General Optical Council

There are three registers for practitioners with specialist qualifications. They are called specialty registers.

Specialties for optometrists:

Additional supply of therapeutic drugs
Supplementary prescribing of therapeutic drugs

Specialties for dispensing opticians:

Contact lenses

If a practitioner has a specialty entered against their name, they are entitled to perform additional duties to those of a normal optometrist or dispensing optician. They have undergone a course of specialist training in that field, and have registered their specialty qualifications with us. 

If a registrant performs specialist work without being on the appropriate register, the Council’s Fitness to Practise Committee may treat this as evidence of impaired fitness to practise.

How to register

What do I have to do?

• Download and complete an application for entry of a specialty form. Or contact our registration team for a copy.
• Return the completed form, together with a copy of your qualification certificate, to: Registration team, General Optical Council, 41 Harley Street, W1G 8DJ. There is no charge for registering a specialty. 
• Renew your specialty as part of the annual retention process.

What do I get?
Once we have processed your application the specialty will be entered against your name in the opticians register. We will send you a new registration certificate.You can then practise that specialty.

What are the CET requirements?
You must earn one Continuing Education and Training (CET) point for each two full months of specialty registration, until 31 December 2009. This is in addition to the general CET requirement. Points are needed for each registered specialty.