In Oklahoma, only individuals with government-issued licenses may call themselves “interior designers.”

Besides unconstitutionally censoring truthful commercial speech, “titling laws” like Oklahoma’s serve as precursors to full-blown occupational licensure, which is the ultimate goal of a small faction within the interior design industry led by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).  

Only three other states besides Oklahoma license the use of the term “interior designer” without regulating the work itself.  The anti-competitive intent behind such regulations is clear: anyone who goes looking for an “interior designer” on the Internet or in the Yellow Pages in those states will find only government-licensed cartel members, while overlooking scores of capable designers like Oklahoma entrepreneurs Kelly Rinehart, Maria Gore and Jeffrey Evans. 

On September 30, 2008, the Institute for Justice filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City on behalf of Kelly, Maria and Jeffrey, challenging Oklahoma’s “titling” law as a violation of free speech rights protected by the First Amendment.  The state immediately agreed to an injunction order prohibiting further enforcement of the law while the legislature worked to correct the constitutional defect.  The Governor the new bill into law in May 2009, extending our interior design winning streak to 3-0.