There is no licensing entity the certifies landscape lighting designers, but there are ways to ensure the company you are dealing with is qualified. The INES is a national organization of lighting engineers and they give awards to the top designers. Ask the company you are talking to if they have won any awards and ask to see a copy of the award. Next, check references – when checking references be sure to ask if the company did the design. It is easy to take creditfor someone else’s work. Also ask how long they have been doing designs – it is easy to say, “We’ve been in business for X number of years” when maybe they have only been tree trimmers or electricians.
