MissouriSB12332026 Regular SessionSenate

Modifies provisions relating to activities requiring licensure

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

18 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 3 costs, 8 mixed.

Accountants get three license qualification routes

For exam eligibility on or after June 30, 2021, applicants must be at least 18 and meet character rules. They need an accredited bachelor's or post-bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent. Certified public accountant licensure offers three education-and-experience routes: an accounting bachelor's degree plus two years of experience; a bachelor's degree plus 30 semester hours with an accounting concentration plus one year; or a post-bachelor's accounting degree plus one year. Applicants must also pass the required exam and meet other licensing requirements.

Experienced workers get temporary license paths

Workers with at least three years in an occupation not licensed in another state or Washington, D.C., can seek a Missouri temporary license. It lasts two years, is valid only in Missouri, and cannot be renewed. Applicants must prove experience, pay a fee, pass the regular licensing exam, and meet citizenship or federal work-authorization rules. Therapeutic-massage applicants must be U.S. citizens, and nonresidents must prove Missouri domicile within 60 days after licensing. The board must decide within 45 days; specified occupations and certain disciplinary histories are excluded.

Interior designers gain routes with requirements

Interior designer applicants must pass the Council for Interior Design Qualification exam or a board-approved equivalent. An accredited four- or five-year interior design degree requires two years of experience; a two-year degree requires four years. Currently licensed Missouri architects also have a qualifying route. Board-approved curricula or transcripts remove the requirement to provide substantial evidence of the listed education and experience. Designers credentialed in another U.S. state or territory, Canadian province, or country can qualify with equivalent qualifications, a fee, and any board-required exam.

Outside credentials support licensing and telehealth

Missouri licensing bodies can use another jurisdiction's verification to support waiving exam, education, or experience requirements. Applicants must hold a current license in the same occupation and practice level for at least one year. Verification covers education and, when applicable, work experience and clinical supervision. Health care providers licensed through this waiver process have full practice authority within their profession's Missouri limits. They can provide telehealth on the same terms as providers licensed without a waiver.

Job-related convictions can cost professional licenses

After final trial proceedings, the board can discipline covered license holders for offenses directly tied to their occupational duties. This includes guilty findings, guilty pleas, and no-contest pleas in any state, the United States, or another country. Discipline does not require an imposed sentence. Penalties include censure, up to five years of probation, up to three years of suspension, or license revocation.

Interior designers gain titles and duties

Only Missouri license holders in good standing can claim the “licensed interior designer” title; others can still offer interior design services. Licensed work includes interior planning, nonstructural design, technical documents, and construction oversight, but excludes specified structural, building-system, fire-safety, and other regulated work. Listed private-building services are excluded when project documents state that the provider is not licensed. Designers can work through partnerships or corporations, but the license and title remain personal. Qualified designers must seal final technical documents they prepare or directly supervise and take responsibility for them; the seal counts as their signature. Violating the covered interior designer licensing rules is a class A misdemeanor.

Respiratory therapists gain routes, face audits

Respiratory care applicants can use an active registered respiratory therapist credential from the national board or its successor. An active credential with an outside license or registration also qualifies when that jurisdiction's standards meet or exceed Missouri's. A certified respiratory therapist credential qualifies only if earned before January 1, 2027. Renewals face random audits of active national credentials. For selected license holders, the credentialing organization must send proof directly to the Missouri board.

Outside accountants gain access, movers need licenses

Qualifying certified public accountants based outside Missouri can practice without a Missouri license, registration, notice, or fee. They need a valid, unrestricted license in good standing and qualifying initial exam, education, and experience standards. Those holding the stated license status and Missouri practice privilege on December 31, 2024, can continue; corresponding privileges cover qualifying firms. An accountant licensed in another state must request a Missouri license before establishing a main business location here. The Missouri board checks comparable qualifications directly, replacing the prior national appraisal-service reference.

Care aides can give more injections

Trained staff employed by licensed long-term-care facilities can give residents medicines injected under the skin. A physician must prescribe the medicine for the resident receiving it. Insulin remains allowed; the change does not authorize other injection routes.

Homeowners cannot be forced to hire designers

State and local governments cannot require a licensed interior designer for residential building, remodeling, rehabilitation, or construction projects. Homeowners can still choose to hire one.

Social work supervisors need less experience

Qualified advanced macro and baccalaureate social work supervisors need three years of relevant practice instead of five. They must still complete at least 16 hours of qualifying supervisor training and meet other statutory and board requirements.

Solo accounting businesses can skip permits

Sole practitioners and single-member limited liability companies using “CPA” or a similar term can request a firm-permit exemption. They must submit a written request to the accountancy board. The request must affirm that they do not offer or perform attest services or other services requiring peer review.

More dental providers at public facilities

Qualifying nonprofit hospitals and state correctional-care contractors are exempt from the corporate-practice-of-dentistry limit for covered dental services. Hospitals must have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and serve a facility owned by a city, county, or other political subdivision. Contractors must provide care in a state correctional center. Dental workers must hold the required license or registration and stay within its scope.

Pharmacies gain flexibility for disaster deliveries

The Pharmacy Board can waive Missouri rules for qualifying Missouri-based pharmacies serving declared disasters in another state or U.S. territory. Pharmacies must be licensed in good standing, authorized to ship there, and follow affected-jurisdiction emergency rules and federal law. Deliveries must go to residents or health facilities within the declared area. The disaster period starts 10 days before the declaration and continues through 60 calendar days after its stated end. Without a stated end, it lasts 60 days after the declaration; the governor can extend it.

Interior designers face renewal deadlines

Interior designer licenses require renewal every two years, a fee, and continuing education set by the board. The education requirements must be substantially equivalent to those for architects. A license automatically suspends three months after a missed renewal date. Reinstatement requires a fee within nine months after suspension; otherwise, the license expires.

New pharmacy vaccines need joint approval

Vaccines approved after January 1, 2026, need joint state rules before pharmacists can administer them under this authority. Both the Board of Pharmacy and the healing arts board must include the vaccine in their rules. The law's listed vaccine exclusions remain.

Emergency license restrictions require timely review

Boards can seek emergency license restrictions when occupation-related criminal charges are pending and reasonable cause shows an imminent public risk. The Administrative Hearing Commission reviews requests within five days; an evidentiary hearing follows within 45 days or upon final criminal adjudication, as appropriate. The Commission must also hold a hearing within 120 days of the board's initial filing. An order ends if no disciplinary cause exists; otherwise, it stays pending a board disciplinary hearing. When no initial emergency order is granted, the board must remove references to it from public records.

Interior designers move to combined oversight

Missouri's combined design-professions board oversees licensed interior design standards, unlawful practice, incidental practice, and professional responsibility. The law replaces older provisions on council administration, funds, fees, discipline, and registration without exams for foreign applicants. Repeals of sections 324.406 and 324.424 take effect upon notice to the revisor that two interior design division members are appointed and confirmed.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Curtis Trent
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 34 • No: 1

House vote • 4/29/2026

Reported Do Pass

Yes: 8 • No: 0

House vote • 4/21/2026