South Carolina Board of Examiners in Optometry

  1. Renew My License
  2. Manage My License
  3. Application Status
  4. Licensee Lookup
  5. Board Orders
  6. Licensure Requirements
  7. Continuing Education
  8. Applications and Forms
  9. Document Submission
  10. Military Spouse Licensure

Continuing Education

Except as provided below for certain licensees initially licensed in 2025 or 2026, each licensee seeking renewal must complete forty (40) hours of continuing education (CE) for the current CE cycle. The current CE cycle is January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026.

  • CE courses 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.
  • Four (4) of the forty (40) hours may be for courses directly related to mandated health care programs including, but not limited to, HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid, and Ethics or Jurisprudence.
  • Sixteen (16) of the forty (40) hours must be pharmacology or pathology related. All laser surgery education is considered general hours, not pharmacology.
  • CPR certification courses are approved for four (4) hours; CPR re-certification courses are approved for two (2) hours.
  • No more than fifteen (15) of the forty (40) CE hours required for a biennial licensure period can be from online courses unless otherwise approved by the Board. No more than ten (10) of the fifteen (15) online hours may be courses that are pre-recorded.

An unlimited number of CE hours can be from courses sponsored by optometric or medical organizations or optometry schools or medical schools as approved by the Board.

Licensees Initially Licensed in 2025 or 2026:

  • New graduates who received their initial license in 2025 are required to complete a minimum of twenty (20) hours of approved optometry continuing education for this CE cycle (January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026).
  • Licensees, other than new graduates, who received their initial license in 2025 are required to complete forty (40) hours of CE for the current CE cycle.
  • New graduates who received their initial license in 2026 are exempt from completing continuing education hours for the current CE cycle.
  • Licensees, other than new graduates, who received their initial license in 2026 are required to complete a minimum of twenty (20) hours of approved optometry continuing education for this CE cycle.
  • Of the twenty (20) hours: two (2) may be for courses directly related to mandated health care programs; Eight (8) must be pharmacology or pathology related; and no more than five (5) may be from online courses unless otherwise approved by the Board.

If an optometrist is authorized pursuant to state and federal law to prescribe controlled substances, two (2) of the requisite hours of continuing education must be related to approved procedures of prescribing and monitoring controlled substances listed in Schedules II, III, and IV of the schedules provided for in Sections 44-53-210, 44-53-230, and 44-53-250.

Controlled Substance CE

If an Optometrists is authorized pursuant to state and federal law to prescribe controlled substances, two (2) of the requisite hours of continuing education must be related to approved procedures of prescribing and monitoring controlled substances listed in Schedules II, III, and IV of the schedules provided for in Sections 44-53-210, 44-53-230, and 44-53-250.

Important Information Regarding DEA CE Hours

At the May 15, 2024, meeting, the Board approved licensees with authorization, via state and federal law, to prescribe controlled substances, to use two hours of the 8-hour DEA continuing education course toward the South Carolina controlled substances CE requirement.