Interior Design Certification and Licensure by Jurisdiction

Many states do not have recognition or certification procedures in effect yet for interior designers in the same manner as they do for architects and other related professionals. Greater professional recognition is a goal of IIDA, ASID, and other interior design professional associations. In the states that do have certification/licensure processes for interior design, the basic requirements tend to be some combination of a 2-4 year interior design education (i.e. degree), passing the NCIDQ exam, and some years of supervised work experience. The IIDA (International Interior Design Association) has some very helpful background information about professional recognition with additional state-level details here.

NYSID supports the further professional recognition of practicing interior designers and encourages its graduates to seek out these qualifications and recognitions where they exist. As a resource to our community, we created a table that provides a detailed view by jurisdiction (states, territories) of how the various program offerings at NYSID meet the educational requirements for licensure/recognition. At this time, only the District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, and Puerto Rico have mandatory registration and permitting practices. For all other states this kind of recognition is optional for professional practice, or the state has no recognition or may only have proposed legislation on professional recognition that has not yet been implemented. International students and graduates planning to practice outside the USA are encouraged to research requirements for any additional professional licensure/certification requirements in the country they are seeking employment.