On July 1, 2020, the Florida Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act became law in Florida, changing licensing requirements for many professions. Two of the professions impacted most by these changes are architecture and interior design. The majority of the changes relate to deregulating interior design and separating interior design from architecture.
The Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act made significant changes to Chapter 481, Florida Statutes, which governs architects, interior designers, and landscape architects. As an initial matter, the new statute deletes the legislative findings and intent to regulate interior design. This provides some indication that legislature no longer believes it is necessary to regulate interior design, as is reflected in the rest of the statute.
The next change deletes the definition of certificate of authorization from the statute and adds a definition for a business organization. This change is due to other amendments to the statute that change the regulatory scheme to one that relies on architects serving as qualifying agents for business organizations, rather than having certificates of authorization. This makes the regulation of architects a little more similar to the regulation of contractors.
Additionally, the definition of interior design is changed to refer to a certificate of registration rather than licensure to practice interior design. This is just one of many changes that deregulates interior design and removes the licensing requirement for interior designers.
People seeking to be registered interior designers must provide proof of passage of the Council of Interior Design qualification exam. Interior designers already licensed under the prior statutory scheme as of July 1, 2020 are eligible to obtain a certificate of registration without taking this exam. All prior experience requirements for licensure as an interior designer have been removed from the statute. And, those engaged in solely interior design or interior decorating are not required to obtain a certificate of registration to continue that practice. Notwithstanding that, if a build department requires sealed interior design drawings for permitting, an interior designer will have to obtain a certificate of registration in order to seal those drawings.
Finally, the statute removes penalties for unlicensed interior design and indicates that there is no restriction on the use of the terms interior designer or interior design firm. It also expressly states that Chapter 481 does not apply to people performing residential interior design or interior decorator services. Notably, this is the only part of the statute that makes a distinction between residential and commercial interior design. While no regulations have come out applying these new regulations, it would not be surprising if commercial interior designers ultimately needed to obtain a certificate of registration in order to seal drawings for permitting.
Shifting to architects, the statute removes the term certification as it applies to architectural businesses and replaces it with qualification. This is similar to the way construction business licensing is handled. Qualifying agents for architectural business must be registered architects under Chapter 481, Florida Statutes. If a qualifying agent terminates its relationship with an architectural firm it is qualifying, the firm must find a new qualifying agent within 60 days. Notwithstanding this, the DBPR may authorize a temporary qualifying agent for an additional 60 day period. Further, an architect can serve as a qualifying agent to more than one business organization.
Interestingly, after setting forth these new requirements, the legislature indicates that the new statute is not to be construed as meaning that a certificate of registration to practice architecture must be held by a business organization in order for that organization to provide architectural services to the public so long as the business organization otherwise meets the requirements of law. Again, there are no regulations putting these new laws into action yet, so it will be interesting to see what the actual requirements become on a practical level for architectural licensing.
Finally, architects in another state seeking licensure by endorsement in Florida must take a 2 hour course on wind mitigation techniques.
Given these sweeping changes, interior designers and architects both should keep an eye on new regulations put in place to enforce these new laws and consult with counsel about any changes that need to be made at time for renewal.