1.1      OBJECT OF CODE

1. A Certified Interior Designer is required to conduct his/her profession in a manner that will encourage the respect of clients, suppliers of goods and services to the profession, and fellow professional interior designers, as well as the general-public. It is the individual responsibility of every Certified Interior Designer to abide by this code.

1.2    RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PUBLIC

1. In performing professional services, a Certified Interior Designer shall exercise reasonable care and competence, and shall take into account all applicable laws, regulations and codes.
2. In performing professional services, a Certified Interior Designer shall at all times consider the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
3. In performing professional services, a Certified Interior Designer shall not knowingly violate the law, nor counsel or assist a client in conduct the Certified Interior Designer knows, or reasonably should know, is illegal.
4. A Certified Interior Designer shall not knowingly accept monies from a client for any installation or construction work that is required by law to be performed by a licensed contractor without holding such a license from the State.
5. A Certified Interior Designer shall not permit his/her name, signature, or stamp to be used in conjunction with a design or project for which interior design services are not to be, or were not, performed by the Certified Interior Designer or under his/her responsible direction. 
6. A Certified Interior Designer shall not engage in any form of false or misleading advertising or promotional activities and shall not imply, through advertising or other means, that staff members or employees of his/her firm are Certified Interior Designers unless such be the fact.
7. A Certified Interior Designer shall not make misleading, deceptive or false statements or claims about his/her professional qualifications, experience, or performance.
8. A Certified Interior Designer shall not by affirmative act or failure to act, engage in any conduct involving fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or dishonesty in professional or business activity.
9. In the conduct of his/her professional activities, a Certified Interior Designer shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, age, non-disqualifying disability, or sexual orientation.
10. In performing professional services, a Certified Interior Designer shall refuse to consent to any decision by his/her client, or employer, which violates any applicable law or regulation, and which, in the Certified Interior Designer’s judgment will create a significant risk to public health and safety.

1.3      RESPONSIBILITY TO CLIENT

1. A Certified Interior Designer shall undertake to perform professional services only when he/she, together with his/her consultants, is qualified by education, training or experience to perform the services required. (A Certified Interior Designer should not work outside their specific area of expertise.)
2. Before accepting an assignment, a Certified Interior Designer shall reasonably inform the client of the scope and nature of the project involved, the interior design services to be performed, and the method of remuneration for those services. A Certified Interior Designer shall not materially change the scope of a project without the client’s consent.
3. When accepting an assignment, a Certified Interior Designer should always have a contract, or letter of agreement, with the client that clearly spells out the scope of the work, the fees or costs associated with that scope of work, how and when those fees are to be paid by the client, when the work is expected to be completed, and a clause for legal remedies in the case of a dispute between the client and the Certified Interior Designer utilizing binding arbitration or other suitable forms of dispute resolution.
4. A Certified Interior Designer shall disclose, in writing, to his/her employers and clients prior to the engagement, any direct or indirect financial interest that he/she may have that could affect his/her impartiality in specifying project-related goods or services, and shall not knowingly assume or accept any position in which his/her personal interests conflict with his/her professional duty. If the employer or client objects to such financial or other interest, the Certified Interior Designer shall either terminate such interest, or withdraw from such engagement.
5. A Certified Interior Designer shall not reveal any information about a client, a client’s intention(s), or a client’s production methods) which he/she has been asked to maintain in confidence, or which he/she should reasonably recognize as likely, if disclosed, to affect the interests of his/her client adversely. Notwithstanding the above, however, a Certified Interior Designer may reveal such information to the extent he/she reasonably believes is necessary to (1) stop any act which creates a significant risk to public health and safety and which the Certified Interior Designer is unable to prevent in any other manner, or (2) to prevent any violation of applicable law or this Code of Ethics.

1.4      RESPONSIBILITY TO OTHER CERTIFIED INTERIOR DESIGNERS AND COLLEAGUES

1. A Certified Interior Designer shall pursue his/her professional activities with honesty, integrity and fairness, and with respect for another interior designer’s, or colleague’s, contractual and professional relationships.
2. A Certified Interior Designer shall not initiate or participate in any discussion or activity which might result in an unjust injury to another interior designer’s or colleague’s reputation or business relationships.
3. A Certified Interior Designer shall not accept instruction from his/her clients, which knowingly involves plagiarism, nor shall he/she consciously plagiarize another’s work.
4. A Certified Interior Designer shall not endorse the application for certification of an individual known to be unqualified with respect to education, training, experience, or character, nor shall he or she knowingly misrepresent the experience, professional expertise, or moral character of that individual.
5. A Certified Interior Designer shall only take credit for work that has actually been created by that designer or the designer’s firm and under the designer’s direction.

1.5      RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PROFESSION

1. A Certified Interior Designer agrees to maintain standards of profes­sional and personal conduct that will reflect in a responsible manner to the profession.
2. A Certified Interior Designer shall seek to continually upgrade his/her professional knowledge and competency with respect to the interior design profession.
3. A Certified Interior Designer agrees, whenever possible, to encourage and contribute to the sharing of knowledge and information between Certified Interior Designers and other allied professional disciplines, industry, and the public.
4. A Certified Interior Designer shall not knowingly make false state­ments or fail to disclose any material fact requested in connection with his/her application for certification or the renewal thereof.