Rule 4725-3-08 | Requirements for licensure by endorsement, dispensing optician or ocularist educated outside the United States of America.
(A) Optometrist:
(1) The board will recognize for certificate of licensure by endorsement any optometrist meeting the requirements of section 4725.18 of the Revised Code who has an active license in good standing issued by another state board of optometry or a province in Canada.
(2) The applicant for licensure by endorsement must meet the qualifications as set forth in section 4725.12 of the Revised Code. The applicant must provide proof of being in an active practice of optometry for at least three years immediately preceding the application. The board may require that the applicant pass all or part of the licensing examination accepted by the board under section 4725.11 of the Revised Code if the board determines that testing is necessary to determine the applicants qualifications for issuance of a certificate of licensure.
(3) If the applicant has not been involved in an active practice of optometry for the past three years the board may require additional testing as deemed necessary. The minimum requirement for such non-practicing applicants to be granted licensure by endorsement would be passing scores in the clinical skills section of the examination given by the national board of examiners in optometry or any equivalent examination as determined by the board.
(4) The board may require copies of all testing given by the state or province from the state board or province in which the applicant was initially examined to determine that the test was equivalent to the Ohio examination at the time the applicant was licensed in that state or province.
(B) Optician:
(1) The board will recognize for certificate of licensure by endorsement any dispensing optician meeting the requirements of sections 4725.48 and 4725.57 of the Revised Code who has an active license or registration in good standing issued by another state board or educated outside the United States of America.
(2) All applications for initial certificate of licensure as a dispensing optician in Ohio by endorsement shall be submitted to the board in a form designated by the board.
(3) Applications shall be:
(a) Accompanied by the fee in a form established by the board; and,
(b) Accompanied by such evidence, statement, or documents as specified on the application form, including but not limited to:
(i) Verification of licensure in good standing received directly from the state of the current licensure or registration at the time of application; and,
(ii) Shall submit to criminal records check completed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with section 4725.501 of the Revised Code. The results of the criminal records check shall be received by the board prior to the issuance of a license to practice as a dispensing optician. In accordance with this rule, the applicant requesting the criminal records check shall:
(a) Provide the bureau of criminal identification and investigation with the applicant's name and address and with the name and address for the Ohio vision professionals board; and,
(b) Cause a records check to be conducted with the federal bureau of investigation regarding applicant.
(4) The board will only accept the results of a criminal records check that is submitted to the board directly by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.
(5) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(6) Be honest and trustworthy;
(7) Be a graduate of a secondary school recognized by the state department of education in this state, or similar educational agency in another state or has attained an educational equivalent such as proof of having successfully passed the general educational development (GED) examination or a GED certificate of high school equivalency diploma.
(8) Have successfully completed either of the following:
(a) A two-year college level program in optical dispensing approved by the board that includes, but is not limited to, courses of study in:
(i) Mathematics;
(ii) Science;
(iii) English;
(iv) Anatomy and physiology of the eye;
(v) Applied optics;
(vi) Measurement and inspection of lenses;
(vii) lens grinding and edging;
(viii) Ophthalmic optics;
(ix) Ophthalmic lens design;
(x) Keratometry; and,
(xi) Fitting and adjusting of spectacle lenses, frames and contact lenses, including methods of fitting lenses and post-fitting care; or,
(b) For a spectacle dispensing optician license, one thousand hours of supervised experience under a licensed dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician engaged in the practice of ophthalmology; or,
(c) For a spectacle-contact lens dispensing optician license, one thousand five hundred hours of supervised experience under a licensed dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician engaged in the practice of ophthalmology.
(9) The applicant has successfully completed the state board national qualifying examination for either the spectacle dispensing license, or combination of both examinations for a spectacle-contact lens dispensing license;
(10) If an application for licensure by endorsement submitted to the board remains incomplete for one year, the application shall be considered void;
(11) The appropriate license and wall certificate shall be issued electronically by the board after approval.
Last updated November 30, 2023 at 8:30 AM
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