S.C. Code Ann. § 40-37-140 – Annual renewal of license; renewal fee; termination for default; reinstatement of license; reinstatement fee; continuing education required

(A) An optometrist practicing in this State who desires to continue to be licensed annually shall pay before the second day of October of each year a renewal fee to be fixed by regulation. In case of default in making this payment the license of an optometrist is automatically terminated provided the board gives the licensee thirty days' notice in writing before the imposition of the mandatory termination. The deposit of this notice in the United States Post Office addressed to the licensee at the licensee's last current address as registered with the board, with postage prepaid, is due and legal service of the notice. If within the thirty-day period the licensee pays a penalty that the board may impose, not to exceed fifty dollars, and the renewal fee, the license must be renewed. A person whose license is terminated because of a failure to pay a renewal fee may apply to have it reinstated upon payment to the board of all renewal fees that should have been paid had the license remained active and a penalty of one hundred dollars. If the license has lapsed for more than two years, the licensee shall appear before the board who shall then determine whether or upon what conditions the license may be reinstated.
(B) An optometrist annually shall attend a minimum of twenty hours of continuing educational courses or meetings. The instruction must be on subjects relative to optometry, exclusive of office management or administration, at board-approved and recognized educational seminars and courses or accredited institutions of learning. For optometrists diagnostically or therapeutically certified, eight of the twenty hours must be pharmacology related. Satisfactory proof of compliance with this requirement is a prerequisite for annual license renewal.