Why be a Registered Interior Designer or Registered Residential Interior Designer?
• It’s all about raising the bar, crossing the finish line and setting yourself apart from others practicing interior design who may not have met the minimum standards of education, experience and examination. The significance of “registered” let’s the public know there is a difference between you and someone not calling themselves “registered”.

Increase your Visibility
• Distinguish yourself from other designers by proudly displaying your credentials whenever you promote yourself. If you are an NCIDQ certificate holder and/or a professional member of IIDA or ASID, you can list those credentials on your business card. If you are registered with the state, you can list “Registered Interior Designer” on your card as well. At this time, the State of Illinois is not providing for any other title, like “RID” on your business cards, so please use the full title of “Registered Interior Designer” or “Registered Residential Interior Designer”.

Increase your Branding
• Adding “Registered Interior Designer” or “Registered Residential Interior Designer” next to your name each time you sign it and on each business card you distribute will reinforce to your clients and industry contacts that they are working with a professional interior designer whose credentials have been recognized by the State of Illinois. Your clients can take pride in retaining a registered professional for their special project.

Promote your Profession
• How many times have we heard designers say, “My clients don’t understand what I do”? Legal recognition of our profession will create opportunities to educate the public and other members of the design team about all the responsibilities and services a Registered Interior Designer and Registered Residential Interior Designer are capable of providing.

Increase your Marketability
• Whether to a client or an employer, you gain additional respect and raise the bar for the interior design profession when you are a Registered Interior Designer or Registered Residential Interior Designer.

Take Pride in your Profession
• Legal recognition of interior designers through registration benefits and protects the public’s heath, safety and welfare. It defines a scope of practice and provides standards which encourage ethical design practices.

Take a Stand
• Join your fellow interior design professionals today. Stand up for your chosen profession and be counted by taking steps to become a Registered Interior Designer or Registered Residential Interior Designer.

Act Now
• Contact the State of Illinois to become a Registered Interior Designer or Registered Residential Interior Designer. http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/WHO/intd.asp

What is IIDC?
• Interior design professional associations (like ASID, IDS and IIDA) identified legislative initiatives as a stand-alone, on-going professional focus which is needed to prevent other licensed/regulated professionals from defining our areas of responsibility for us.

• The Illinois Interior Design Coalition is a not-for-profit legislative Political Action Committee, supported by these interior design associations, individual designers and interior design firms.

• IIDC exists separately from these interior design professional associations because their association by-laws do not allow them to retain lobbyists and donate to political campaigns.

What is its purpose?
• To establish and maintain recognition by Illinois State Representatives, Senators and the Governor of the impact of interior designers on the public’s health, safety and welfare.

• Without state regulation as provided by our Title Act, legislation by other regulated entities may exclude interior designers.

Benefits of Title and Practice Legislation
• Assure that Interior Design that affects Public Health & Welfare is regulated through State established criteria for education, experience and examination

• Support a law that defines our profession and the services we provide

• Gain acknowledgement of an equal body of knowledge with other professional members of multi-disciplinary teams

• Raise the Bar by:
- Increasing the quality of interior design education
- Increasing the quality of client service you deliver based on your education and experience
- Increase your firm’s profitability and therefore your salary and bonus
- Increase your marketability by calling yourself “Registered Interior Designer”
- Reducing your risk exposure since the state has registered you based on their criteria

What is the Act?
• Enacted into law in 1991, renewed in 2001and last updated in 2008 the Title Act establishes criteria that an individual must meet before he or she can use the title “Registered Interior Designer” or “Registered Residential Interior Designer” to describe them.

• The most recent change to the Title Act incorporated the word “Registered” within the protected title. Most importantly a professional title that uses a word like “registered” immediately acknowledges that there is a higher level of qualification which is recognized by the state.

• The Act does not stop people who do not meet this standard from offering or performing the services you would expect an interior designer to provide; it simply says that they cannot call themselves “Registered Interior Designer” or “Registered Residential Interior Designer”.

