(a) An Applicant for Interior Design registration by examination in Texas must meet the eligibility and application requirements contained in §5.33(b) and (c) of this chapter, and successfully complete all sections of the NCIDQ examination or a predecessor or other examination deemed equivalent by the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ). Alternatively, prior to December 31, 2018, an applicant may obtain Interior Design registration by examination by successfully completing all sections of the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE), or another examination NCARB deems equivalent to the ARE, after fulfilling the requirements of §1.21 and §1.41 of this title relating to Board approval to take the ARE for architectural registration by examination.
(b) Each Applicant must achieve a passing score in each division of the NCIDQ examination. Scores from individual divisions may not be averaged to achieve a passing score.
(c) An examination fee may be refunded as follows:
  (1) The application fee paid to the Board is not refundable or transferable.
  (2) The Board, on behalf of an examinee, may request a refund of a portion of the examination fee paid to CIDQ for scheduling all or a portion of the registration examination. A charge for refund processing may be withheld by CIDQ. Refunds of examination fees are subject to the following conditions:
    (A) An examinee, because of extreme hardship, must have been precluded from scheduling or taking the examination or a portion of the examination. For purposes of this subsection, extreme hardship is defined as a serious illness or accident of the examinee or a member of the examinee's immediate family or the death of an immediate family member. Immediate family members include the spouse, child(ren), parent(s), and sibling(s) of the examinee. Any other extreme hardship may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
    (B) A written request for a refund based on extreme hardship must be submitted not later than thirty (30) days after the date the examination or portion of the examination was scheduled or intended to be scheduled. Documentation of the extreme hardship that precluded the examinee from scheduling or taking the examination must be submitted by the examinee as follows:
      (i) Illness: verification from a physician who treated the illness.
      (ii) Accident: a copy of an official accident report.
      (iii) Death: a copy of a death certificate or newspaper obituary.
    (C) Approval of the request and refund of the fee or portion of the fee by CIDQ.
  (3) An examination fee may not be transferred to a subsequent examination.

Source Note: The provisions of this §5.51 adopted to be effective October 11, 2001, 26 TexReg 7860; amended to be effective April 4, 2004, 29 TexReg 3471; amended to be effective December 24, 2008, 33 TexReg 10323; amended to be effective June 13, 2010, 35 TexReg 4701; amended to be effective September 18, 2013, 38 TexReg 6040; amended to be effective January 11, 2017, 42 TexReg 14; amended to be effective January 1, 2018, 42 TexReg 7403