there's no such thing as an unlicensed architect.

according to the 2003 IBC, anything with an occupant load less than 10 (except educational, institutional and hazardous occupancies) can be designed by a non-registered designer.

so, that's about a 300sf store or a 1,000sf office.

but the local building official still has the last word.

It depends on your local building codes. Start with your building department, often their websites give guidelines for permitting that will tell you whether something needs to be stamped - and it varies across the country.

thanks. it's for a commercial space in new york city. i'll check the local codes

Everything in NYC requires a stamp. I don't think you can take a non bearing wall down without a stamp. This will tell you better:
http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/bldgs_code/bc27s1.pdf

What about "Illegal Architect" is there such a thing?

Sanofi, Yes and yes:

1. A designer can design anything.

2. For the most part you need to be a registered architect to submit drawings for plan check.

In residential architecture you can go a long way without being registered. Be careful about calling yourself an architect if you are not registered. That is illegal.

Your state's board of architects are the ones who write the laws governing lawful and unlawful practice. The local building dept is probably alittle lax about the laws. They will sometimes invent their own rules. But, if you ever plan to pursue a license you best get to know your state or the state you plan to practice in, rules and regulations. These are most often found online in the dept website. Residential work can almost always be practiced by a unlicensed individual. But still be familiar with rules. New Jersey for instance does not allow it. My Pennsylvania Board of Architects newsletter listed about 30 persons being fined for unlawful practice. Fines ranged from 500 to 5,000 bucks. Most had let their license lapse and were still stamping plans. Some had no license at all.

Studio43, I just read through the Penn newsletter noting discipline againt various architects/non-architects. Yes, there were a LOT! I thought it was funny that one guy, a well-known principal, was fined for "inadvertently stamping drawings while mistakenly under the impression that his license had not lapsed" or some similar in-depth description. Most people were just generically "fined for practicing w/o a valid license".

in the words of a very interesting prof.:

rules bad,
building good.

Liberty

34 total 1 of which was a female

a couple of those made me laugh

" had a public reprimand placed on his permanent board record"

" license indefinitely suspended because he had plead guilty to two counts of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude"

if i don't have my license how am i supposed to know my building will stand up? do i have to get an engineer to check it?

how are you supposed to know if you do have your license? A license doesn't make a building standup. You just get to take full responsibility, should it fall down.

however, a license does force you to contact the building dept. if the owner refuses to fix code deficiencies created by the contractor.

something i was forced to do yesterday, along with contacting my E&O insurer.

yeah, real good times.