General Optical Council

We are funded entirely from registrants’ fees. We do not receive any other income or additional funding from other sources, such as the Government.

The 2010-11 retention fee

The annual retention fee for optometrists has increased from £219 to £325.
The annual retention fee for dispensing opticians has increased from £219 to £280.

The new fee amount was agreed by Council in November 2009 and applies to the next retention period, which runs from 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011.
Where does the money go?
FAQs

Downloadable documents:

Registration fees rules 2010/11
Retention fees 2010-11 factsheet
Registration fees rules 2009-10
Registration fees rules 2008/9


Late application charges
Late applications cost us more money to process. The majority of registrants who get their application in on time shouldn’t have to pay for the minority who miss the deadline. That’s why registrants who miss the retention deadline have to pay an additional fee to cover those costs.

How late charges work:
Full registrants
Full registrants who fail to get their retention application, payment or both to us by the retention deadline 15 March 2010, have to pay a £20 administration charge on top of the basic retention fee.

Students
Student registrants who fail to get their retention application, payment or both to us by the retention deadline 15 July 2010, have to pay a £10 administration charge on top of the basic retention fee.

Previous years’ fees

 

*in 2005-6 the fee increased due to OCCS and CET levies