Frequently Asked Questions
CQRID Recertification Policy
What is the purpose of recertification?
The Council for Qualification of Residential Interior Designers (CQRID) requires all CQRID – certified residential interior designers to maintain their professional certified status through recertification. Recertification is an integral part of maintaining professionalism, keeping abreast of the trends and changes in the interior design field, and enhancing quality and excellence in design work. Continuing Education and lifelong learning are an important part of the interior design profession and allows consumers to build trust in the quality and expertise of the CQRID-certified designer and provides a standard for the public to judge the competency of practitioners. Recertification provides the support to CQRID-certified designers to broaden their knowledge and excel in the profession of interior design and promote themselves to consumers.
What is CQRID’s recertification policy?
It is the professional responsibility of all CQRID – certified residential interior designers to maintain their certification through the payment of an annual maintenance fee (currently $25/year) and completing 0.8 CEUs (continuing education units) of continuing education in the residential interior design field. Annual maintenance fees should not be confused with organization membership or state licensing renewals. The annual maintenance fee is collected to maintain CQRID records, CEUs and provide continued support for CQRID – certified professionals. CQRID professionals are expected to pay the maintenance fee annually (May-June of each calendar year). CQRID-certified professionals who are Professional members of the Interior Design Society have the annual maintenance fee for CQRID included in their professional membership dues and are not expected to pay the CQRID annual maintenance fee in addition to their annual membership dues.
What are the requirements?
CQRID requires that all CQRID – certified designers complete 0.8 CEUs every two years. The CEUs must be earned within the designated time frame of CEUs and cannot be used to fill deficiencies for the previous CEU cycle or be carried forward to the next CEU cycle. A CEU cycle will begin in January of an odd year and end in December of the consecutive even year.
What is a CEU?
A CEU is a Continuing Education Unit. CEUs are the nationally recognized standard and unit of measure for recognizing work in continuing education for adult learners. CEUs are given based on the amount of contact hours with an instructor and adult learner. For each 0.1 CEU, there must be at least 1 hour of contact time. The CQRID requires 0.8 CEUs for recertification. This translates into 8 hours of contact time between the instructor and CQRID-certified designer. Contact hours can be defined as direct instruction through various mediums such as classrooms, conferences, workshops, or webinars.
To monitor your CEU submissions, CQRID will send an email at the end of the first calendar year of the CEU cycle with a summary of your submitted CEUs and a notice of the paid annual maintenance fee or a reminder to pay the annual maintenance fee. A second email will be sent 6 months prior to the end of the CEU cycle with a summary of your submitted CEUs and notification of the status of your annual maintenance fee. One month prior to the end of the CEU cycle, CQRID will send a final notice and reminder email for CEU submission. The final notice email will include the CEUs completed and the amount of CEUs needed to be in compliance with the CQRID recertification policy to retain an active status with CQRID certification.
A random audit of 10% of CQRID-certified designers will be held at the end of each CEU cycle to check for compliance. If a certified designer is not compliant with the CEUs and annual maintenance fees, then the certified designer will have 60 days to complete the CEU cycle and pay any delinquent maintenance fees. Designers will be notified via mail and email if they are not in compliance with the CQRID recertification policy. The certified designer will receive a follow up email in 30 days with a summary of what has been done in the 30 day period to become compliant with CQRID recertification. At the end of the 60 day period if all criteria have not been met, then certification will be revoked. The designer will receive a letter via mail and an email stating that the certification has been revoked. To reinstate certification, the designer must take the CQRID exam again. If all criteria are met within the 60 day period, the designer will maintain an active status with certification.
CEU and Annual Maintenance Fee requirements are mandatory to maintain an active certification.
CEU Cycle– 2 years – begins with an odd year and ends with an even year
**When a designer passes the CQRID, they will not have to complete CEUs for the first 2 years after passing the exam and will begin the recertification process at the beginning of the next CEU cycle.
All 0.8 CEUS must be earned in the CEU cycle.
