your workload. In the meantime, use our free Harbor Compliance Score™ to see where you stand with your licensing requirements.

For information about obtaining and maintaining licenses in other U.S. states, check out the table below: