§ 12-120-403. Exemptions – Definitions

1. Nothing in this part 4 shall prevent any person, firm, corporation, or association from preparing plans and specifications for, designing, planning, or administering the construction contracts for construction, alterations, remodeling, additions to, or repair of, any of the following:
   1. One-, two-, three-, and four-family dwellings, including accessory buildings commonly associated with those dwellings;
   2. Garages, industrial buildings, offices, farm buildings, and buildings for the marketing, storage, or processing of farm products, and warehouses, that do not exceed one story in height, exclusive of a one-story basement, and, under applicable building codes, are not designed for occupancy by more than ten persons;
   3. Additions, alterations, or repairs to the buildings referred to in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) of this section that do not cause the completed buildings to exceed the applicable limitations set forth in this subsection (1);
   4. Nonstructural alterations of any nature to any building if the alterations do not affect the life safety of the occupants of the building.
2. Nothing in this part 4 shall prevent, prohibit, or limit any municipality or county of this state, home rule or otherwise, from adopting such building codes as may, in the reasonable exercise of the police power of said governmental unit, be necessary for the protection of the inhabitants of the municipality or county.
3. Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed as curtailing or extending the rights of any other profession or craft, including the practice of landscape architecture by landscape architects pursuant to article 130 of this title 12.
4. Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed as prohibiting the practice of architecture by any employee of the United States government or any bureau, division, or agency thereof while in the discharge of his or her official duties.
5. Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed to prevent the independent employment of a licensed professional engineer practicing pursuant to part 2 of this article 120.
6. 1. Except as provided in subsection (6)(b) of this section, nothing in this part 4 prevents an interior designer from preparing interior design documents and specifications for interior finishes and nonstructural elements within and surrounding interior spaces of a building or structure of any size, height, and occupancy and filing the documents and specifications for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building permit as provided by law from the appropriate city, city and county, or regional building authority, which city, city and county, or regional building authority may approve the filing in the same manner as for other professions and may only reject the filing for a reason provided in law, which reason may be based on a local government’s ordinance, resolution, or building code adoption policy.
   2. 1. Interior designers shall not be engaged in the construction of:
         1. The structural frame system supporting a building;
         2. Mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical vertical transportation systems;
         3. Fire-rated vertical shafts in any multistory structure;
         4. Fire-related protection of structural elements;
         5. Smoke evacuation and compartmentalization;
         6. Emergency sprinkler systems;
         7. Emergency alarm systems; or
         8. Any other alteration affecting the life safety of the occupants of a building outside the content of the interior design documents and specifications listed in subsection (6)(a) of this section.
      2. An interior designer shall, as a condition of filing interior design documents and specifications for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building permit, provide to the responsible building official of the jurisdiction proof of the interior designer’s professional liability insurance coverage that is in force. An interior designer is not subject to any of the restrictions set forth in subsections (1)(b) and (1)(d) of this section.
   3. As used in this subsection (6), “interior designer” means a person who:
      1. Engages in:
         1. Consultation, study, design analysis, drawing, space planning, and specification for nonstructural or nonseismic interior construction with due concern for the life safety of the occupants of the building;
         2. Preparing and submitting interior design documents for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building permit as provided by law for nonstructural or nonseismic interior construction, materials, finishes, space planning, furnishings, fixtures, equipment, lighting, and reflected ceiling plans;
         3. Designing for fabrication nonstructural elements within and surrounding interior spaces of buildings; or
         4. The administration of design construction and contract documents, as the clients’ agent, relating to the functions described in subsections (6)(c)(I)(A) to (6)(c)(I)(C) of this section, and collaboration with specialty consultants and licensed practitioners in other areas of technical expertise; and
      2. Possesses written documentation that the interior designer:
         2. (Deleted by amendment, L. 2020.)
         3. Has met the education and experience requirements of, and has subsequently passed, the qualification examination promulgated by the Council for Interior Design Qualification or its successor organization; and
         4. Maintains active certification with the Council for Interior Design Qualification or its successor organization.
   4. As used in this subsection (6), “nonstructural or nonseismic” includes interior elements or components that are not load-bearing, do not assist in the seismic design, and do not require structural computations for a building. Common nonstructural or nonseismic elements or components include ceiling and partition systems that employ normal and typical bracing conventions and are not part of the structural integrity of the building.
7. Nothing in this article 120 shall prohibit a person who is licensed to practice architecture in another jurisdiction of the United States from soliciting work in Colorado. The person shall not perform the practice of architecture in this state without first having obtained a license from the board or having associated with an architect licensed in this state who is associated with the project at all stages of the project.
8. Nothing in this section authorizes an individual, including an individual authorized to engage in conduct under subsection (6) of this section, to engage in the practice of architecture, engineering, or any other occupation regulated under the laws of this state or to prepare, sign, or seal plans with respect to such practice or in connection with any governmental permit unless the individual is licensed or otherwise permitted by law to so act.

Source: L. 2019: Entire title R&RE with relocations, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 907, § 1, effective October 1. L. 2020: (6)(a), (6)(b), (6)(c)(II), and (6)(d) amended and (8) added, (HB 20-1165), ch. 102, p. 391, § 1, effective September 14.

Editor’s note: This section is similar to former § 12-25-303 as it existed prior to 2019.