1. (a) Upon certification by the State Board of Optometry, an optometrist certified as an optometric physician shall be issued an optometric physician certificate, which shall expire at 12:00 midnight on February 1 of each year.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Effective February 2, 1998, to renew the optometric physician certificate, the optometrist must submit proof that he or she has, during the preceding twelve (12) months, received a minimum of twenty (20) clock hours of continuing education.
   2. (2) Of the twenty (20) clock hours, ten (10) hours must be in general and ocular therapy and pharmacology approved by the board.
   3. (3) The other ten (10) hours may be in any optometric course of study approved by the board.

   4. (4)

      1. (A) Of the total twenty (20) hours required, eight (8) hours may be non-classroom type CE (only four (4) hours may be a COPE approved correspondence course).
      2. (B) The full eight (8) hours may be a COPE approved interactive (internet) course.

3. (c)

   1. (1) All renewal fees shall be paid to the Secretary-Treasurer of the State Board of Optometry before midnight on February 1 of the year of renewal.
   2. (2) The renewal fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) per twelve-month period.
   3. (3) Failure to renew shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of the certificate and/or fines.
4. (d) An optometrist, with a current optometric physician certificate, shall at all times display the certificate in a conspicuous place in the office of the holder thereof, and whenever requested, the certificate shall be exhibited or produced before the board or to its authorized agents.

5. (e)

   1. (1) The optometric physician certificate supersedes the TPA (therapeutic pharmaceutical agents) and DPA (diagnostic pharmaceutical agents) certificate.
   2. (2) All are not required to be certified as an optometric physician.

6. (f)

   1. (1) Duplicate optometric physician certificates must be displayed in a branch office.
   2. (2) The fee for the duplicate certificate for each branch office shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per twelve-month period.
   3. (3) Renewal of the optometric physician duplicate certificate will be twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
   4. (4) All renewal fees shall be paid to the secretary-treasurer on or before midnight the first day of February of the year of renewal.
   5. (5) Failure to renew shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of the certificate and/or fines.
   6. (6) The certificate will expire at 12:00 midnight on February 1 of each year.

Codification Notes: “CE” means continuing education. "COPE" means Council on Optometric Practitioner Education.