Continuing Education Requirements
CE Requirements for 2024-2026 Renewal
30 hours are required for renewal:
- 12 hours must be tested (TQ or CEE)
- 18 hours must be regular CE:
- Of which, no more than 4 hours can be practice management
- All 18 hours may be completed online through live, real-time presentations or by pre-recorded video provided by an approved CE sponsor
Required courses: (Count as regular hours of CE)
- 1 hour of sexual harassment CE
- 1 hour of implicit bias awareness training
- 1 hour of training on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias must be taken by all licensed optometrists who provide services to adult populations age 26 and older at each renewal.
All required courses may count towards your 18 hours of regular CE.
EFFECTIVE 1/1/2025:
- 1 hour of cultural competency training
- 1 hour of safe opioid prescribing CE must be taken by all optometrists who hold a Controlled Substance license in order to renew the license. The requirement was previously 3 hours of CE.
First-time renewal applicants must complete all required courses, which includes sexual harassment training, implicit bias training, dementia training, cultural competency training, and safe opioid prescribing if the licensee holds a controlled substance license. First time renewals are exempt from all other CE requirements.
CPR no longer counts as CE credit.
Please note, these requirements may change before the 2026 renewal.
The IOA will publish any changes to CE requirements in InSight, the IOA Journal, and through email communications.
AOA fights for patient safety in contact lens legislation
AOA fights for patient safety in contact lens legislation