1. (a) The applicant shall make application furnishing to the executive director, on forms to be furnished by the board, satisfactory sworn evidence that the applicant has attained the age of 21 years, is of good moral character, and has a preliminary education equivalent to permit matriculation in the University of Texas, and that the applicant has attended and graduated from a reputable university or college of optometry which meets with the requirements of the board, or in the alternative, submit a written statement from the dean of a reputable college of optometry that the applicant is enrolled in good standing in the college and is in the final semester before graduation, and such other information as the board may deem necessary for the enforcement of the Act.
2. (b) Such application shall contain references as to good moral character from at least two licensed optometrists in good standing in the state of licensure and who are actively engaged in the practice of optometry. In the event this is not possible, affidavits from two persons not related to the applicant or to each other, who have known the applicant for at least five years, attesting to the good moral character of the applicant, will be acceptable. The applicant shall report all felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, including deferred adjudication or court ordered community or mandatory supervision, with or without an adjudication of guilt or revocation of parole, probation or court ordered supervision on the application. Failure of an applicant to report every criminal conviction is deceit, dishonesty and misrepresentation in seeking admission to practice and authorizes the board to take disciplinary action under §351.501 of the Act. An applicant is not required to report a Class C Misdemeanor traffic violation. The applicant shall furnish any document relating to the criminal conviction as requested by the Board. The applicant shall also submit completed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint cards provided by the Board so the Board may obtain a criminal history record.
3. (c) In such application, the applicant shall state that the applicant will abide by the laws of this state regulating the practice of optometry.
4. (d) Such application shall be subscribed and sworn to by the applicant before any officer legally qualified to administer oaths.
5. (e) Any person furnishing false information in such application shall be denied the right to take the examination, or if the applicant has been licensed before it is made known to the board of the falseness of such information, such license shall be subject to suspension, revocation, or cancellation in accordance with the Act, §351.501.
6. (f) Applications submitted by graduates of an approved college of optometry must contain a certified copy of the optometry school transcript. A license will not be issued until the applicant has submitted certified copies of the transcript of record from preoptometry and optometry colleges attended by the applicant, which certified transcript of record shall show the total number of hours of attendance, the subjects studied, the grades or marks given, and the date of graduation of the applicant. All transcripts must be submitted to the executive director prior to the date which is one year after successful passage of the board's jurisprudence examination; otherwise, the applicant must reapply and take and pass the board's jurisprudence examination.
7. (g) The completed application and examination fee must be filed with the executive director not later than 45 days prior to the date of the examination. In the event an applicant intends to retake the examination, the fee therefore and the notice of this intention to retake said examination must be in the executive director's office 30 days prior to the date of the examination.
8. (h) The fee for taking the initial examination shall be $150. Each applicant shall also submit an additional fee to the Board in the amount charged by the Texas Department of Public Safety for providing the criminal history record. Any applicant who is refused a license because of failure to pass the first examination shall be permitted to take a second examination on the payment of $150, provided the second examination is taken within a period of one year.
9. (i) Any applicant required to take the examination any subsequent times after the second examination shall pay a fee of $150 to the board. No application fee for examination will be returned to any applicant after the application has been approved by the board, because of the decision of the applicant not to stand for the examination or failure for any reason to take the examination.

Source Note:The provisions of this §271.2 adopted to be effective August 11, 1983, 8 TexReg 2933; amended to be effective September 10, 1993, 18 TexReg 5744; amended to be effective August 2, 1998, 23 TexReg 7561; amended to be effective October 14, 1999, 24 TexReg 8747; amended to be effective September 26, 2002, 27 TexReg 8927; amended to be effective December 28, 2003, 28 TexReg 11258; amended to be effective September 13, 2005, 30 TexReg 5800; amended to be effective September 12, 2007, 32 TexReg 6152; amended to be effective August 28, 2011, 36 TexReg 5362.