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 Kentucky Board of Architects, which certifies interior designers and 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 on 21 September 2026 · Updated 21 September 2026
Kentucky certifies interior designers and gives them no seal. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 3 sets out the whole authentication duty, and it is a signature duty: a certified interior designer shall “Sign and affix his or her certification number to all documents prepared: (a) By him or her; or (b) Under his or her supervision,” and shall “Clearly identify himself or herself as a certified interior designer by including the title or its abbreviation on the document in association with his or her signature.” Three requirements, none of them a stamp.
The credential sits inside the Board of Architects, which sharpens the contrast. The same chapter of the same board’s regulations gives architects an exactly dimensioned seal at 201 KAR 19:265, with a 1-9/16 inch outer circle, a 1 inch inner circle, prescribed placement for every word and an incorporated sample. The interior designer regulations, running from 201 KAR 19:410 through 19:455, prescribe none. So nothing is fixed for a device of yours, which also means nothing is restricted: Acorn will make one to whatever you want on it.
What Kentucky does control is the title and where the number appears. “Certified interior designer” designates only a person certified in Kentucky, and 201 KAR 19:450 Section 2(1) requires a title block or firm name connected with those words not to be misleading, not to infer that an uncertified person is a certified interior designer, and to “Include the certificate number if used in business or advertising.” 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.
Kentucky interior designer seal requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Kentucky rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Seal required | No seal prescribed | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 |
| Required elements | Kentucky prescribes no interior designer seal; the document carries your signature, your certification number and the title certified interior designer or its abbreviation | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 |
| Size and shape | No dimension exists. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. ch. 019 (no interior designer seal regulation) |
| Device allowed | Not a regulated purchase. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 |
| Signature and date | Signature and certification number, with the title, and no date requirement. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 (silent as to date) |
| What must be sealed | All documents prepared by the certified interior designer or under his or her supervision. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Section 3 |
| Electronic seal | Not addressed. 201 KAR 19:450 contains no electronic or digital signature provision, names no technology, certificate authority or verification standard, and there is no seal to which an electronic image could attach. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 (no electronic signature provision) |
| Renewal and lapse | Certification renewal sits at 201 KAR 19:435, fees at 19:440 and continuing education at 19:445, with misconduct at 19:455. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:435, 19:445, 19:455 |
| Firm requirements | Not applicable, and expressly so. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 1 provides that “Certification shall be granted for individuals only. | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 Sections 1, 2 |
| Regulator | The Kentucky Board of Architects, which certifies interior designers | 201 Ky. Admin. Regs. 19:450 (Signature of documents by certified interior designers |
Is a seal required in Kentucky?
Kentucky certifies interior designers and gives them no seal. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 3 sets out the whole authentication duty, and it is a signature duty: a certified interior designer shall “Sign and affix his or her certification number to all documents prepared: (a) By him or her; or (b) Under his or her supervision,” and shall “Clearly identify himself or herself as a certified interior designer by including the title or its abbreviation on the document in association with his or her signature.” There is no seal regulation for this credential anywhere in 201 KAR chapter 019, which is the same chapter that prescribes the architect seal in dimensioned detail at 201 KAR 19:265.
What must appear on the seal
- Kentucky prescribes no interior designer seal; the document carries your signature, your certification number and the title certified interior designer or its abbreviation
Because there is no prescribed seal, there is no authorized wording and no prohibited wording on a device. What the regulation does control is how the credential is displayed. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 2(1) requires that a title block or firm name connected with the words certified interior designer must not be misleading, must not infer that an uncertified person is a certified interior designer, must designate as a certified interior designer only a person certified in Kentucky, and must “Include the certificate number if used in business or advertising.” Section 1 bars corporations, associations and partnerships from being certified at all.
Size and shape
No dimension exists. Kentucky prescribes no certified interior designer seal, so there is no diameter to state. The sources here are 201 KAR 19:450 in full and checked the 201 KAR chapter 019 regulation list, where the interior designer regulations run from 19:410 (accredited schools) through 19:455 (misconduct) and none of them prescribes a seal. The architect seal geometry in 201 KAR 19:265, an outer circle of 1 9/16 inches and an inner circle of 1 inch, belongs to architects and does not transfer.
Embosser, rubber stamp or digital
Not a regulated purchase. Any device a Kentucky certified interior designer uses is an identification stamp, not a professional seal, and it carries no regulatory effect. If you want one for convenience, it may carry your name, your certification number and the title, because those are the things the regulation requires on the document. What it must not do is imply architectural registration: 201 KAR 19:275 restricts the use of the title architect, and 201 KAR 19:265 Section 2 forbids title blocks and firm names that infer that unlicensed persons are architects.
Signing and dating
Signature and certification number, with the title, and no date requirement. Section 3 requires the certified interior designer to sign and affix the certification number to all documents prepared by or under his or her supervision, and to identify himself or herself as a certified interior designer by including the title or its abbreviation on the document in association with the signature. The regulation states no date requirement and no placement rule beyond the association with the signature. The sources here are 201 KAR 19:450 in full. Contrast the Kentucky architect regulation, which requires the architect to sign, date and imprint the seal.
Kentucky certifies interior designers and prescribes no seal at all
This is the fact that contradicts most of what circulates online. Kentucky’s certified interior designer regulations run from 201 KAR 19:410 through 19:455 and none of them creates a seal. The authentication mechanism is 201 KAR 19:450 Section 3: sign the document, affix your certification number, and identify yourself as a certified interior designer by putting the title or its abbreviation on the document in association with your signature. Three requirements, none of them a stamp.
