NY Optometry Jurisprudence

It authorizes you to use the title "optometrist" and practice optometry in New York State. Licensure is mandatory for the title. Separate certifications exist for administering topical diagnostic pharmaceuticals and for using therapeutic pharmaceutical agents; those are applied for through the same licensure application.

Pass Parts I, II, and III of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry examination. If you passed Parts I and II and previously passed the Northeast Regional Clinical Optometric Assessment Testing Service examination, that combination also satisfies the requirement. Score reports must come directly from the testing agency; student copies are rejected.

The licensure and first registration fee is $377. Certification in the administration of topical diagnostic pharmaceuticals is $60. If you apply for both, one check for $437 covers both fees. Fees are subject to change, and the fee due is the one in law when your application is received. Cash is not accepted.

At least 60 semester hours of college study from a New York State registered program or the equivalent as determined by the Department. Those hours must include courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology or zoology, and physics. The professional program then builds on that prerequisite education.

The automatic path applies to graduates of a registered or AOACOE-accredited college after January 1, 1984, whose program included the required training. If you graduated earlier, contact the Office of the New York State Board for Optometry at 518-474-3817 ext. 591 for the requirements you must meet.

Only in narrow circumstances. Endorsement applies to applicants licensed without having taken NBEO Parts I, II, and III or Parts I and II plus NERCOATS, mostly graduates of professional programs before 1969. You also need at least five years of practice following initial licensure and within the 10 years before applying.

You are not eligible to apply for licensure by endorsement unless you have subsequently passed a comparable licensing examination. Plan on the standard examination pathway instead of endorsement if you have a prior failure on record with a New York-used examination.

Coursework or training in the identification and reporting of child abuse under Section 6507(3)(a) of the Education Law, and approved coursework in infection control and barrier precautions, including engineering and work practice controls, aimed at preventing HIV and hepatitis B transmission in practice. Approved provider lists are published by the Department.

You must pass the NBEO Treatment and Management of Ocular Diseases examination. If you graduated from a registered or AOACOE-accredited college after January 1, 1993, complete item 14 on the Application for Licensure. Graduates before that date contact the SUNY College of Optometry TPA Application Office for requirements.

Applicants who withdraw may be entitled to a partial refund; contact the Optometry Unit at [email protected] or 518-474-3817 ext. 250. Fees paid to outside testing or credentials verification agencies are not the Department's responsibility. If you reapply later, you are treated as a new applicant under the rules then in place.