JUNE 2025
Coalition of regulatory organizations develops framework to increase understanding of practice overlap between design disciplines
CLARB, in partnership with three other national regulatory associations, is working to clarify overlapping areas of professional practice and support broader recognition of each design profession’s distinct and shared competencies.
The comprehensive effort by the Interorganizational Council on Regulation brings together regulatory organizations representing architecture, engineering and surveying, interior design, and landscape architecture:
Clarifying professional competencies and overlap
Through extensive research and collaboration, ICOR has developed a practice overlap guidance document that defines professional competencies based on licensure standards, including education, experience and examination. This framework provides a shared understanding of where professional competencies intersect and where they remain distinct across the five design disciplines.
For landscape architects, the guidance affirms qualifications in a range of regulated competencies and supports greater alignment between licensure standards and the scope of services professionals are authorized to provide. This clarity helps reduce regulatory ambiguity and supports more effective participation in interdisciplinary projects.
Laying the foundation for policy improvements
The ICOR guidance establishes a foundation for modernizing state laws, administrative rules and related policies that may currently restrict qualified professionals. While policy change will evolve at different paces across jurisdictions, this initiative offers a practical resource to inform regulatory alignment, licensure consistency and statutory clarity.
Advancing licensure and interdisciplinary practice
By addressing long-standing regulatory inconsistencies, the guidance strengthens the foundation for competency-based licensure and increases opportunities for all design professionals, including landscape architects, to apply their expertise more fully. It also reinforces the importance of public protection by providing clarity around each profession’s role and qualifications.
For regulatory boards, the guidance offers a standardized tool to support consistent evaluation of professional qualifications across ICOR member jurisdictions.
CLARB’s participation in this effort underscores our commitment to advancing landscape architecture’s role within the regulatory environment, supporting equitable collaboration and ensuring effective and transparent professional oversight.
The guidance document will be released in late 2025. Opt in to receive CLARB emails for future updates on this and other CLARB initiatives impacting landscape architecture regulation.