Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Reviewed by Holly R, VP of Sales and Marketing at Acorn Sales, against the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects and Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 464 (four licensed professions) on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Hawaii licenses four design professions and interior design is not among them, so there is no Hawaii interior design seal to comply with. The board’s own name states the scope: Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects. HRS chapter 464 creates those four licenses and no others, and HAR § 16-115-8(a) prescribes four matching center legends, being Licensed Professional Engineer, Licensed Professional Architect, Licensed Professional Land Surveyor and Licensed Professional Landscape Architect. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs list of boards and programs, which runs to roughly fifty entries, has no interior design entry either.
Read that as freedom rather than a gap. With no prescribed design, no prescribed diameter, no prescribed legend and no board to file an imprint with, what you carry is a design decision. Acorn will make it to whatever you want on it: your own name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, or a credential you actually hold such as NCIDQ.
The limits are all about wording and one about shape. Put your own name, your firm name, and any credential you actually hold, such as NCIDQ. Leave off “Licensed” and “Registered” and any state-issued title unless the state issued you one, because that is the part some states do restrict. Stay away from the two-circle construction, the words Licensed Professional and the legend Hawaii, U.S.A., all of which belong to the four licensed professions.
Hawaii interior designer seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Hawaii rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | Not licensed here | Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 464 (four licensed professions) |
| Required elements | No Hawaii interior design credential exists and No seal is prescribed | Haw. Admin. R. § 16-115-8(a) (center legends limited to engineer, architect, land surveyor and landscape architect) |
| Size and shape | No size is prescribed, because no seal is prescribed. | Haw. Admin. R. § 16-115-8(a)(1) (applies to the four licensed professions) |
| Device allowed | Not applicable. | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 464-11 |
| Signature and date | Not applicable. | Haw. Admin. R. § 16-115-9 |
| What must be sealed | No document requires an interior designer’s seal in Hawaii. | Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 464-11, 464-13 |
| Electronic seal | Not applicable. | Haw. Admin. R. §§ 16-115-2, 16-115-9(e) |
| Renewal and lapse | Not applicable. | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 464-9(c) |
| Firm requirements | Not applicable. | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 464-12 |
| Regulator | The Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects | Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 464 (Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects), read on the Hawaii State Legislature site |
Is a seal required in Hawaii?
Hawaii does not license, register or certify interior designers, so no Hawaii seal exists for the profession and no Hawaii authority prescribes one. The Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs publishes the full list of boards and programs it administers, and interior design appears on neither list. The board that seals design professionals here is the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects, and HRS chapter 464 reaches those four callings only. Interior design practice in Hawaii is open, and where a permit set needs a seal it comes from the licensed architect or the structural-branch engineer under HRS § 464-11.
What must appear on the seal
- No Hawaii interior design credential exists
- No seal is prescribed
There is nothing to make optional. HAR § 16-115-8(a) prescribes the center legend of the seal and the choices are Licensed Professional Engineer, Licensed Professional Architect, Licensed Professional Land Surveyor and Licensed Professional Landscape Architect. There is no fifth legend, and HRS § 464-11 authorizes only the matching four plus whatever else the board may authorize. A die reading anything like Licensed Interior Designer of Hawaii would state a credential the state does not issue.
Size and shape
No size is prescribed, because no seal is prescribed. The 1-1/8 inch inner circle and 1-1/2 inch outer circle in HAR § 16-115-8(a)(1) belong to the four licensed professions in HRS chapter 464. Checked HRS chapter 464 section by section, HAR chapter 16-115, and the DCCA list of boards and programs, with no interior design credential found.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not applicable. No device is authorized because no credential exists. An interior designer practicing in Hawaii who wants something for correspondence should keep it to a plain name and business block and avoid the two-circle construction, the words Licensed Professional and the legend Hawaii, U.S.A., all of which belong to the four licensed professions.
Signing and dating
Not applicable. The authentication block in HAR § 16-115-9, with its attestation sentence and its license expiration date line, attaches to a licensee under HRS chapter 464.
Hawaii’s design board covers four professions, and interior design is not one of them
The board’s name says it plainly: Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects. HRS chapter 464 creates those four licenses and no others, and HAR § 16-115-8(a) prescribes four center legends to match. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs list of boards and programs, which runs to roughly fifty entries covering everything from elevator mechanics to port pilots, has no interior design entry either.
That makes the answer for a buyer short. There is no Hawaii interior design seal to order, no prescribed diameter, no prescribed legend and no board to file an imprint with. Interior design services may be offered freely in Hawaii; what is regulated is the four licensed callings.
Where a project needs a sealed submittal, HRS § 464-11 tells you who supplies it. No state or county building official may accept plans that are not stamped by a licensed architect or by an engineer qualified in the structural branch, unless the structure falls inside the HRS § 464-13 cost exemptions. So the architect or engineer of record seals the set, and the interior designer does not.
Do not take a design from a state that does register interior designers and adapt it. Nevada, for one, gives its registered interior designers an equilateral triangle rather than a circle, and that device means nothing in Hawaii.
