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Professional Design Firm
If your company plans to offer professional design services in Illinois that pertains to the practice of Architecture, Land Surveying, Professional Engineering, and/or Structural Engineering, your company must be registered as a Professional Design Firm (“PDF”) with this Department.
- Unless your company is organized as a general partnership or sole proprietor, part of the requirements for Professional Design Firm registration is obtaining authorization to transact business in Illinois from the Illinois Secretary of State prior to submitting the Professional Design Firm application to our department for processing.
- Offering professional services without a Professional Design Firm registration is a violation of the laws governing the four design professions listed above. Note, there is no residency requirement or a requirement to have an Illinois office.
- A “letter of good standing” from the Illinois Secretary of State is not applicable for application for Professional Design Firm registration.
- Please note - As of 2019, the Illinois Secretary of State requires that all businesses organized as an LLC and who provide or plan to provide professional services which are regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation must register as a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office or register as an LLC and have an assumed name listed as a PLLC.
The application and requirements for the Professional Design Firm are available on the following design profession pages.
- Architecture – https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/architect.html
- Professional Land Surveyor – https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/landsurv.html
- Professional Engineering – https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/profengineer.html
- Structural Engineering – https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/se.html
