The State Board of Architects, the State Board for Professional Engineers, the State Board for Professional Land Surveyors, the State Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects and the State Board of Certified Interior Designers (collectively the "Design Boards") approved this document as a tool to provide better guidance to local government officials with regard to the interpretation of certain aspects of Maryland licensing laws. The State granted the Design Boards authority to license/certify those design professionals who practice architecture, interior design, land surveying, landscape architecture and engineering. One of the main functions of the Design Boards is to make sure that the practicing design professional performs his or her duties in accordance with the standards set by the State to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Maryland.

Local government officials have very much the same responsibility to protect the public welfare. However, their approach and focus is somewhat different in that they review construction documents to make sure that such documents meet the minimum requirements set by the local and state codes.

The issues surrounding permissible overlaps and cross-scope activities among various design professions are not easy to resolve. The scopes of practice for these professions overlap, leaving the local government officials with the daunting task of interpreting the State law. This reference guide has been created in an attempt to address these issues. The following pages provide the local government officials with a better understanding of the roles of design professions and offer tools and concrete steps to assist the local government officials in performance of their duties.

Individuals from the following professional societies, together with the representatives of the Design Boards and the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, were participants in the Task Force that developed this document:

MBOA - Maryland Building Officials Association
MSAIA - Maryland State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
MSS - Maryland Society of Surveyors
IIDA - International Interior Design Association
MASLA - Maryland Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects
ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers