Welcome to the Society to Advance Opticianry

The SAO was established by a diverse group of opticians that believe formal education is necessary for opticianry to grow and flourish as a profession.

Opticianry is the only field of the three O’s that has no formal education as an entry point. Only twenty two states require licensure or registry of opticians.  The remaining twenty eight don’t have even minimal standards to work as an optician.

Those states that do require licensure generally require passage of the National Opticianry Competency Exam (NOCE) administered by the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and the Contact Lens Registry Exam (CLRE) administered by National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE).

One of the goals of the SAO is to increase mobility and reciprocity between states for opticians. That will necessarily include standardization of licensure requirements among states and will certainly include passage of both of these exams.

Those who have earned a degree of some type have shown they have a certain level of critical thinking ability demanded by our ever changing ophthalmic marketplace. When opticians have earned an advanced certification from the American Board of Opticianry or National Contact Lens Examiners they have demonstrated a higher level of knowledge and skill than an optician that hasn’t earned those certifications.

A student who has earned an associate degree or associate in applied science degree in opticianry has likewise demonstrated a higher level of learning and skill.

Someone that desires to be recognized as an expert in ophthalmic optics should have a well rounded knowledge of all the disciplines in our field. That includes keeping current with the ever changing technologies in spectacle and contact lenses.

Requirements for the Society to Advance Opticianry’s Ophthalmic Optician Designation:

Applicants for the Ophthalmic Optician designation must be currently ABO and NCLE certified and state licensed if they live in a licensing state.   Additionally, they must hold at least an AS/AA/AAS degree in optical sciences from an accredited or approved college or they must hold at least an AA/AS degree in any field of study from an accredited or approved college plus an Advanced Certification from the ABO or NCLE.

Upon application and approval, opticians who have met the higher education, certification and licensure requirements will be designated Ophthalmic Opticians and will be members of the Society to Advance Opticianry.

Our purpose isn’t just to recognize those that have met these goals, but to help those who desire to achieve a higher level of education get there. We offer candidate status to those that wish to obtain the education and certification criteria for full membership. We will mentor those candidates to help them achieve their goals. We also offer candidate status to those within the industry that don’t desire to attain full membership but support our goals.

If you meet these qualifications, join us and help others get there as well. If you haven’t, we are here, ready and willing to help.