New York Optometry Licensing: When NBEO Is Enough

For most optometrists moving to New York, the answer is simple: if you passed Parts I, II and III of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) exam, you meet New York's examination requirement, and no years of practice are required. New York does not list a state law exam. What it does require is specific: a minimum of 60 semester hours of prerequisite college study, two mandated training courses, scores sent straight from NBEO, an education form completed by your school, and a verification from every other jurisdiction where you have been licensed. "Licensure by endorsement," which sounds like the route for experienced ODs, is actually reserved for a small group licensed before NBEO was the national exam.

The rules are in Article 143, section 7104 of the New York Education Law, section 52.17 and Part 66 of the Commissioner's Regulations. The New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions (NYSED) administers them.

What does NYSED need to see from an optometrist licensed elsewhere?

NYSED's license requirements page says you must be of good moral character, at least 21, and meet the education and examination requirements. In practice the file is:

• Form 1, the Application for Licensure, filed online with the fee. Online applicants pay by credit card.
• Form 2, Certification of Professional Education, which your school completes and returns directly. NYSED "will not accept this form if it is submitted by the applicant."
• Proof of prerequisite education: at least 60 semester hours of college study including general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology or zoology, and physics, plus a four-year professional program leading to the OD degree.
• NBEO scores. Parts I, II and III, or Parts I and II plus the Northeast Regional Clinical Optometric Assessment Testing Service (NERCOATS) exam. "All score reports must be sent directly by the testing agency to the Office of the Professions. Student copies will not be accepted."
• Form 3, Verification of Licensure, from each jurisdiction where you are or have been licensed. Section I is yours; the other board completes Section II and returns it directly. If another state's own verification contains the same information, a Form 3 is not needed for that state, and NYSED accepts electronic verifications sent directly by licensing authorities.
• Two training requirements: approved coursework in identifying and reporting child abuse under Education Law section 6507(3)(a), and approved coursework in infection control and barrier precautions.

NYSED adds one sentence worth taking literally: "It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material." The department does not chase your school or your other boards. For the logistics of score releases, see sending NBEO score reports to a new state board; for verifications, ordering verifications from every state you have held.

Which optometrists actually use New York's endorsement route?

Very few. NYSED says endorsement "applies only to those applicants who were licensed without having taken the NBEO, Parts I, II and III or the NBEO Parts I and II and the NERCOATS examination," and describes it as mostly an option for people who graduated before 1969. Endorsement applicants must show at least five years of professional practice after initial licensure and within the ten years before applying, using Form 4 (a personal affidavit) and Form 4A (supporting affidavits that a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist completes and submits). Anyone who failed a licensing exam New York uses is not eligible unless they later passed a comparable one.

So if you are a mid-career OD with NBEO scores, ignore the word "endorsement" and file the standard application. If you were licensed before Part III existed, read routes for optometrists licensed before Part III, because New York's forms for that case are specific.

Do DPA and TPA certification come with the New York license?

New York certifies pharmaceutical use separately from the license.

• Diagnostic agents (DPA). Graduates of a registered or accredited program after January 1, 1984 have the required training. You check the "Optometrists DPA Certification" box on Form 1 and pay the $60 certification fee. Earlier graduates contact the State Board for Optometry.
• Therapeutic agents (TPA). If you graduated after January 1, 1993 and passed NBEO's Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease (TMOD) exam, you complete item 14 on Form 1. Earlier graduates contact the SUNY College of Optometry about the requirements. NYSED is clear that TPA certification requires passing TMOD.

Licenses with prescribing privileges show the letters "U" (phase one TPA) and/or "V" (phase two TPA) before the six-digit license number. If your Part II predates the embedded TMOD score, plan the stand-alone exam first; see TMOD and the stand-alone exam. What TPA and orals certificates mean from state to state puts New York's two phases in context.

What does a New York optometry license cost?

NYSED's fee for licensure and first registration is $377, and DPA certification is $60. If you apply for both at once you can pay $437 in one check. NYSED notes that fees can change and that the fee due is the one in law when your application is received. If you withdraw an application and later reapply, NYSED treats you as a new applicant under the requirements in place at that time.

Once licensed, how do registration and CE work?

New York separates the license from the registration. NYSED's forms page states that a New York professional license "is valid for life unless it is revoked, annulled, or suspended," but you must keep it registered to practice. Registration periods run three years and are adjusted so renewals fall in your birth month. If a registration has lapsed for longer than four months, you file a delayed registration application rather than a simple renewal.

CE applies to optometrists with TPA privileges: 36 contact hours in each three-year registration period. NYSED's CE guidance adds:

• At least three quarters of the hours must be live, meaning you can interact with the instructor.
• Acceptable subjects are pharmacology and ocular disease. Practice management, accounting and similar courses do not count.
• A first registration shorter than three years is prorated at one hour per month.
• Hours do not carry over between periods, and records are kept for six years for random audits.
• Every registered optometrist, with or without TPA, completes an approved infection control course every four years.

One rule matters for multi-state ODs. If you let a New York registration go inactive because you practice elsewhere, reactivating it with U and V privileges requires a full triennial period's CE, and because you are actively practicing you can count credits earned up to 36 months before you reactivate. If you are not practicing, only the last 12 months count. Keeping New York on a calendar with your other states is covered in keeping several optometry renewals on one calendar.

Where do New York files slow down?

1. Form 2 sent by the applicant. It must come from the school.
2. A student copy of NBEO scores. Not accepted.
3. The two training courses. Both must be approved providers; NYSED lists them.
4. A missing Form 3. Every jurisdiction where you are or were licensed, unless its own verification carries the same information.
5. Nobody following up. NYSED puts that on you.

Which parts of a New York file can we take on?

Our Optometry License, One State service is $699 for New York. We confirm your NBEO record and TMOD status, prepare Form 1 with a question-by-question guide, send Form 2 and Form 3 requests to your school and every prior board, request the NBEO score release, point you to approved providers for the two required courses, and follow up with everyone NYSED expects you to chase. You answer and sign the application, complete the coursework and pay NYSED. A Therapeutic, Glaucoma or Legend Drug Certification Add-On ($249) covers a separate TPA request if yours is not on the original application, and Annual Renewal and CE Tracking ($299 per license, per year) keeps the triennial registration and infection control cycle on schedule. See the New York licensing page to compare states.