Interior designers

Certified interior designers must disclose certain claims and payouts, while the California Council for Interior Design Certification must give the public more access to its rulemaking and records. The law also treats certified interior designers as design professionals for construction-lien purposes.

What the law does ​

• Extends the interior-designer certification program and the council’s authority until January 1, 2031.
• Makes public protection the council’s highest priority when exercising certification, discipline, and other functions.
• Requires certified interior designers to report, within 30 days, qualifying $5,000-or-more judgments, settlements, arbitration awards, or administrative actions alleging professional misconduct.
• Requires professional-liability insurers and self-insuring state or local agencies to report qualifying payments to the council within 30 days.
• Allows discipline and $100 to $5,000 civil penalties for designers who fail to make required reports.
• Requires at least 45 days of public notice and comment before the council materially changes its rules, procedures, bylaws, fees, certification requirements, or disciplinary processes.
• Requires the council, beginning July 1, 2028 where practicable, to make its records available for public inspection while protecting exempt, investigatory, and sensitive records.
• Caps annual pay for any council employee or contractor at the applicable statutory state-officer salary level.
• Includes certified interior designers among design professionals eligible for design-professional lien rights.

Who it affects ​

• Certified interior designers.
• Applicants and entities subject to council certification or approval.
• Professional-liability insurers and self-insuring state or local agencies covering certified interior designers.
• Clients, employers, and members of the public seeking council records or participating in council rulemaking.

Context ​

The California Council for Interior Design Certification is a nonprofit entity that administers the state certification program.

Breakdown ​

Interior Designer Certification Oversight ​

The bill extends California’s interior designer certification system through January 1, 2031, and makes public protection the council’s top priority. It adds reporting duties for certified designers and their insurers after certain professional-liability payments or awards, strengthens public participation requirements for council rule changes, limits council compensation, and expands access to council records.

Key takeaways

• The bill continues the California Council for Interior Design Certification and the state’s interior designer certification system until January 1, 2031.
• The council must put protecting the public ahead of other interests when carrying out its certification, discipline, and other duties.
• Certified interior designers must report certain judgments, settlements, or arbitration awards of $5,000 or more involving alleged professional misconduct within 30 days, and insurers or self-insuring government agencies must also report qualifying payments.
• A designer’s failure to make a required report or respond to the council’s related inquiries can lead to discipline.
• The bill caps the annual salary of any person employed or contracted by the council at the salary set for specified state officers.
• The council must provide public notice and comment opportunities before making significant policy, rule, bylaw, or fee changes, and beginning July 1, 2028, must make its records publicly available when practicable.

Interior Designers as Design Professionals ​

The bill adds state-certified interior designers to the definition of “design professional” for laws governing construction improvements and design-professional liens. This allows certified interior designers to be treated the same as other listed design professionals for those provisions.

Key takeaways

• State-certified interior designers are added to the legal definition of “design professional” for works-of-improvement law.
• The change applies to certified interior designers, not all people who provide interior design services.
• Certified interior designers may use the rules that apply to design-professional liens.
• The bill places certified interior designers alongside professionals such as licensed architects for this purpose.