Rules Implementing Philippine Interior Design Act

Legal basis, implementing coverage

These Rules and Regulations are adopted pursuant to Section 10, Article III of Republic Act No. 8534.
The Board enforces and implements Republic Act No. 8534 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (Rule 12).
The Board’s actions take effect only as provided: decisions/orders in covered matters require Commission approval in specified cases, and other public-regulating issuances must be published (Rule 8, Rule 11).
The Commission supports the Board through its offices, divisions, sections, and units in the enforcement and implementation of Republic Act No. 8534 (Rule 12).

Core definitions for the profession

“Commission” refers to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) created under P.D. 223 (Rule 2).
“Board” refers to the Board of Interior Design created under the Act (Rule 2).
“Interior Design” is the functional, orderly and aesthetic arrangement and development of interiors of buildings and residences that contributes to enhancement and safeguards of life, health and property and promotes enrichment of the quality of life (Rule 2).
“Interior Designer” is a natural person issued a certificate of registration and a valid professional license by the Board of Interior Design (Rule 2).
“Practice of Interior Design” is the act of planning, designing, specifying, supervising and giving general administration and responsible direction to interior arrangement and development, including defined professional activities:
- Consultation, advice, direction, evaluation, estimates appraisals, adjustments and operational programming.
- Schematic designs and development, professional contract documents and construction phases.
- Preliminary, technical, economic and financial feasibility studies, including specialized studies.
- Plans, specifications, bill of materials, project cost estimates, general conditions and their contract documents.
- Interior construction and project management: administration, supervision, coordination and direction to planning, designing, construction, renovation, demolition, alteration, preservation or restoration of building interiors.
- Teaching of interior design subjects and computer-aided design, and other works requiring the professional competence of an Interior Designer (Rule 2).

Board organization and meetings

The Board is composed of a Chairman and two (2) Members (Rule 4).
The President appoints the Chairman and Members from a list of three (3) recommendees per vacant position submitted by the PRC, selected from a list of five (5) nominees per vacant position nominated by the duly accredited and integrated association of Interior Designers in the Philippines (Rule 4).
Board nominees must meet qualifications including: Philippine citizenship and residency; at least thirty-five (35) years of age; proven integrity shown by past professional conduct; a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design from an accredited/recognized school in the Philippines or abroad; registration as an Interior Designer with a valid license and active practice for at least ten (10) years; disqualifications on faculty membership in Interior Design regular courses and pecuniary interest/administrative supervision; no connection with review centers for licensure preparation; membership in good standing in the accredited and integrated association; and never convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude (Rule 5).
Members hold a three (3)-year term and serve until successors are appointed and qualified; they may be re-appointed for a second term; the first Board’s staggered terms are 3 years for Chairman, 2 years for one Member, and 1 year for one Member; each Member takes the proper oath before assuming duty (Rule 6).
Any vacancy is filled only for the unexpired portion of the term (Rule 7).

Board authority, quorum, approvals, records

The Board acts as a collegial body on all matters involving exercise of its powers/duties and implementation of policies under Republic Act No. 8534; Board action is effective only when approved by the Commission (Rule 8).
The Board holds regular meetings at least once a month, within PRC premises or other places determined by the Board and authorized by the Chairman of the Commission; special meetings may be called by the Chairman or the two Members (Rule 9).
The Chairman equitably assigns examination subjects to members, designates the member who presides over hearings/investigations of administrative cases involving strictly professional practice, assigns members to perform the Board’s visitorial powers, supervises and manages members’ work, and serves as the official spokesperson of the Board in the Commission; in absence, the senior member or designated member speaks for the Board (Rule 10).
The Board meets en banc and votes personally with a majority vote for validity in specified matters (adoption of rules/policies or promulgation of non-interlocutory decisions/orders in administrative cases not interlocutory); quorum is two (2) members, and the vote of two (2) members constitutes the majority vote (Rule 11).
Actions in Board meetings en banc other than dispositive decisions/orders in administrative cases are valid and enforceable only after approval by the Commission (Rule 11).
Board resolutions or issuances enforcing/implementing Republic Act No. 8534 or regulating the public must be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation (Rule 11).
The Board’s papers and records are kept by the Commission; no papers/records/certificates/case documents are removed from Commission premises unless expressly authorized in writing by the Chairman of the Commission (Rule 17).
The Board files an annual report at the close of each calendar year to the President of the Philippines through PRC, giving detailed account of proceedings/accomplishments and recommendations to upgrade and inform the condition affecting interior design practice in the Philippines (Rule 18).
The Board Chairman represents the Board in meetings/official transactions with the Commission Chairman or Commission, unless the entire Board’s presence is required (Rule 13).
The Board interprets implementation issues by issuing opinions through the Chairman on questions arising from implementation of Republic Act No. 8534, the Rules and Regulations, and the Code of Ethics for Professional Interior Designers (Rule 14).
Board action on documents outside Commission premises requires written authority of the Commission Chairman (Rule 15).
Ministerial matters are acted upon by the Board Chairman (Rule 16).

