Interior design license requirements by state: which laws restrict practice, which protect a title, and what the boards charge in 2026

How many US states regulate interior design in 2026?

Thirty US states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico had interior design legislation on the books by mid-2026: the Council for Interior Design Qualification's legislative map page counted 29 states, DC and Puerto Rico before Idaho's House Bill 790 was signed on March 30, 2026 and made Idaho the 30th state. CIDQ groups the laws into practice acts, which require a license to practice, and title acts, which make registration optional but restrict a protected title, sometimes with permitting privileges attached.

The regulated map has grown steadily since 2021. CIDQ's legislation timeline records North Carolina's SB 188 in July 2021 (registration and the right to stamp and seal non-structural plans), Wisconsin's SB 344 in March 2022 and Illinois's HB 4715 in June 2022 (permitting privileges and independent practice for certified designers), Iowa's SF 135 in April 2023, Nebraska's LB 16 in March 2024 (a title act with permitting privileges), and Oklahoma's HB 1793 in April 2024. Missouri's Senate Bill 1233, signed July 13, 2026, gave the state's licensed interior designers independent practice rights and the authority to sign and seal their own documents.

Key figure: 30 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico regulate interior design in 2026; five of those jurisdictions restrict practice or license the profession, the rest protect a title.

Which jurisdictions restrict the practice of interior design?

Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington DC and Puerto Rico restrict who may practice interior design or require a license to hold themselves out as an interior designer, and Oklahoma requires mandatory registration to use the title Licensed Interior Designer under HB 1793 of April 26, 2024. The remaining regulated states allow unlicensed practice but reserve a protected title. The CIDQ jurisdictions and requirements page lists the credential, the exam and the education and experience path for every board.

Jurisdiction	What the law restricts (2026)	Exam	Board fee examples
Florida	Commercial interior design practice; residential exempt	NCIDQ	$30 application, $75 biennial renewal
Louisiana	Practice in code-based commercial settings; title	NCIDQ (all three sections)	$150 license fee, annual renewal
Nevada	Practice as a registered interior designer; title	NCIDQ certificate	Statutory caps: $800 exam, $125 certificate, $300 renewal
Washington DC	Practice of interior design; title Licensed Interior Designer	Current NCIDQ certificate	$65 application, $110 license, $120 renewal per 2 years
Puerto Rico	Practice and title Interior Designer-Decorator	Board theory and practical exams	$100 theory exam, $60 practical exam
Oklahoma	Title Licensed Interior Designer, mandatory registration	NCIDQ	Not published on the sources retrieved

Florida is the most frequently misread of the five. Florida Statutes chapter 481, Part I, defines interior design in section 481.203 as designs, drawings, specifications and contract administration "relating to nonstructural interior elements of a building or structure," requires proof of passing the CIDQ examination under section 481.209, and exempts residential work in section 481.229. The Board's own FAQ is blunt: registration is required to practice commercial interior design, and "the title interior designer is not a protected title and can be used by anyone providing residential interior design services."

Louisiana's board describes the practice it regulates as "working in a code-based commercial environment." Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 623 sets the registration bar at a CIDA-accredited or equivalent education, two years of experience and an NCIDQ certificate, with certificates expiring each December 31 and continuing education capped at 12 hours per year.

What do Florida, Louisiana and Nevada require for registration?

Florida requires an applicant to have passed the NCIDQ examination and to pay a $30 application fee, after which the registration renews every two years for $75 with 20 continuing education hours; Louisiana requires six combined years of education and experience, all three NCIDQ sections and a $150 fee renewed annually with 5 HSW hours; Nevada requires a CIDA-accredited or equivalent education, two years of experience and an NCIDQ certificate under NRS 623.192. The three boards publish the details on their own sites and in statute.

Requirement	Florida (DBPR)	Louisiana (LSBID)	Nevada (NRS 623)
Education and experience	NCIDQ eligibility (education plus hours)	6 years combined: 5-year degree plus 1 year, 4 plus 2, 3 plus 3, or 2 plus 4	CIDA-accredited program (or equivalent, or NAAB architecture) plus 2 years of experience
Exam	NCIDQ	NCIDQ, all three sections	NCIDQ certificate
Initial cost	$30 application (non-refundable)	$150 license fee	Statutory maximums: $800 examination, $125 certificate
Renewal	$75 every 2 years; expires February 28 of odd years	$150 every calendar year	Up to $300; expires December 31 each year
Continuing education	20 hours per 2 years (14 HSW, 2 Florida Building Code, 4 elective)	5 HSW hours per year	Not more than 12 hours per year
Late or lapsed	$100 delinquent renewal; $475 to reinstate a void registration	Restoration fee plus renewal after 24 months for NCIDQ holders	Set by the board

The Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Interior Designers lists four education-plus-experience paths that all sum to six years, and requires the education to come from CIDA-accredited programs or board-approved alternatives. Nevada's statute, published by the Nevada Legislature, lists four education routes in NRS 623.192(1)(d), accepting a non-accredited interior design or architecture degree only if it was earned five or more years before the application.

