Getting Your NCIDQ Certification

Passing the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam is a big step in your interior design career. However, by the time you are ready to take the exam, you will have plenty of education and work experience under your belt. These things should help you become familiar with the NCIDQ certification exam subject matter. Knowing what to expect—and that you are fully prepared—may help reduce test anxiety.

Getting NCIDQ certification is necessary for meeting the licensing requirements for interior designers in many states and jurisdictions. To qualify to take the NCIDQ certification exam, you must have a combination of interior design education credit hours and work experience hours, as shown in the following table:

The NCIDQ certification exam consists of three parts and covers seven aspects of the interior design field:

• Building Systems
• Codes
• Contract Administration
• Construction Standards
• Design Application
• Professional Practice
• Project Coordination

You will be asked to complete two multiple choice sections containing 150 questions (25 questions in each section will be unscored). The third section is a practicum in which you will be asked to demonstrate your ability to solve interior design problems.

NCIDQ offers the exam twice a year—once in the Spring and again in the Fall—in select cities across the U.S. and Canada. The test will span two days. The first day will cover the first two test sections, and the second day will cover the third section.

Next Step: Becoming a Licensed Interior Designer