Federal Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and the Eyeglass and Contact Lens Rules
Contact lens rule: release and verification
The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 7601-7610, and the FTC Contact Lens Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 315, protect a patient's ability to obtain and use a contact lens prescription. The prescriber must provide a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient at the completion of the contact lens fitting, whether or not the patient asks, and at no charge. The prescriber must obtain a signed acknowledgment from the patient; if the patient refuses, the prescriber documents the refusal. The prescriber cannot require the patient to buy lenses as a condition of release.
A contact lens prescription must include an expiration date of at least one year unless a shorter period is medically justified. A seller must verify the prescription with the prescriber by direct communication. The prescriber must respond within eight business hours; if no response is received, the prescription is treated as verified and the seller may fill it. Sellers must maintain required records of prescriptions and verification.
Eyeglass rule
Under the FTC Eyeglass Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 456, the prescriber must give the patient a copy of the eyeglass prescription immediately after the eye examination, at no charge, and cannot condition the examination or prescription on a purchase. The prescription must contain the required patient, prescriber, and lens information. The federal Eyeglass Rule does not set the same one-year expiration floor as the Contact Lens Rule, though state law may add requirements.
Worked example
After a contact lens fitting, the patient asks for the prescription to buy lenses online. The optometrist says release requires purchasing lenses from the office. That is a violation: release must be automatic at fitting completion, without purchase, and with a signed acknowledgment or documented refusal. If the online seller then contacts the office, the office should respond within eight business hours; silence allows the seller to proceed.
Traps that cost marks
- Releasing a contact lens prescription only when the patient asks.
- Charging a fee or requiring a purchase before release.
- Counting eight calendar hours instead of eight business hours.
- Forgetting the one-year minimum contact lens expiration rule.
- Mixing the Eyeglass Rule and Contact Lens Rule release timing and requirements.
Key takeaways
Automatic release, no purchase condition, acknowledgment, verification, and expiration rules are the tested core. The eyeglass and contact lens rules are related but not identical.