The Florida Senate

481.219  Certification of partnerships and corporations.--

(1)  The practice of or the offer to practice architecture or interior design by licensees through a corporation or partnership offering architectural or interior design services to the public, or by a corporation or partnership offering architectural or interior design services to the public through licensees under this part as agents, employees, officers, or partners, is permitted, subject to the provisions of this section.

(2)  For the purposes of this section, a certificate of authorization shall be required for a corporation, partnership, or person practicing under a fictitious name, offering architectural services to the public jointly or separately. However, when an individual is practicing architecture in her or his own name, she or he shall not be required to be certified under this section. Certification under this subsection to offer architectural services shall include all the rights and privileges of certification under subsection (3) to offer interior design services.

(3)  For the purposes of this section, a certificate of authorization shall be required for a corporation, partnership, or person operating under a fictitious name, offering interior design services to the public jointly or separately. However, when an individual is practicing interior design in her or his own name, she or he shall not be required to be certified under this section.

(4)  All final construction documents and instruments of service which include drawings, specifications, plans, reports, or other papers or documents involving the practice of architecture which are prepared or approved for the use of the corporation or partnership and filed for public record within the state shall bear the signature and seal of the licensee who prepared or approved them and the date on which they were sealed.

(5)  All drawings, specifications, plans, reports, or other papers or documents prepared or approved for the use of the corporation or partnership by an interior designer in her or his professional capacity and filed for public record within the state shall bear the signature and seal of the licensee who prepared or approved them and the date on which they were sealed.

(6)  The department shall issue a certificate of authorization to any applicant who the board certifies as qualified for a certificate of authorization and who has paid the fee set in s. 481.207.

(7)  The board shall certify an applicant as qualified for a certificate of authorization to offer architectural or interior design services, provided that:

(a)  One or more of the principal officers of the corporation or one or more partners of the partnership, and all personnel of the corporation or partnership who act in its behalf in this state as architects, are registered as provided by this part; or

(b)  One or more of the principal officers of the corporation or one or more partners of the partnership, and all personnel of the corporation or partnership who act in its behalf in this state as interior designers, are registered as provided by this part.

(8)  The department shall adopt rules establishing a procedure for the biennial renewal of certificates of authorization.

(9)  The department shall renew a certificate of authorization upon receipt of the renewal application and biennial renewal fee.

(10)  Each partnership and corporation certified under this section shall notify the department within 30 days of any change in the information contained in the application upon which the certification is based. Any registered architect or interior designer who qualifies the corporation or partnership as provided in subsection (7) and who terminates her or his employment with a partnership or corporation certified under this section shall notify the department of the termination within 30 days.

(11)  No corporation or partnership shall be relieved of responsibility for the conduct or acts of its agents, employees, or officers by reason of its compliance with this section. However, the architect who signs and seals the construction documents and instruments of service shall be liable for the professional services performed, and the interior designer who signs and seals the interior design drawings, plans, or specifications shall be liable for the professional services performed.

(12)  Disciplinary action against a corporation or partnership shall be administered in the same manner and on the same grounds as disciplinary action against a registered architect or interior designer, respectively.

(13)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that a certificate of registration to practice architecture or interior design shall be held by a corporation or partnership. Nothing in this section prohibits corporations and partnerships from joining together to offer architectural, engineering, interior design, surveying and mapping, and landscape architectural services, or any combination of such services, to the public, provided that each corporation or partnership otherwise meets the requirements of law.

(14)  Corporations or partnerships holding a valid certificate of authorization to practice architecture shall be permitted to use in their title the term "interior designer" or "registered interior designer."

History.--ss. 7, 19, ch. 79-273; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 13, 23, 24, ch. 88-383; s. 6, ch. 89-66; s. 10, ch. 89-162; s. 4, ch. 91-429; ss. 119, 304, ch. 94-119; s. 7, ch. 95-389; s. 415, ch. 97-103.