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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho permits certified interior designers to sign and seal technical submissions for building permits
Last action · February 11, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to Business
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 616 allows certified interior designers in Idaho to sign, seal, and submit technical plans to state and local governments for interior alteration and construction permits starting July 1, 2026. The legislation outlines explicit limits, prohibiting interior designers from altering s, structural systems, life safety systems, or major mechanical and electrical layouts. To use this authority, certified interior designers must provide proof of active professional liability insurance to local building officials.
Certified interior designers gain independent legal authority to submit permit applications without requiring an architect's signature for nonstructural interior work, while local building departments are required to process these filings in the exact same manner as those submitted by licensed architects.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Certified interior designers
Gains the legal authority to sign, seal, and submit technical submissions for nonstructural interior construction directly to local governments, provided they maintain active professional liability insurance.
Local government building officials
Must process permit filings signed by certified interior designers in the same manner as filings submitted by licensed architects.
Licensed architects
Key Facts
- Certified interior designers are authorized to sign and seal technical submissions covering the scope of certified interior design and submit them to state or local governmental entities for building permits.
- Local government building departments must process permit filings from certified interior designers in the same manner as filings submitted by architects.
- Certified interior designers are strictly prohibited from designing modifications to building envelopes, exterior walls, roofs, structural systems, and structural framing.
- Prohibited work also includes changes to major mechanical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, electrical, elevator, and fire alarm systems.
Show all 7 facts
- To file technical submissions, certified interior designers must provide proof of active professional liability insurance coverage to the responsible building official.
- A certified interior designer must hold an active certification from the board, have completed education and experience requirements, and passed the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ) examination.
- The act takes full force and effect on July 1, 2026, due to an established emergency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What insurance is required for a certified interior designer to submit building plans?
Are certified interior designers allowed to alter electrical or plumbing systems?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 11, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Business
- Feb 10, 2026IntroducedIntroduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Permitting Authority
The legislation formally expands municipal permit filing capabilities beyond traditional architects to include certified interior designers for qualifying nonstructural projects.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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