CaliforniaSB 7762025-2026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

Optometry: licensure.

Sponsored By: Angelique Ashby (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

11 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 8 mixed.

Temporary license for COVID exam delays

If you could not take the NBEO Part III exam because of the March 4, 2020 COVID emergency, the Board issues a temporary license. You must have never been licensed in any U.S. state, pay a $100 fee, and have your school confirm you met educational requirements. You must work under direct supervision by a glaucoma‑certified optometrist licensed at least five years, or by a licensed ophthalmologist. You may not open your own office. The temporary license ends when you finish full licensure or six months after the emergency ends, whichever comes first.

New registrations and fees for optical businesses

Optical businesses and dispensers must register and keep a complaint contact on file. You must sign applications under oath, give a valid email if you have one, and report changes within 14 days. Fees apply: $500–$600 to apply, $300–$400 to renew every two years, $50–$75 if late, and $25 for a replacement. These fee ranges cover dispensing businesses, spectacle dispensers, contact lens dispensers, and nonresident sellers. The Board can adjust fees by rule, but not above the caps and only to cover reasonable costs. The law defines who counts as a “Dispensing Ophthalmic Business” and makes clear that both individuals and companies are covered.

Stronger contact lens rights and checks

You get a signed copy of your contact lens prescription after your exam or fitting. It must list power, material or maker, base curve, diameter (when needed), and an expiration date. Prescriptions last at least one year and no more than two years, unless a shorter time is medically needed and noted in your record. Prescribers must try to confirm your prescription when a seller asks, and sellers may fill it after confirmation or no response within eight business hours or by the same time the next business day. You cannot be forced to buy lenses to get care or your prescription, and you cannot be made to sign a liability waiver. A small verification fee is allowed only at the time a prescriber verifies another seller’s order. Only valid, verifiable prescriptions may be filled, and out-of-state sellers must register with California to ship lenses here. The law defines the fitting process and requires dispensers to follow state rules.

Mobile eye clinics: rules and patient protections

Only nonprofits with 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status may run mobile eye clinics, and they must serve people regardless of ability to pay. Mobile clinics may accept payment only from Medi-Cal or state CHIP. Every exam must be done by a licensed optometrist certified to use therapeutic drugs. Patients get a written notice at the first visit with the optometrist’s name and license, how to get records, complaint steps, and follow-up options, including Medi-Cal or volunteer providers. Owners must keep records, file an annual report by January 1, and report changes within 14 days. A permit is required for each vehicle. The first fee is $472 and may be raised by rule up to $600, and permits renew every two years. The Board must create a registry and a cost-based registration fee by January 1, 2026. The Board cannot enforce against school‑affiliated mobile units solely for that tie until January 1, 2026, or until final rules are adopted.

New optometry license rules and notices

To get an optometry license, you must be a natural person, finish an accredited program, and pass the exams. You cannot have disqualifying grounds for denial or be required to register as a sex offender. If you give the Board a valid email, Board emails are treated as delivered. Your email is private and not released except by court order.

Retired license option for optometrists

The Board issues a retired license if you apply and pay the listed fee. Retired license holders do not do continuing education or renewals and may use the title “retired optometrist.” You cannot practice while retired. To return, follow the Board’s reactivation rules: one path if retired under three years, another if over three years.

Probationary registration with practice limits

The Board may give an applicant a probationary registration. It can require supervised work, limit dispensing, require treatment or training, or require abstaining from drugs or alcohol. You may ask to change or end the conditions after one year.

Safer lens fittings and off-site visits

Only registered dispensers may fit or adjust lenses. If an unregistered person helps, a registered supervisor must be on-site, and a contact lens dispenser may oversee no more than three unregistered people at once. A spectacle dispenser may work off-site only if they spend at least 40% of their weekly hours at a certified shop. Off-site spectacle fittings are limited to health facilities and large workplaces; off-site contact lens fittings are not allowed. At off-site visits, the dispenser must give you a written notice with their address, registration number, phone, and complaint contact. Contact lens fitting sites must have a clean handwashing sink, separate from a bathroom, and it must be used before each fitting.

Rules to get a California optometry license

Out-of-state optometrists can get a California license by endorsement. You must have a doctor of optometry degree, be licensed in good standing, pass the jurisprudence exam, meet continuing education and certification rules, and pay the application fee. You must disclose discipline, allow NPDB and DEA checks, and provide a valid email if you have one.

Mobile optometry rules end in 2035

The mobile optometric office rules stay in place until July 1, 2035. On that date, those mobile‑office rules are repealed.

Changes to the Optometry Board and fund

The State Board of Optometry has 11 members, including five public members and one registered dispensing optician or dispenser. Six members make a quorum. The Board may appoint an executive officer exempt from civil service. These governance rules end on January 1, 2030. A three-member dispensing optician committee advises the Board and meets at least twice a year. All money collected goes to the Optometry Fund, and the Board cannot keep more than 24 months of operating costs in reserve. One older code section is repealed.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Angelique Ashby
Democratic • Senate

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 206 • No: 2

Senate vote • 9/13/2025

Item 151 — Senate SFLOOR

Yes: 37 • No: 0

House vote • 9/12/2025

Item 66 — Assembly AFLOOR

Yes: 78 • No: 2

legislature vote • 8/29/2025

Vote in CX25

Yes: 11 • No: 0

legislature vote • 7/8/2025

Vote in CX33

Yes: 17 • No: 0

Senate vote • 6/4/2025

Item 112 — Senate SFLOOR

Yes: 39 • No: 0

legislature vote • 5/23/2025

Vote in CS61

Yes: 6 • No: 0

legislature vote • 5/12/2025