• The Act does not restrict the use of the terms “Interior Designer” or “Residential Interior Designer”

• The Title Act does consider retail designers exempt from the restriction of the use of the titles outlined in the law.

Why is the Act important to the profession?
• It assures that interior design which impacts the health, safety and welfare of the public is regulated. Regulation occurs through state-established criteria related to education, experience and examination of practitioners.

• The act defines the services provided by an interior designer.

• When defined as a regulated profession, interior designers merit inclusion in legislation by other regulatory entities. The International Building Code Council, Illinois Building Commission and Illinois Department of Public Health have included registered interior design professionals as advisors on their committees to define codes and ordinances.

• Without regulation as provided by the Title Act, legislation introduced by others could exclude interior designers. This could mean an interior designer is exposed to liabilities that the regulated professions listed in the introduced legislation are protected from as part of that legislation.

Why is the Act important to the people of Illinois?
• In a media enriched society, it is important that the public be able to distinguish between the broad use of the term “interior designer” from a “Registered Interior Designer” who has state approved qualifications.

• It is a consumer protection law that ensures the public is living, working, playing, commuting and receiving health services in a safe environment.

• Interior Designers impact the health, safety and welfare of the general public in the course of their work. Project planning must address issues such as safe egress, accessibility, ergonomic safety, flame resistance in materials, and the psychological effect of the finished environment on the users. Through the Title Act, the public can rely on state-established and regulated standards for those individuals who offer such services.

• Extended project team members like engineers and architects rely on qualified interior designers as part of their team to deliver a compliant and safe project. Would you hire a lawyer that hadn’t passed the bar?

Does the Act recognize other professionals as being qualified to practice interior design?
• The Act allows other professionals such as architects to use the title, “Registered Interior Designer”, if they register as such with the State. They are viewed as being qualified without having to pass any further examinations and the Act does not prohibit them from offering such services under the domain of their existing professional classification as a licensed architect.

• The Act does allow individuals working for a retail establishment offering interior design services to use the title “Registered Interior Designer” without registering with the state.

How much does this regulation cost the Illinois taxpayers?
• This protection does not cost the State or the taxpayers anything. The cost of this regulatory procedure is covered by the registration fees and renewals paid by registered interior designers through application fees and renewals. The bill is what is termed by lawmakers as “revenue neutral”.

What is the economic impact of the Act?
• Through their specification process, interior designers create business and jobs for other furniture and construction industry firms within the State. Their existence as independent businesses creates other employment opportunities in and generates revenue for organizations performing services for them – legal, accounting, financial, insurance, etc.

• The State educational institutions, both at the university and community college levels, and the private schools that offer accredited degree programs in interior design would be negatively impacted if the State were to invalidate the profession by not regulating the Act. Students would enroll in programs in one of the other 24 states and jurisdictions where laws like this are enacted, taking enrollment money directly away from the school and likely impacting the amount of state funding they receive based on enrollment.

Why should the State legislators be interested?
• Interior Designers are a significant constituency in Illinois (and the US) as there are over 1700 Registered Interior Designers and Registered Residential Interior Designers.

• Interior designers in Illinois provide specialized services encompassing the research, planning and implementation of interior environments that improve the quality of life and protect the public’s health, safety and welfare.

• Interior design, particularly in the healthcare, commercial and institutional markets, has become a profession of complex integration of sophisticated systems and response to specialized needs for occupants and end users.

What is the difference between a Title Act and a Practice Act?
• A Title Act does not regulate the practice of interior design, or provide penalties for incompetence, malpractice, or unethical practices. It only protects use of the title of “Registered Interior Designer” and “Registered Residential Interior Designer”.

• A Practice Act regulates the practice of interior design. It typically has licensing provisions that identify professional accountability and legal responsibilities, such as permit sealing and continuing education.