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Q. Are Interior Designers licensed in the State of California?
A. NO. Here is some clarification over the confusion with the term "licensing":
"Sellers
Permit" is what the often referred to resale tax license is actually called by the State. It is not a license. Anyone who sells taxable items must, and can, obtain one. No qualifications whatsoever
are required as long as the person does not have a criminal record and can answer all of the application questions properly. It is simply permission to collect sales tax from the public on sales of goods
that they in turn must pay to the State. It does not imply, or at least it should not, that they are qualified in any endeavor or profession.
A "business license" is a local tax, emphasis on the word tax, imposed by a local city or jurisdiction where the
business resides. It is nothing more than that, and it allows the city to keep a record of who is doing what within their boundaries. Again it does not imply that the business is legitimate, or that the
proprietor of the business knows what they are doing. All that is required is a simple unqualified, unverified, application that is accepted at face value. Anyone can get one.
It is true that there are some so called practitioners of interior design that use these "business licenses" or
"sellers permits" to legitimize their abilities to the general public, when in fact they have nothing to do whatsoever with their qualifications or abilities.
The true solution is to continue to seek exclusive title in California to the words "interior designer" or at the
very least get the title "registered interior designer" and to continue to educate the public. Let those who do not meet the criteria call themselves interior decorators.
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