Licensure examination: filing, venues, passing rules

Except where Republic Act No. 8534 expressly provides exemptions, persons who want to register as Interior Designers and practice must pass the licensure examination for Interior Design (Rule 19).
Applicants file a computerized application form duly accomplished in the Commission’s Application Division or in any PRC Regional Offices that are test centers, with authentic or authenticated copies of required documents (Rule 20).
Applicants who graduated from foreign educational institutions must present an endorsement from the Commission on Higher Education before the application is accepted (Rule 20).
Applicants must establish to the satisfaction of the Board that they are Filipino citizens; have not been convicted by final judgment of any crime involving moral turpitude; and hold a Bachelor of Interior Design or Master of Interior Design degree holder from a government-recognized school/academy/institution/college (Rule 21).
The Interior Designers Licensure Examination is held at least once a year in City of Manila and in other places determined by the Board and approved by the Commission; each year’s venues and dates are included in the yearly Schedule of Professional Licensure Examinations issued by the Commission (Rule 22).
The Board issues an examination program not later than twenty (20) days before the first day of the scheduled examination, containing the licensure exam name; subjects with percentage weights, time, dates and places; instructions to examinees; and names and signatures of the Chairman and Members (Rule 23).
Examination dates/time/venues are published as far as practicable in a newspaper of general circulation or broadcast media; the program is disseminated to prospective examinees through schools/colleges/universities offering Interior Design for information of their graduates (Rule 24).
The examination covers: Interior Design, Furniture Design and Construction, Materials of Decoration, History of Arts and Interior Design, Building Construction, and Professional Practice and Ethics (Rule 25).
The Board may amend subjects and their syllabi to conform with technological changes brought by continuing trends in the profession (Rule 25).
To pass, an examinee must obtain a weighted general average of seventy-five percent (75%) with no grades lower than sixty percent (60%) in any subject (Rule 26).
If an examinee obtains a general weighted average of seventy-five percent (75%) or higher but gets below sixty percent (60%) in any subject, the examinee must take a removal examination only in the subject(s) with grades below sixty percent (60%) within two (2) years from the date of the last examination:
- If the examinee fails the removal examination, the examinee must thereafter take the examination in all subjects.
- The removal examination is taken only once within the two-year period.
- The removal examination is treated as one examination for purposes of the re-examination in the succeeding rule (Rule 27).
An examinee who fails to pass the examination for the third time may take another examination only after lapse of one (1) year from the last examination taken (which exam is the third failure) (Rule 28).

Syllabi and computerized examination system

The Board, after consultations with the academe, formulates and adopts a syllabus/term of specifications for each licensure subject; it amends syllabi to incorporate curriculum changes only when examinees have already taken those curriculum changes in their schools/colleges/universities (Rule 29).
Test questions prepared and inputted in the test question bank must be within the scope of the syllabus of the subject (Rule 29).
The Interior Design licensure examination is fully computerized (Rule 30).
New Board members assigned to a subject must prepare at least five hundred (500) test questions encoded into the test questions data bank; questions for a particular licensure examination are extracted at random from the computer (Rule 30).
Each Board member’s test questions data bank must be replenished within sixty (60) days from the release of results with at least three hundred (300) test questions every after examination until reaching a total of two thousand (2,000) questions (Rule 30).
After reaching two thousand (2,000) questions, replenishment equals the number of questions extracted (Rule 30).
Computers correct examinees’ answer sheets (Rule 30).