Who are the approved providers for CEUs?
CEUs can be obtained through a variety of programs: seminars, webinars, workshops, lectures, and conference programs. CQRID accepts CEUs from CQRID-approved CEU courses from the Interior Design Society and any other design organization with approved CEU courses, such as NKBA, WCAA and member organizations of the IDCEC. CEUs can also be completed through Red Vector and approved CEU providers in California’s CCIDC.
What types of courses are approved for CEU credit?
Any course that is approved for CEU credit in the residential interior design field may be submitted for CEU credit with CQRID. Topics include, but are not limited to:
What is the purpose of recertification?
The Council for Qualification of Residential Interior Designers (CQRID) requires all CQRID – certified residential interior designers to maintain their professional certified status through recertification. Recertification is an integral part of maintaining professionalism, keeping abreast of the trends and changes in the interior design field, and enhancing quality and excellence in design work. Continuing Education and lifelong learning are an important part of the interior design profession and allows consumers to build trust in the quality and expertise of the CQRID-certified designer and provides a standard for the public to judge the competency of practitioners. Recertification provides the support to CQRID-certified designers to broaden their knowledge and excel in the profession of interior design and promote themselves to consumers.
What is CQRID’s recertification policy?
It is the professional responsibility of all CQRID – certified residential interior designers to maintain their certification through the payment of an annual maintenance fee (currently $25/year) and completing 0.8 CEUs (continuing education units) of continuing education in the residential interior design field. Annual maintenance fees should not be confused with organization membership or state licensing renewals. The annual maintenance fee is collected to maintain CQRID records, CEUs and provide continued support for CQRID – certified professionals. CQRID professionals are expected to pay the maintenance fee annually (May-June of each calendar year). CQRID-certified professionals who are Professional members of the Interior Design Society have the annual maintenance fee for CQRID included in their professional membership dues and are not expected to pay the CQRID annual maintenance fee in addition to their annual membership dues.
What are the requirements?
CQRID requires that all CQRID – certified designers complete 0.8 CEUs every two years. The CEUs must be earned within the designated time frame of CEUs and cannot be used to fill deficiencies for the previous CEU cycle or be carried forward to the next CEU cycle. A CEU cycle will begin in January of an odd year and end in December of the consecutive even year.
What is a CEU?
A CEU is a Continuing Education Unit. CEUs are the nationally recognized standard and unit of measure for recognizing work in continuing education for adult learners. CEUs are given based on the amount of contact hours with an instructor and adult learner. For each 0.1 CEU, there must be at least 1 hour of contact time. The CQRID requires 0.8 CEUs for recertification. This translates into 8 hours of contact time between the instructor and CQRID-certified designer. Contact hours can be defined as direct instruction through various mediums such as classrooms, conferences, workshops, or webinars.
To monitor your CEU submissions, CQRID will send an email at the end of the first calendar year of the CEU cycle with a summary of your submitted CEUs and a notice of the paid annual maintenance fee or a reminder to pay the annual maintenance fee. A second email will be sent 6 months prior to the end of the CEU cycle with a summary of your submitted CEUs and notification of the status of your annual maintenance fee. One month prior to the end of the CEU cycle, CQRID will send a final notice and reminder email for CEU submission. The final notice email will include the CEUs completed and the amount of CEUs needed to be in compliance with the CQRID recertification policy to retain an active status with CQRID certification.
A random audit of 10% of CQRID-certified designers will be held at the end of each CEU cycle to check for compliance. If a certified designer is not compliant with the CEUs and annual maintenance fees, then the certified designer will have 60 days to complete the CEU cycle and pay any delinquent maintenance fees. Designers will be notified via mail and email if they are not in compliance with the CQRID recertification policy. The certified designer will receive a follow up email in 30 days with a summary of what has been done in the 30 day period to become compliant with CQRID recertification. At the end of the 60 day period if all criteria have not been met, then certification will be revoked. The designer will receive a letter via mail and an email stating that the certification has been revoked. To reinstate certification, the designer must take the CQRID exam again. If all criteria are met within the 60 day period, the designer will maintain an active status with certification.
