What is the status of Ohio's interior design bill?
CIDLO's latest Interior Design Bill was SB 138, currently inactive.
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Is the proposed Ohio bill a practice or title act?
CIDLO's Interior Design Bill will be a title act in order to identify to the public the distinctive qualifications of a registered professional by title only. This does not restrict architects or other professional of that building design team. This merely identifies the individuals that meet the minimum requirements as set forth in the bill.
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What is the difference between a practice act and a title act?
A title act allows only individuals registered with the state to give themselves the title Ohio Certified Interior Designer. Non registered individuals can continue to practice their profession, but they are NOT permitted by the state to call themselves Ohio Certified Interior Designer.
A practice act would allow only individuals registered with the state to practice the profession of Interior Design as defined by the state.
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What will be required to be an Ohio Certified Interior Designer?
NCIDQ certification, Continuing education, a minimum of 10 hours of certified course work equivalent to NCIDQ's value for 1.0 CEUs, Annual renewal fee
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Will there be grandfathering in the Ohio Interior Design Bill?
Yes, to date CIDLO is considering granderfathering.
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What will be the cost of registration?
The annual renewal fee is determined by the state and based on the associated costs of registration by the officiating department and the number of individuals that register. This will be determined once a bill is in place.
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How do I register to take the NCIDQ test?
Contact NCIDQ or the professional interior design organizations, ASID & IIDA. See our Resources page for a direct link.
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What are the FIDER accredited interior design programs in Ohio?
Akron University
Columbus College of Arts & Design
Kent State University
Miami University of Oxford
Ohio State University
Ohio University
University of Cincinnati
See our Resources page for links to more information
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Is this a national or state issue?
The recognition of the interior design profession is a national issue, however, each state monitors professional practices within their own state. Ohio, currently does not have any legal definition of the professional practice of interior design.
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How do I find out how a bill is passed in Ohio?
See our Resources page for more information.
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How do I find out who my legislators are in Ohio?
See our Resources page for direct links to your legislators information.
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How many states have legislation?
Currently, 23 states and jurisdictions have interior design legislation in place. Ohio is not one of these! Of the remaining states, currently without legislation, there are only a few with major metropolitan markets. Ohio has many metropolitan areas! Due to restrictive legislation in our State, interior designers do not have full and unfettered access to their markets. In those states that do have legal recognition of interior design, Ohio cannot obtain reciprocity and bring work back into this state. This has double economic impact on Ohio.
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What specific Ohio legislation restricts us today?
Ohio's Seal Law, since 1996, requires all building construction projects, other than single or double family homes, have a building permit from the local jurisdiction. Ohio Building Departments all across the state have interpreted this law to mean all drawings submitted for permit must have the seal of an Ohio registered design professional. Since this date, NCIDQ certified interior designers who have attempted to obtain building permits for interior design construction projects without the seal of a registered architect, have receive "cease and desist" orders from the State Board of Architects for "practicing architecture" without a license. If the interior designers are interested in continuing the permit process, they must have a registered architect recreate the documents and resubmit for permit or begin a legal battle to gain the right to practice. This too has a direct economic impact on our client and restricts our right to practice with our profession.
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How will the International Building Code (IBC) adoption impact us in Ohio?
As of January 2002, the IBC is being adopted by our state's local building department. This code requires that all documents submitted for all building permits are sealed by a state registered professional. Ohio does not have a legal definition for the professional practice of interior design, which excludes us as a design professional when drawings need to be submitted for the permitting of interior design construction projects.
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What is our opposition in Ohio?
A diverse group comprised of retailers, engineers, and architects. The Ohio Counsel of Retail Merchants, Ohio's largest lobbying group wants us to allow their furniture sales staff to be Ohio Certified Interior Designer without taking the NCIDQ test. In total contrast, the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) and the American Institute of Architects - Ohio (AIA-Ohio), want interior designers to become engineers or architects to have the right to practice interior design. In the past, they have joined forces and stated that they will not support any part of our legislation until each of their demands is met.
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Nationally, what is our opposition?
National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) is in opposition to any interior design bill that does not permit their kitchen and bath test as an equal to the NCIDQ Exam. It is our opinion that their test is very specialized and they do not test the full body of interior design knowledge. How would the state regulate the various specialty fields within the overall practice of interior design? Architects and engineers do not have different tests for areas of specialization, nor do other professions such as doctors or lawyers. The NCIDQ Exam tests the full body of interior design knowledge necessary to protect the public health and safety for the entire profession. CIDLO's goal is to have only one exam for state certification of the interior design profession.
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Why don't interior designers just become registered architects?
Currently there is a trend across the country, we are seeing. Architecture schools are beginning to merge with interior design schools. CILDO agrees that the association of the professional curricula is positive, however, the interior design is a distinct professional degree that requires four years of specialized curriculum. NCARB is promoting interior design be dissolved into an architectural specialty following a full architectural degree. Interior designers are not asking to design the structure or systems of buildings. They are only asking for the right to design interior spaces within the built environment as their education, experience, and testing qualifies the foundation of knowledge required to protect the life, health and safety of the public.
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Should we distinguish residential design from commercial?
This would require tiered registration, various levels of qualifications for various types of design. Often there is the argument that residential designers do not need to know as much as the commercial designers. How does a residential or small commercial project get regulated differently from large scale commercial? Where would we draw the line between small and large commercial projects? The type, magnitude, and scope of a project should not change the need for protecting the health and safety of the public.
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Why does Ohio support our education but not our profession?
The State of Ohio supports many higher educational institutions that have interior design programs, many are Foundation of Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER) accredited. In fact, Ohio has more FIDER programs than most states have interior design schools. However, due to Ohio's current legislation, many designer graduates leave the state to practice or reduce the scope of their practice. Ohio loses in triplicate: 1) return on tax investment, 2) highly skilled professionals and 3) potential taxable income.
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