Focus Newsletter

Nevada news & updates

February 2025 | Vol. 34, No. 1

2025 Nevada Legislative Session Under Way

The 83rd Session of the Nevada Legislature began on February 3, 2025. Below are some of the bills the board is tracking that may affect NRS 623 and regulation of the practices of architecture, interior design and residential design in Nevada. Full text of the legislation, current status, and scheduled hearings can be found on the Nevada Legislature website.

SB 78 – Revises provisions relating to boards, commissions, councils and similar bodies.

This bill would eliminate the NSBAIDRD. The duties of this board would be transferred to the Nevada Board of Professional Design and Environmental Specialists, which would be a consolidation of this board, the State Board of Landscape Architecture, the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, and the Board of Environmental Health Specialists. The new board would consist of the Chief Medical Officer and 12 members appointed by the Governor to include a residential designer, a registered interior designer, an architect, two landscape architects, two engineers, two land surveyors, two environmental health specialists, and a member of the public. All administrative staffing functions would be transferred to the Department of Business and Industry.

SB 78 Information

SB 129 – Requires certain regulatory bodies to issue a professional license by endorsement under certain circumstances.

This bill would require regulatory bodies to issue a license by endorsement to Nevada residents who hold the same license in another US jurisdiction if they met the license requirements in that other jurisdiction. The bill eliminates the requirement that applicants must meet the qualifications required for licensure in Nevada.

SB 129 Information

Continuing Education Audits

A percentage of registrants who renewed their licenses for 2025 will be randomly selected for audit of their continuing education units later this month. The selected registrants will be notified by email. The notice of audit will explain the audit process and will require a response by a specified date.

Submittals will be reviewed to determine if the continuing education requirements were met. Supporting documentation to prove completion of a course or activity is required. Registrants who fail to meet the requirements will be notified and offered an opportunity to resolve the violation. Registrants who choose not to resolve the violation will be subject to the board’s disciplinary process.

For more information on the continuing education requirement or audit process, please refer to the continuing education page of the board website.

NCIDQ Exam Updates

CIDQ recently announced it will make updates to all three sections of the NCIDQ Exam, starting with the Spring 2026 testing window. The updates are based on the results from the 2024 Practice Analysis.

Some changes coming to the exam are:

The Practicum Exam will be renamed the Interior Design Implementation Exam (IDIX) and will no longer have three case studies.
Each exam section will cover two design phases:
IDFX will cover programming / conceptual design and schematic design.
IDPX will cover construction administration and project management.
IDIX will cover design development and construction documentation.
Each exam will include all item types.
Exams will be based on IBC 2021 and related ICC A117.1 Accessibility Code 2017.

More information about the changes, including new content outlines, can be found on the CIDQ website.

New Registrants by Examination

Congratulations to the new Nevada registrants sworn-in at the January board meeting!

Architects

Emre Keskintepe (Las Vegas) #9636

Alysse Ogaard (Las Vegas) #9637

Kit Yee Li (Las Vegas) #9638

Jose Pablo Ruiz (Las Vegas) #9642

Naomi Elizabeth Roche (Elko) #9643

Registered Interior Designers

Christian Schnyder (Los Angeles) #320-ID

Christina Thiem (Las Vegas) #321-ID

Nima Mahmoudzadeh (Las Vegas) #322-ID

Disciplinary Actions

(October 23, 2024 through January 22, 2025)

Inquiries are routinely sent to both registrants and non-registrants for alleged violations of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and Nevada Administrative Codes (NAC).

There was one case this period that was submitted for board consideration and approved. Additionally, 11 cases were closed because there was no basis for the allegations or the complaint did not fall within the board's jurisdiction.

The following case was closed by means of settlement agreement; as part of the agreement respondents agreed to assure compliance with Chapter 623. Should the respondents be involved in a subsequent case and found to have again violated NRS, NAC or Rules of Conduct, the case may be used as an aggravating factor.

Every effort is made to ensure that the following information is correct. Before making any decision based on this information you should contact the NSBAIDRD.

Holding Oneself Out, Advertising, and Unlicensed Practice of Architecture, Registered Interior Design or Residential Design: NRS 623.360.1(a)(b)(c)

Case 25-027N

The allegations against Nick Alexander and Studio M Architecture & Planning were that they held themselves out as being qualified to provide services that fall under the practice of architecture and engaged in the practice of architecture without having a certificate of registration with the board. The matter was resolved through a settlement agreement incorporating an administrative penalty of $7,500 plus investigative costs of $1,500.

Expired Certificates of Registration

See a list of certificates of registration that expired on December 31, 2024.

Late Registration Policy

Registrants whose certificate of registration expired and have failed to renew their registration must pay a late renewal fee of $220, in addition to the $180 annual registration fee.

Registrants who do not renew their certificate of registration within one year of its expiration can renew it before the end of the third year by: submitting a letter of application for renewal; paying the required late registration fees ($220 late fee plus $180 for every year lapsed); paying the renewal fee for the current year ($180); and completing the required CEUs for each year the license was lapsed.

For questions regarding late registration, please contact the board office at (702) 486-7300.

Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design & Residential Design | nsbaidrd.org