CEU and Annual Maintenance Fee requirements are mandatory to maintain an active certification.
CEU Cycle– 2 years – begins with an odd year and ends with an even year
**When a designer passes the CQRID, they will not have to complete CEUs for the first 2 years after passing the exam and will begin the recertification process at the beginning of the next CEU cycle.
All 0.8 CEUS must be earned in the CEU cycle.
| Year Passed the CQRID Exam | 2 Year CEU Cycle Begins | 2 Year CEU Cycle |
| Prior to 2008 | 2011 | 2011-2012 |
| 2009 | 2011 | 2011-2012 |
| 2010 | 2013 | 2013-2014 |
| 2011 | 2013 | 2013-2014 |
| 2012 | 2015 | 2015-2016 |
| 2013 | 2015 | 2015-2016 |
| 2014 | 2017 | 2017-2018 |
| 2015 | 2017 | 2017-2018 |
| 2016 | 2019 | 2019-2020 |
| 2017 | 2019 | 2019-2020 |
| 2018 | 2021 | 2021-2022 |
| 2019 | 2021 | 2021-2022 |
| 2020 | 2023 | 2023-2024 |
Who are the approved providers for CEUs?
CEUs can be obtained through a variety of programs: seminars, webinars, workshops, lectures, and conference programs. CQRID accepts CEUs from CQRID-approved CEU courses from the Interior Design Society and any other design organization with approved CEU courses, such as NKBA, WCAA and member organizations of the IDCEC. CEUs can also be completed through Red Vector and approved CEU providers in California’s CCIDC.
What types of courses are approved for CEU credit?
Any course that is approved for CEU credit in the residential interior design field may be submitted for CEU credit with CQRID. Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Business and Professional Practices
- Color and Color Theory
- Design Processes and Fundamentals
- Universal Design
- Interior Design Trends
- Periods and Styles
- Codes
- History of Design and Furniture
Please contact the CQRID office at 336-884-4437 x224 or by email at education@interiordesignsociety.org if you do not know if a CEU course meets one of the above topics. Only CEU courses pertaining to residential interior design will be accepted.
How do I submit my CEUs?
CEUs can be submitted via fax, mail, or email. The CEU form is located on the CQRID website. The form must be completed and signed by the instructor or program organizer of the CEU course. The form is a fillable document and can be filled out on the computer or printed and filled out by hand. Please make sure the form is legible. Once the form is complete, the form can be emailed to education@interiordesignsociety.org, faxed to CQRID at 336-885-3291, or mailed to CQRID, 164 S Main St, Suite 404, High Point, NC 27260. It will take approximately 2-4 weeks to process your CEUs. If you have any questions, please contact the CQRID office at 888-884-4469 x224 or education@interiordesignsociety.org.
How are CEUs monitored?
You may check your CEU status throughout the bi-yearly cycle by logging in through the CQRID website: www.cqrid.org You need your username and password to log in. If you do not know your username and password, contact IDS National 336-884-4437 x225 for assistance. Once logged in, click on My Certifications in the left-hand menu. All CEU certifications currently on file for the current term will be listed.
What happens if I do not maintain my CEUs or pay the annual maintenance fee?
If a certified designer is not compliant with the CEUs and annual maintenance fees, then the certified designer will have 60 days to complete the CEU cycle and pay any delinquent maintenance fees. Designers will be notified via mail and email if they are not in compliance with the CQRID recertification policy. The certified designer will receive a follow up email in 30 days with a summary of what has been done in the 30 day period to become compliant with CQRID recertification. At the end of the 60 day period if all criteria have not been met, then certification will be revoked. The designer will receive a letter via mail and an email stating that the certification has been revoked. To reinstate certification, the designer must take the CQRID exam again. If all criteria are met within the 60 day period, the designer will maintain an active status with certification.
