Indiana Optometry Licensing and the Legend Drug Certificate

Indiana separates two things most states bundle: the right to practice optometry and the right to prescribe. The Indiana Optometry Board, through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA), issues the optometry license by examination or by reciprocity, for a $200 application fee either way. Prescribing then requires a separate Optometric Legend Drug Certificate ($20), which needs proof of ocular pharmacology education and a passing TMOD score. Every applicant, including an optometrist licensed for decades elsewhere, passes Indiana's written jurisprudence exam. And the license and the certificate both expire on April 1 of even-numbered years, whenever you were licensed.

The details below come from the PLA's optometry licensing information page.

Should you apply by examination or by reciprocity?

Indiana offers two application types.

• Optometrist by Examination. The $200 application, an official optometry transcript showing you met all graduation requirements, an official NBEO score report sent directly from NBEO showing passing scores on Parts I, II, III and TMOD, current BLS or CPR certification from the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross or a board-approved provider, and documentation for any yes answers and name changes. Despite the name, this is the standard route for an optometrist licensed elsewhere who has full NBEO scores.
• Optometrist by Reciprocity. For a licensed optometrist who meets the reciprocal requirements in Indiana Code 25-1-21-5. The PLA lists the $200 fee, documentation for any yes answers and any name change documentation.

Whichever you choose, the PLA's rules apply: an application not completed within one year after filing "is abandoned without any action of the Board," and a later application is treated as new. The complete file goes to the board for approval, and the PLA says the application "must be complete for the Board to review."

What if you were licensed before Part III existed?

Indiana has a specific rule for this. If you did not take and pass NBEO Part III before 1994, you must provide a statement from the appropriate agency in each state where you were licensed by examination, hold an active license, or are endorsing from, certifying the areas of the exam, the type of exam, the pass-fail criteria and your score in each area. Those applications get additional review by the board. The PLA adds that such an applicant "bears the burden of proving the requirements of the state in which the applicant is currently licensed are equivalent to those requirements of the Board," and must submit documentation for that comparison. Old exam records can be hard to get, so start those requests first. Routes for optometrists licensed before Part III compares how other boards treat the same situation.

How does the Indiana jurisprudence exam work?

"All applicants for licensure as an optometrist must pass a written jurisprudence examination," covering the optometry statute and rules posted on the board's home page. The exam is not scheduled up front. After the board approves your application, you are notified and a copy of the exam is sent to you. A score of 75 or above passes. Because the exam comes after board approval, it sits at the end of the timeline; build that into a start date.

What is the Optometric Legend Drug Certificate?

It is the Indiana credential that authorizes prescribing legend drugs. The PLA says you must have an optometry license or a pending application to apply, and the application needs:

• The $20 fee.
• Proof of education in ocular pharmacology from a school or college of optometry or medicine approved by the board, shown by a transcript of the coursework.
• An NBEO score report certifying that you passed TMOD.

Filing the certificate application alongside the license application avoids a gap in which you are licensed but cannot prescribe. If your NBEO history predates the embedded TMOD score, see TMOD and the stand-alone exam. For how Indiana's certificate compares with TPA and orals certifications elsewhere, read what TPA, orals and legend drug certificates mean from state to state.

Do Indiana optometrists need a controlled substance registration?

For one drug, yes. The PLA lists a separate "Controlled Substances Registration - Tramadol Only" for optometrists, with its own application on the PLA's controlled substance registration page. If you will prescribe tramadol in Indiana, that registration is in addition to the license, the legend drug certificate and a DEA registration for Indiana. State controlled substance licenses for optometrists lists the other states with a state-level registration.

When do Indiana licenses renew?

"Optometry licenses and Optometric Legend Drug certificates expire on April 1 of even-numbered years." The license renewal fee is $134 every two years, and Indiana Code 25-24-2-3 adds a separate fee, paid with each even-year renewal, that goes to Indiana University's optometry program. Renewal notices go out about 90 days before expiration, by email if the PLA has a valid address on file, and the PLA says that once a notice is sent "the duty of the board has been performed." A missed email is your problem, not theirs.

CE must be completed to renew; the requirements are in 852 IAC 1-16-1. The PLA's page notes that self-study is limited to 10 hours each two years for the license and the legend drug certificate, CPR or BLS can earn up to 2 hours per renewal period, and practice management courses and writing articles do not count. You certify CE under penalty of perjury when you renew, keep certificates for three years, and the board audits between 1 and 10 percent of licensees.

Two more renewal rules matter for multi-state ODs. You may hold an Indiana license on inactive status if you tell the board in writing that you will not practice in Indiana; an inactive license carries no CE requirement, but you cannot renew the legend drug certificate while inactive. And a license expired for three years or more must be reinstated, which can include a personal appearance and, at the board's discretion, retaking NBEO or the law exam. Reinstating a lapsed optometry license covers that process across states.

How can we help with an Indiana license?

Our Optometry License, One State service is $699 for Indiana. We pick the application type with you, request the NBEO report and, for pre-1994 licensees, the exam statements from each prior state, prepare the PLA application with a question-by-question guide and track it to board approval. A Therapeutic, Glaucoma or Legend Drug Certification Add-On ($249) prepares the legend drug certificate, and our State Controlled Substance License service ($249) covers the tramadol registration if you need it. You answer and sign the applications, complete the jurisprudence exam and pay the PLA. See the Indiana licensing page to compare states.