General Optical Council

Our registrants have a duty to behave professionally and respectfully in all aspects of their work. We set codes of conduct that explain the personal and ethical standards expected of optometrists, dispensing opticians, students and optical businesses.

There are separate codes of conduct for individual registrants and business registrants (ie optical businesses). Each describes the key principles of good practice and professional conduct to which registrants must adhere. If a registrant fails to comply with the duties and responsibilities set out in the Code, they are putting their registration at risk.

Following a consultation, the Council launched new codes of conduct on 1 April 2010. Read feedback from the consultation. You can download each code of conduct below:

Codes of Conduct
Codes of Conduct for business registrants


CHRE cross-regulatory statement on whistleblowing

CHRE whistleblowing statement

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