Hire

Hiring an interior designer in Florida

Since 1 July 2020^†, no licence or registration is required to practise interior design or decoration in Florida^†. Anyone may use the title. That is not a scandal — most of this work genuinely does not need regulating — but it does mean the licence check that protects you in every other trade is not available here.

Work → Who can do it.

What replaces the licence check

Portfolio, references you actually call, a written scope, and a clear answer on how they are paid. In a regulated trade the licence does some of that work for you. Here it does not, so the contract and the references carry the whole load.

Where the boundary still is

Deregulation covers design. It does not extend to building. Work over $2,500^† or requiring a permit still needs a licensed contractor, structural changes still need engineering, and plans that must be sealed for permitting still need a licensed architect or engineer.

Work	Who can do it
Space planning, finishes, furniture, lighting selection	Anyone — no licence required
Producing drawings for your own use	Anyone
Sealed plans for a permit	Licensed architect or engineer
Moving or removing walls	Licensed contractor, usually with engineering
Electrical or plumbing changes	Licensed specialty contractor
Some permitted commercial interiors	“Registered Interior Designer” survives as a voluntary credential and still matters for some permitted commercial work^†

The failure mode

A designer produces a beautiful plan that moves a wall, relocates plumbing and adds circuits — and nobody establishes until quoting stage that this is permitted work needing licensed trades and possibly sealed drawings. The design was never the problem. Sequencing it before that question was.

How designers charge

Hourly. Transparent, and open-ended unless you cap it. Best for advice and smaller scopes.
Flat fee for a defined scope. Clearest, provided the scope is genuinely defined.
Percentage of project cost. Common on larger work, with the same tension as any percentage fee — it rises with what you spend.
Cost-plus on furnishings. They buy at trade and you pay a markup. Perfectly normal, but you should know the markup, not just the total.

Mixed models are common and fine. What is not fine is not knowing which one you are on. Ask specifically whether the fee changes if the budget changes, and whether product markup is disclosed or embedded.

What to establish before signing

What the deliverable actually is. Concept, full drawings, procurement, project management, or all of it. “Design” is not a deliverable.
How they are paid, and whether markup is disclosed.
Who is responsible if the work needs a permit — and whether their drawings will be accepted by the building department or need sealing.
How many revisions are included, and what happens beyond that.
Who holds the relationship with the contractor, and who is on site when decisions are made.
What happens if you stop. Deposits, drawings, and whether you own what you have paid for.

Florida-specific things worth raising

Humidity and salt air. Materials that behave elsewhere fail early near the coast — natural fibres, some metals, certain finishes. A designer who works in Florida will raise this unprompted.
Light. The quantity and angle of Florida light changes how colour reads, and how fabrics and timber age.
Opening protection. If windows or doors are being changed in a wind-borne debris area, the product must comply — which constrains what is available and what it costs.
Association rules. In a condominium, exterior-facing changes and even some interior work may need approval, and the declaration governs.

Warning signs

Claiming a Florida interior design licence, which no longer exists as a requirement.
Reluctance to disclose markup on furnishings they procure.
A design that assumes permitted work without saying so.
Offering to produce sealed permit drawings themselves without a licensed architect or engineer.
Large deposits against no deliverable.

Hiring an architectWhen plans must be sealed, and by whom.Hiring a contractorFor the part that needs a licence.What renovation costs hereAnd what turns a design into a permitted job.

Detailed close-up of architectural blueprints with scale ruler, showing building plans and measurements.Photograph: John Guccione www.advergroup.com / Pexels

Common questions

Do interior designers need a licence in Florida?

No. Florida deregulated the practice on 1 July 2020, so no licence or registration is required to practise interior design or decoration. "Registered Interior Designer" survives as a voluntary credential.

If there is no licence, how do I check a designer?

Portfolio, references you actually call, a written scope with a defined deliverable, and a clear answer on how they are paid including any markup. In regulated trades the licence does some of that work; here the contract carries it.

Can an interior designer produce plans for a permit in Florida?

They can produce drawings, but plans that must be sealed for permitting require a licensed architect or engineer. Ask the building department what they will accept before assuming.

How do interior designers charge?

Hourly, a flat fee for a defined scope, a percentage of project cost, or cost-plus on furnishings bought at trade. Mixed models are common — what matters is knowing which one you are on and whether markup is disclosed.

What should a Florida designer raise that others might not?

Humidity and salt air on material choices, how Florida light changes colour and ageing, opening protection requirements if windows or doors change, and association approval rules in a condominium.

Interior design practice was deregulated in Florida effective 1 July 2020; the voluntary Registered Interior Designer credential remains. Contracting, architecture and engineering are separately licensed and unaffected by that change.