Florida Interior Designer seal requirements: proper sizing, signing and sealing of documents

Florida Interior Designer seal

Board

Board of Architecture and Interior Design (Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation)

Seal requirements

Fla. Stat. § 481.221(3); Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.001, 61G1-16.002, 61G1-16.003, 61G1-16.004, 61G1-16.005

Legend

“State of Florida, registered interior designer”

Diameter

Approximately 2 inches, and hexagonal, not round: Rule 61G1-16.002(1) provides that "the seal of the architect shall be circular, and the seal of the interior designer shall be hexagonal. Both seals shall be approximately 2" in diameter with two circular lines" carrying the legend. The illustration printed in the rule itself shows the hexagonal outline with the two circular lines inside it.

Expiration date

Rule 61G1-16.002(1) enumerates the entire contents of the seal - the name of one interior designer, the registration number, "State of Florida" and "registered interior designer" - and no expiration or renewal date appears, nor does one appear in the hexagonal illustration printed in the rule. Section 481.221(3) requires only the signature, the seal and the date of sealing.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.002(1); Fla. Stat. § 481.221(3))

Signature date

Documents filed for public record must bear the signature and seal of the registered interior designer "and the date on which they were sealed"; Rule 61G1-16.003(1) repeats the requirement that the personal seal, signature and date appear, and Rule 61G1-16.005(1)(b) requires the date a digital or electronic signature was placed to appear on the document in the same manner.(Fla. Stat. § 481.221(3); Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.003(1), 61G1-16.005(1)(b))

City on seal

No city or address appears among the seal contents fixed by Rule 61G1-16.002(1). An address is required, but in the title block under Rule 61G1-16.004(1), not in the seal.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.002(1); Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.004(1))

• "Each registered interior designer shall obtain a seal as prescribed by the board, and all drawings, plans, specifications, or reports prepared or issued by the registered interior designer and being filed for public record shall bear the signature and seal of the registered interior designer who prepared or approved the document and the date on which they were sealed." The same subsection adds that "[t]he signature, date, and seal shall be evidence of the authenticity of that to which they are affixed."(Fla. Stat. § 481.221(3))
• "The seal shall contain the name of only one architect or interior designer and the registration number; the seal of the architect shall be circular, and the seal of the interior designer shall be hexagonal. Both seals shall be approximately 2" in diameter with two circular lines between which lines shall appear, at the top, the words "State of Florida" and at the bottom the words "registered architect" or "registered interior designer," whichever is applicable."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.002(1))
• "Seals stating "Licensed Interior Designer," lawfully obtained by registered interior designers prior to January 1, 2015, may continue to be lawfully used."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.002(1))
• "Any individual who is both a registered architect and a registered interior designer must use a seal which contains both the architect and interior design registration numbers, in such a manner:" followed by an illustration. The illustrated combined seal is circular rather than hexagonal, and carries "REG INTERIOR DESIGNER" above and "REGISTERED ARCHITECT" below, with the ID and AR registration numbers stacked in the centre.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.002(2))
• "Each architect and interior designer shall acquire a seal with which she or he shall identify all plans, specifications or reports prepared or issued by her or him and filed for public record. The seal shall be capable of leaving a permanent ink representation or other form of embossing or opaque and permanent impression, which also may be computer generated impressions, on the surface of prints or other duplications of drawings, and, as appropriate, upon specification pages, and other articles of service. Where required, electronic files may be sealed in accordance with Rule 61G1-16.005, F.A.C."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.001)
• "The personal seal, signature and date of the architect or interior designer shall appear on all architectural or interior design documents to be filed for public record and shall be construed to obligate his partners or his corporation." "A corporate seal alone is insufficient. Documents shall be signed personally and sealed by the responsible architect or interior designer." "The signing and sealing of the specification index sheets shall be considered adequate. All drawing sheets and pages shall be so signed and sealed." The same subsection bars using the seal at all "unless holding at the time a certificate of registration and all required renewals thereof."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.003(1))
• For electronically transmitted plans digitally signed and sealed under Rule 61G1-16.005, and only "when all the transmitted drawings are transmitted as a single-bound and secured set," it is sufficient to apply the digital signature and seal to the cover or first sheet of that bound set, "as long as an accurate Index of Drawings, listing all the architectural or interior design sheets, with their sheet number and latest revise date, which are intended to be signed and sealed is included within that Cover or First Sheet."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.003(2))
• Electronic files that must be sealed under Chapter 481 "shall be signed, dated and sealed by the architect or interior designer in responsible charge." "(a) A scanned image of an original signature shall not be used in lieu of a digital or electronic signature unless such scanned image of a digital signature is required by any governmental entity as part of its procedure for submitting and accepting the documents identified in this rule during the Covid-19 pandemic. (b) The date that the electronic signature file was created or the digital signature was placed into the document must appear on the document in the same manner as date is required to be applied when a licensee uses the manual sealing procedure set out in Rule 61G1-16.003, F.A.C."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.005(1))
• A digital or electronic signature used to seal construction documents must be "(a) Unique to the person using it; (b) Capable of verification within the native software and without use of a third-party; (c) Under the sole control of the person using it; and (d) Linked to a document in such a manner that the signature is invalidated if any data in the document are changed."(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.005(2))
• "Each digitally or electronically signed file shall have an authentication code defined as a message digest described in Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 180-4 "Secure Hash Standard," March 2012," which the board adopts and incorporates by reference.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.005(3))
• A registered interior designer may not affix a seal or signature to any plan, specification, drawing or other document "which depicts work which she or he is not competent or registered to perform," nor to "any plans, specifications, or other documents which were not prepared by her or him or under her or his responsible supervising control or by another registered interior designer and reviewed, approved, or modified and adopted by her or him as her or his own work according to rules adopted by the board."(Fla. Stat. § 481.221(5), (7))
• A title block "must appear on all architectural or interior design drawings and specification identification sheets that are required to be signed and sealed," and must contain at a minimum: "(1) Firm name, address, and telephone number. (2) Qualifier's license number. (3) Name or identification of project. (4) Date prepared. (5) A space for the signature and dated seal. (6) The printed name and the license/registration number of the person sealing the document. (7) The date of plans revision, if the plans are revised." A further paragraph, (8), defines "firm" for the purpose of the rule as "a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, person practicing under a fictitious name, or person practicing architecture or interior design in his or her own name." This is a title-block requirement, separate from the seal itself.(Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G1-16.004)
• "A person may not sign and seal by any means any final plan, specification, or report after her or his certificate of registration has expired or is suspended or revoked." A registered interior designer whose registration is suspended or revoked must, within 30 days after the effective date, surrender the seal to the executive director of the board and confirm the cancellation of the electronic signature in writing; subsection (11) states the same 30-day surrender duty, to the secretary of the board. The seal is returned when a period of suspension expires.(Fla. Stat. § 481.221(11), (12))

Florida interior designer seal questions