Becoming Board Certified in Florida

Florida Optician and Contact Lens

Florida Licensed Optician, may also fill, fit, adapt or dispense soft contact lenses, extended wear contact lenses or hard contact lenses only to the extent authorized and under the supervision of the prescribing medical doctor or optometrist.

Florida Board-Certified Optician, is a Florida licensed optician that fill, fit, adapt, or dispense any soft contact lens prescription without the direct supervision of the prescribing doctor.  A board-certified optician may fill, fit, adapt, or dispense any extended wear or hard contact lens prescription to the extent authorized to do so by the prescribing allopathic or osteopathic physician or optometrist.

How to Become Board Certified Optician

To become Board Certified Optician in Florida complete the follow requirements

• Be a Florida licensed optician
• Successfully pass the NCLE exam. If you obtained your Florida optician license prior to September 1985, you must submit a copy of your score sheet from the NCLE showing the date you passed the examination.  Do not send the NCLE certificate. 
• Proof of satisfactory completion of a Board approved 20-hour Contact Lens Fitting Course for board certification.  POF holds this course once or twice a year. (Next course date TBD - possibly April/May 2012)
• A completed and signed board certification application.  Please type or print clearly in black ink.
• Send the above completed certification application along with a one time application fee of $50 in a check or money order made payable to the Department of Health.  The application fee to become a board certified optician is non-refundable.

Proof of Board Certification
When the Board of Opticianry receives a board certification application and the optician meets the certification requirements, the board office adds a "board certified" qualification to their license in the Dept. of Health’s licensure database.  In approximately 2-3 weeks, the optician receives a duplicate license through the U.S. mail that shows the following:

QUALIFICATION(S):

BOARD CERTIFIED

The above is only printed on the display copy of the license.  The wallet size copy of the license will not show this certification.  It will also display on the license verification page Department of Health’s website.

Florida License Verification Web Page