Registration, certificates, license validity

Practicing Interior Designers previously registered under Board of Architecture Resolution No. 21, s. 1982 (specialty board of Interior Design) and other Board of Architecture resolutions approved by the Commission, with current licenses, are automatically registered as Interior Designers under Republic Act No. 8534 without filing an application; they must pay the registration fee for issuance of their registration certificates by the Board created under Republic Act No. 8534 (Rule 31).
Automatic registration under Rule 31 is conditioned on payment of registration fees and continuing license renewal upon expiration to continue practice (Rule 31).
Interior Designers who are registered but not practicing their profession or delinquent in paying license fees when Republic Act No. 8534 took effect must register by filing an application; there is no deadline for filing; they are registered upon payment of prescribed fees including penalties (if any) and issued new certificates and professional licenses (Rule 31).
Successful licensure examinees are registered after taking the professional oath before the Board members or any person authorized by law to administer oaths and after payment of prescribed fees, unless registration is specifically deferred for cause by the Board (Rule 32).
Upon compliance with registration requirements, an Interior Designer signs the roll after entry of name and is issued the certificate of registration and corresponding professional license upon payment of prescribed fees (Rule 33).
A professional license is valid for three (3) years from issuance and is renewed every three (3) years on the Interior Designer’s birth month upon payment of fees (Rule 34).
An Interior Designer delinquent in payment of license fees for five (5) consecutive years from the year it was suspended is dropped from the Roll for not being in good standing; reinstatement is available only upon application and payment of delinquent license fees and surcharges and the registration fee without examination (Rule 35).
If the cause for deferment of registration is complied with, the examinee is allowed to register as an Interior Designer (Rule 36).

Registration without examination; reinstatement; replacement

Interior Designers may register without examination if they meet either pathway:
- A person who, before the effectivity of Republic Act No. 8534, earned at least sixty (60) units of interior design in a government-recognized school and practiced interior design for at least ten (10) years before effectivity (Rule 37(a)).
- A registered and duly licensed architect who practiced interior design for at least ten (10) years before effectivity (Rule 37(b)).
Rule 37(a) applicants must submit authenticated/official copies of: transcript of records showing at least sixty (60) units earned ten (10) years before effectivity and, if employed as interior designer, a sworn certification by owner/manager attesting that the applicant performed interior designer duties for at least ten (10) years before effectivity; if the applicant practiced interior design, at least one (1) copy of plan of Interior Design signed/sealed by the applicant or one (1) copy of contract with the building owner for every year of practice for at least ten (10) years before effectivity (Rule 37).
Rule 37(b) applicants must submit authenticated copies of: architect certificate of registration and current professional license as architect, and any documents required under Rule 37(a) for the alternative documentary proof (Rule 37).
The Board may reinstate a revoked certificate of registration and professional license on application/petition for reasons of equity and justice upon payment of required fees after at least two (2) years from date of revocation (Rule 38).
A new certificate of registration may be issued to replace any lost, destroyed, or mutilated certificate upon payment of the required fee (Rule 39).

Administrative proceedings and reporting performance

The Board, after due notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke a registered Interior Designer’s certificate of registration and license, or cancel temporary/special permits issued to foreign Interior Designers allowed to practice in the Philippines, on enumerated grounds (Rule 40).
Grounds for suspension/revocation include: final conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude; immoral/dishonorable conduct; judicial declaration of unsound mind; fraud/deceit in obtaining registration; gross negligence; unprofessional/unethical/dishonorable conduct; chronic inebriety; habitual use of drugs; abatement of illegal practice of interior design; and violation of Republic Act No. 8534, its Rules and Regulations, and the Code of Ethics for Interior Designers (Rule 40).
Administrative investigations conducted by the Board are assisted by the PRC legal or hearing officers; the Board may delegate hearings/investigations except when technical matters or issues strictly concern practice of the profession, in which case the hearing is presided over by at least one Board member assisted by a hearing/legal officer (Rule 41).
Administrative investigations follow the PRC’s Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals as applicable, with the Revised Rules of Court as suppletory (Rule 41).
The Board, with PRC Public Information and Statistics Section assistance, prepares performance reports of examinees by schools/colleges/universities and may recommend to the Commission on Higher Education:
- Monitoring of schools whose successful examinees in three (3) consecutive licensure examinations in a profession are less than five percent (5%) of total candidates who took the exam.
- Publication of names of schools whose successful examinees in five (5) successive licensure examinations are less than five percent (5%) of total examinees in each exam taken.
- Closure of the course/program (Rule 42).