Which documents must be sealed
All documents prepared by the certified interior designer or under his or her supervision. The regulation does not enumerate document types and gives no preliminary or draft carve-out. The sources here are 201 KAR 19:450 in full and checked the chapter 019 regulation list, where 201 KAR 19:455 governs misconduct. Note the boundary: architectural documents in Kentucky still require an architect who signs, dates and imprints the architect’s seal under 201 KAR 19:265 Section 1, and the certified interior designer’s signature and number do not substitute for that.
Electronic and digital seals
Not addressed. 201 KAR 19:450 contains no electronic or digital signature provision, names no technology, certificate authority or verification standard, and there is no seal to which an electronic image could attach. The sources here are the regulation in full and checked the chapter 019 list. Kentucky does give its landscape architects a six-part electronic seal standard at 201 KAR 10:070 Section 2 and its engineers and land surveyors a digital signature standard at 201 KAR 18:104 Section 3; neither reaches a certified interior designer.
Renewal, lapse and retirement
Certification renewal sits at 201 KAR 19:435, fees at 19:440 and continuing education at 19:445, with misconduct at 19:455. Not addressed: the regulations do not say whether the certification number changes on reinstatement, and there is no device to surrender because Kentucky prescribes none. The sources here are 201 KAR 19:450 in full and checked the chapter 019 regulation list. Because the certification number must appear on documents and in business or advertising, keep printed material current when the credential status changes.
Firm requirements
Not applicable, and expressly so. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 1 provides that “Certification shall be granted for individuals only. A corporation, association, or partnership shall not be certified as an interior designer.” Section 2(2) permits a firm to operate without all members certified, provided those holding Kentucky certification are designated as certified interior designers only in subheadings or subtitles defining the services of the firm. There is no firm seal and no firm number.
What to check before you order
Kentucky prescribes no seal for a certified interior designer, so there is nothing you are required to buy. If you want a stamp for convenience, keep it to the three things the regulation puts on the document: your signature line, your certification number and the title certified interior designer or its abbreviation. Do not letter anything that implies architectural registration, because Kentucky restricts the architect title and forbids title blocks that infer unlicensed persons are architects. Remember that the certificate number also has to appear wherever the words certified interior designer are used in your business or advertising, and that a corporation, association or partnership cannot be certified.
Browse interior designer stamps and seals.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Kentucky certified interior designer need a seal?
No. None of the certified interior designer regulations, which run from 201 KAR 19:410 on accredited schools through 19:455 on misconduct, creates one. The authentication mechanism is 201 KAR 19:450 Section 3: sign the document, affix your certification number, and identify yourself as a certified interior designer by putting the title or its abbreviation on the document in association with your signature.
What has to go on a Kentucky interior design document?
Your signature, your certification number, and the title certified interior designer or its abbreviation, in association with the signature. Section 3 states no date requirement and no placement rule beyond that association. The Kentucky architect regulation, by contrast, requires the architect to sign, date and imprint the seal.
Can I use a stamp anyway in Kentucky?
Yes, as a convenience. Any device you carry is an identification stamp rather than a professional seal and has no regulatory effect, so nothing prescribes or prohibits its size, shape or wording. A sensible one carries the three things the regulation puts on the document: a signature line, your certification number and the title.
What size would a Kentucky interior designer seal be?
There is no figure, because there is no seal. The architect geometry at 201 KAR 19:265, an outer circle of 1-9/16 inches and an inner circle of 1 inch, belongs to architects and does not transfer. Size any identification stamp for legibility on your own documents.
What should a Kentucky interior designer stamp avoid?
Anything implying architectural registration. 201 KAR 19:275 restricts the use of the title architect, and 201 KAR 19:265 Section 2 forbids title blocks and firm names that infer that unlicensed persons are architects. The certified interior designer title and number are the right things to carry; the architect look is not.
Which Kentucky documents need my signature and number?
All documents prepared by you or under your supervision. The regulation does not enumerate document types and gives no preliminary or draft carve-out, so the duty is broad on its face. Architectural documents in Kentucky still require an architect who signs, dates and imprints the architect seal under 201 KAR 19:265 Section 1, and your signature and number do not substitute for that.
Where else does my Kentucky certificate number have to appear?
In business and advertising. Section 2(1)(d) requires the certificate number to be included wherever the words certified interior designer are used in business or advertising, so the number belongs on the drawing, on the letterhead and in the marketing.
Can my firm be certified in Kentucky?
No, and the rule says so expressly. 201 KAR 19:450 Section 1 provides that “Certification shall be granted for individuals only. A corporation, association, or partnership shall not be certified as an interior designer.” Section 2(2) permits a firm to operate without all members certified, provided those holding Kentucky certification are designated as certified interior designers only in subheadings or subtitles defining the services of the firm. There is no firm seal and no firm number.
Is there an electronic signature standard for Kentucky interior designers?
201 KAR 19:450 contains no electronic or digital signature provision, names no technology, certificate authority or verification standard, and there is no seal for an electronic image to attach to. Kentucky does give its landscape architects a six-part electronic seal standard at 201 KAR 10:070 Section 2 and its engineers and land surveyors a digital signature standard at 201 KAR 18:104 Section 3, and neither reaches this credential.
What happens if my Kentucky certification lapses?
Certification renewal sits at 201 KAR 19:435, fees at 19:440 and continuing education at 19:445, with misconduct at 19:455. There is no device to surrender, because Kentucky prescribes none, and the regulations do not say whether the certification number changes on reinstatement. Since the number has to appear on documents and in business or advertising, keep printed material current when the credential status changes.