Florida's reinstatement figures show why lapses are expensive. A registrant who lets the registration go void pays a $475 application fee to reinstate, and reactivating an inactive registration costs $125 plus proof of the 20 continuing education hours. The NCIDQ prerequisite is common to all three states; the exam's $235 application and $1,140 in section fees are itemized in the article on NCIDQ exam sections, fees and eligibility.

How do Washington DC and Puerto Rico license interior designers?

Washington DC licenses interior designers through the Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture, which requires a current NCIDQ certificate showing that CIDQ's education, experience and examination requirements are met, charges $65 to apply, $110 for a license covering up to two years and $120 to renew, and expires all licenses on October 31 of even-numbered years. The DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection adds a $50 late renewal fee, a $120 reinstatement fee, $30 for a duplicate license and $30 for a records verification, all non-refundable under DC Code 47-2853.10.

Puerto Rico licenses "Diseñadores-Decoradores de Interiores" under Law 125 of June 8, 1973, administered by an examining board within the Department of State. The board's page lists a $100 theoretical exam, a $60 practical exam, and an exam review at half the exam cost, with applications processed by Professional Credential Services. The statute as published by LexJuris sets the entry requirements at age 18, Puerto Rico residency, a high school diploma, 24 university credits in general subjects and 60 credits of specialized interior design study, and prohibits any unlicensed person from advertising or presenting themselves as an interior designer-decorator, a misdemeanor carrying a fine of $100 or more and one to six months of imprisonment. The CIDQ jurisdictions page records Puerto Rico's education requirement as a transcript with 24 credit hours in specified subjects plus a diploma from an accredited interior design school.

Which states have title acts and what title do they protect?

Twenty-four states listed on the CIDQ jurisdictions page protect a title without restricting practice: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, with California running a certification program and Colorado granting an exemption that lets NCIDQ holders file plans. The protected wording differs by state, and using the wrong one is the offense.

• Registered Interior Designer: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin (Wisconsin's statute uses "Wisconsin Registered Interior Designer").
• Certified Interior Designer: California, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi ("Mississippi Certified Interior Designer"), New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
• Licensed Interior Designer: Washington DC, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
• Commercial Interior Designer: Utah.

The experience ladders repeat across boards. Louisiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Missouri all accept a five-year degree plus one year, a four-year degree plus two years, a three-year program plus three years, or a two-year program plus four years. Indiana counts hours instead: 3,520 qualified work hours after a bachelor's degree or 5,280 after an associate degree, the same figures CIDQ uses. Texas requires every applicant since January 1, 2018 to have passed the NCIDQ and charges a $100 application fee, according to the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. New York requires between two and five years of approved postsecondary education plus two years of experience for its Certified Interior Designer title.

Several title acts now carry permitting privileges. CIDQ's timeline and news posts describe stamp-and-seal rights for non-structural construction documents in North Carolina (2021), Wisconsin and Illinois (2022), Iowa (2023), Nebraska (2024), Idaho (2026) and Missouri (2026). A designer in those states can submit permit drawings without an architect's seal within the defined scope, which changes the fee a client pays; the handbook's article on interior designer fee models and contracts explains how construction-document scope is priced.

How should a designer or a client check the rules before a project?

A designer or a client checks three things before a project starts: whether the project state has a practice act (Florida for commercial work, Louisiana, Nevada, DC, Puerto Rico), whether the designer's marketing uses a title that state protects, and whether the local building department will accept an interior designer's seal on the permit set. The CIDQ jurisdictions page is the one place that lists every board's credential, exam and education route, and each board's site carries the fee schedule and renewal date.

1. Identify the project state and city, because the permit office, not the state board, decides whose seal it accepts.
2. Search the board's licensee database for the designer's name and registration number.
3. Read the credential wording: "Registered," "Certified" and "Licensed" are different legal terms.
4. For commercial work in Florida, confirm the registration number on the contract; residential work needs none.
5. For NCIDQ holders, ask whether the certificate is active ($85 annual renewal) and whether the state registration is current.

Registration tracks with pay. The BLS May 2025 data show the highest interior designer medians in Washington DC ($98,450), a licensing jurisdiction, and in California ($80,230) and Massachusetts ($80,110), while the lowest sit in Mississippi ($43,740) and West Virginia ($49,800); the full table is in the article on interior designer salary by state. Registration is not the only cause, but the states that regulate the profession are, in most cases, the states where the work is concentrated in commercial and institutional projects that require code-based documentation.