Foreign reciprocity and professional ethics duties

A foreigner may take the licensure examination for Interior Designer only if the foreign country/state permits Filipino citizens to take the same licensure examination within its territorial limits on the same basis as its citizens/subjects (Rule 43).
A foreign Interior Designer may be issued a license to practice Interior Design or consultancy thereof in the Philippines if the foreign country/state permits Filipino Interior Designers to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis; the Board issues Rules and Regulations providing procedures for foreigners’ licensure examination, registration (with or without examination), issuance of licenses through reciprocity, and issuance of temporary/special permits to foreign Interior Designers allowed by other laws (Rule 44).
The Board adopts and promulgates a Code of Ethics for Interior Designers through consultation with the accredited integrated association of Interior Designers and other interior design associations (Rule 45).
The Board likewise prescribes and adopts a Code of Ethical and Professional Standards for practice through consultation with the accredited integrated association and other interior design associations (Rule 45).
The Board implements the policies of PRC’s Commission on Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and, in coordination with the accredited integrated association, prescribes standards, requirements, procedures, and guidelines for CPE programs in accordance with existing CPE Commission issuances (Rule 46).

Interior designer seal and signature rules

Every Interior Designer must obtain a seal whose design is adopted and approved by the Board (Rule 47).
A duly registered Interior Designer must affix the seal on all plans and specifications prepared by or under the Interior Designer’s direct supervision (Rule 47).
The Interior Designer must indicate the professional license number, place and date of issue on documents signed, sealed, and issued in connection with practice (Rule 47).
Prohibited conduct includes:
- Stamping/sealing documents with an Interior Designer’s seal after license expiration or loss of validity unless reinstated to practice and/or unless the license is renewed (Rule 48(a)(1)).
- Government officers/employees charged with enforcing construction/interior alteration laws from accepting/endorsing interior plans/specifications not prepared and submitted in full compliance with Republic Act No. 8534 provisions, and from approving payment for such work unless prepared, signed, and sealed by a duly licensed Interior Designer (Rule 48(a)(2)).
- No Interior Designer may sign/affix seal/use any other signature method on plans/specifications/documents made by or under another Interior Designer’s supervision unless the manner clearly indicates the part of work actually performed (Rule 48(a)(3)).
- No person except the Interior Designer in charge may sign for any branch of work or function not actually performed by him (Rule 48(a)(4)).
- No person without written consent of the Interior Designer or author may duplicate or make copies of documents for repetition on other projects/buildings, whether executed partly or in whole (Rule 48(a)(5)).

Enforcement and criminal penalties

The Commission, through its legal and hearing officers, investigates complaints for violations of Republic Act No. 8534, its implementing rules, and the Code of Ethics for Interior Designers; if the acts constitute a criminal offense and the evidence warrants, the records are forwarded to the proper city or provincial prosecutors; if administrative sanctions are warranted, the respondent is proceeded against administratively before the Board under the applicable PRC Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals, as amended (Rule 49).
Upon conviction, any person who violates Republic Act No. 8534 is penalized by a fine of not less than PHP 50,000 nor more than PHP 200,000, or imprisonment of not less than three (3) months, or both, as directed by the court (Rule 50).

Integration and teaching requirements

All Interior Designers are integrated into one (1) national organization recognized by the Board and accredited by the Commission as the one and only accredited integrated association to which all Interior Designers must belong; integration is without prejudice to membership in other interior designer associations; a duly registered Interior Designer automatically becomes a member of the accredited integrated national organization (Rule 51).
Educational institutions at the tertiary level offering Interior Design must engage services of a duly registered Interior Designer to teach subjects for the licensure examination, and teaching Interior Design subjects constitutes practice of Interior Design as defined by Republic Act No. 8534, allowing only duly registered Interior Designers to teach; holders of master’s and/or doctorate degrees in specialization subjects may teach their specialization subjects without being registered and licensed as Interior Designers (Rule 52).

Official seal specification

The Board’s official seal is circular and features a stylized human figure wearing a hat with arms outstretched upward; a “bahay-kubo” between parted legs; three stars and rays of the sun on the right; sampaguita flowers and laurel leaves on the left; and the words “interior design” arranged around the circular form with “interior” on top and “design” below (Rule 3).