The following is information on the profession & licensing of interior design.
The Board of Architecture and Interior Design, for the State of Florida, oversees the
licensing and regulating of architects and interior designers.
Requirements for licensing include: education, work experience and examination.
A licensed interior designer is required for interior design services performed in a
commercial interior. The services of a licensed interior designer are defined by the State
of Florida as follows:
STATE OF FLORIDA DEFINITION OF AN INTERIOR DESIGNER:
An "interior designer" designs, consults, studies, draws, and manages design construction
contracts relating to nonstructural interior elements of a building or structure.
A "nonstructural element" means an element which does not require structural bracing and
which is something other than a load-bearing wall, load-bearing column, or other load-
bearing element of a building or structure which is essential to the structural integrity of the
building.
"Interior design" includes, but is not limited to: reflected ceiling plans, space planning,
furnishings, and the fabrication of nonstructural elements within and surrounding interior
spaces of buildings.
"Space planning" means the analysis, programming, or design of spacial requirements,
including preliminary space layouts and final planning.
"Interior design" specifically excludes the design of or the responsibility for architectural and
engineering work, except for specification of fixtures and their location within interior
spaces.