Verified October 10, 2026 against the practice act, board rules and sources cited below. The board decides every application. All states
What optometrists miss in Washington
- Applicants list every state where they hold or held a credential, including applications that were never granted.
- Advanced procedures are reported each year, with complications, through the period ending Dec. 31, 2028.
How does an optometrist licensed elsewhere get a Washington license?
WAC 246-851-500 licenses optometrists from states with substantially equivalent standards, without exam, on proof of that equivalence, verification from every state held and a certification of having read Washington's optometry laws. The rule sets no years-of-practice minimum.
- By endorsement
- Board: Washington Board of Optometry (Department of Health)
Citation: WAC 246-851-500
Which NBEO exams does Washington require?
Applicants also need DPA/TPA, oral medication and epinephrine-injection qualifications verified by their school.
- NBEO: I, II, III, TMOD
Does Washington require a law exam?
Endorsement applicants certify reading RCW 18.53, 18.54, 18.195 and 18.130 and WAC 246-851 and 246-852. New licensees pass the board jurisprudence exam in their first full CE period.
- No law exam
What scope does a Washington license carry?
An advanced procedures endorsement (chalazion, injections, lid lesions, eyelid surgery) needs a hands-on course, a national exam such as the ISE or LSPE, and a physician rapid-response agreement.
- Tiers: DPA/TPA, oral medications, epinephrine injection; advanced procedures endorsement
- Applicants from other states: DPA/TPA, oral medication and epinephrine-injection qualifications
Citation: RCW 18.53.010(2), (5); WAC 246-851-515
Can optometrists perform laser procedures in Washington?
Washington's advanced procedures include no laser procedures, and RCW 18.53.010(10) bars ophthalmic surgery by laser outside that list.
- Laser procedures not authorized
Citation: RCW 18.53.010(2), (3), (10)
Does Washington require a controlled substance license?
Optometrists may prescribe oral Schedule III to V drugs on the board's list; Schedule II is limited to hydrocodone combination products.
What does a Washington optometry license cost?
- Application: $130 application plus $16 HEAL-WA fee (as of Oct 2026)
- Renewal: $150 plus $16 HEAL-WA per renewal (as of Oct 2026)
Citation: WAC 246-851-990
How often does a Washington license renew?
50 hours every 2 years: at least 10 in person, at most 25 asynchronous; the jurisprudence exam counts for 3.
- Renews every year
- Due your birthday
- 50 CE hours
Licensing in Washington?
We prepare every supporting document and a question-by-question guide, order your verifications and NBEO scores, and track the file to a decision; you answer, sign, pay the board and sit every exam. A license is $699 per state, or $799 where the state gives its own exam or interview.