Which documents must be sealed
No document requires an interior designer’s seal in Hawaii. HRS § 464-11 bars a state or county building official from accepting plans that are not stamped by a licensed architect or by an engineer qualified in the structural branch, subject to the exemptions in HRS § 464-13, so on an interior alteration that needs a permit the sealing professional is the architect or the engineer.
Electronic and digital seals
Not applicable. The digital signature definition in HAR § 16-115-2 and the signature rule in § 16-115-9(e) are written for licensees under HRS chapter 464.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Not applicable. There is no Hawaii interior design license to expire, restore or revoke. The April 30 even-year expiration cycle in HRS § 464-9(c) applies to the four licensed professions.
Firm requirements
Not applicable. HRS § 464-12 lets a corporation, partnership or limited liability company practice engineering, architecture, surveying or landscape architecture where the person directly in charge is licensed. Interior design is not in that list, and Hawaii issues no certificate of authorization for any of these professions in any event.
What to check before you order
There is nothing compliant to order. Hawaii issues no interior design credential, so no Hawaii board has prescribed a design, a size or a legend. If you want something for correspondence, keep it to a plain name and business block, and stay away from the two-circle construction, the words Licensed Professional and the legend Hawaii, U.S.A., which belong to the four licensed professions under HRS chapter 464. Where your project needs a sealed permit set, the architect or structural-branch engineer of record supplies the seal.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Hawaii license interior designers?
No. HRS chapter 464 reaches professional engineers, architects, surveyors and landscape architects only, and the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs publishes a list of boards and programs on which interior design does not appear. Interior design practice in Hawaii is open, so there is no license number for a seal to carry.
Is an interior designer seal required in Hawaii?
No rule requires one and no rule describes one. The seal provisions at HRS § 464-11 and HAR § 16-115-8 attach to the four licensed professions, and the authentication block at HAR § 16-115-9, with its attestation sentence and its license expiration date line, attaches to a licensee under chapter 464. Whether you carry a stamp at all is your own call.
What can go on an interior designer stamp in Hawaii?
Whatever is true of you: your name, your firm name, a monogram, your logo, contact details, or the exact name of a private certification such as the NCIDQ certificate from the Council for Interior Design Qualification. With no prescribed layout, the shape is yours as well. A plain name and business block is the format that reads as identification rather than as a credential claim.
What should I keep off a Hawaii interior designer stamp?
The elements that mark the state’s own device. HAR § 16-115-8(a) prescribes a two-circle construction with the words Licensed Professional in the center legend, and the legend Hawaii, U.S.A. belongs to the same design. A die reading anything like Licensed Interior Designer of Hawaii would state a credential the state does not issue. Naming NCIDQ in plain words carries no such implication.
What size should a Hawaii interior designer stamp be?
Any size you want. The 1-1/8 inch inner circle and 1-1/2 inch outer circle at HAR § 16-115-8(a)(1) belong to the four licensed professions under chapter 464, and nothing in HRS chapter 464 or HAR chapter 16-115 sets a dimension for interior design. Choosing something visibly different from that 1-1/8 by 1-1/2 geometry is a good idea for its own sake.
Who stamps a Hawaii permit set for an interior alteration?
The licensed architect, or an engineer qualified in the structural branch. HRS § 464-11 bars a state or county building official from accepting plans that are not stamped by one of those two, subject to the exemptions in HRS § 464-13. So on an interior alteration that needs a permit, the sealing professional is the architect or the engineer of record, and no interior design credential from any source substitutes for that.
Does an NCIDQ certificate give me stamping authority in Hawaii?
No. NCIDQ is a private examination credential, not a Hawaii license, and Hawaii grants no practice authority on the strength of it. It does give you something accurate to put on a stamp or in a title block, so long as you name it as the certification it is rather than dressing it as a state seal.
Can I use a registered interior designer seal from another state in Hawaii?
A credential issued elsewhere authorizes a seal there. Hawaii has no interior design credential for it to correspond to, so the impression can only read as a claim to standing the state does not grant. Devices also differ sharply from state to state: Nevada gives its registered interior designers an equilateral triangle rather than a circle. If you want an out-of-state registration visible on Hawaii work, name the issuing state expressly.
Can I sign Hawaii interior design documents electronically?
Nothing restricts you, because nothing regulates the act. The digital signature definition at HAR § 16-115-2 and the signature rule at § 16-115-9(e) are written for licensees under HRS chapter 464. Hawaii sets no electronic signing standard for interior designers, so a stamp image dropped into a PDF beside your signature is an office practice.
Does a Hawaii interior design firm need a certificate of authorization?
No, and Hawaii issues no certificate of authorization for any of these professions in any event. HRS § 464-12 lets a corporation, partnership or limited liability company practice engineering, architecture, surveying or landscape architecture where the person directly in charge is licensed, and interior design is not in that list. An interior design firm in Hawaii holds no board credential and no firm seal.
Is there a Hawaii interior design renewal to track?
There is none. The April 30 even-year expiration cycle in HRS § 464-9(c) applies to the four licensed professions, and there is no Hawaii interior design license to expire, restore or revoke. A private certification such as NCIDQ renews on the issuing organization’s schedule and has no bearing on Hawaii practice authority.
