Should Opticians be Licensed?

Here are the arguments against licensing of opticians in NH.

1. Creating a license for opticians will increase the cost of eyewear to the consumer.
2. It is something else the state will be required to oversee.
3. Consumers are not complaining about it.

The NH Opticians Society would like to offer these rebuttals to those arguments.

1. If you look at the states that require licensing currently, you would notice very little difference in the cost of eyewear from unlicensed states.  This argument is mainly propagated by large corporations who are looking to protect profits by keeping opticianry as an entry level position.  Even if licensing is not mandatory to preform optical duties, it would be important to make the public aware of the level of expertise they are receiving when purchasing eyewear.
2. Our state already regulates opticians as ophthalmic dispensers so no new entities need to be created for licensing.
3. Consumers assume that opticians have met some education or certification and are unaware that the only requirement in our state is to pay a $110 fee to the state to register yourself as an ophthalmic dispenser.  Our society requests that if you have a problem with your eyewear, please contact us.

The NHOS firmly believes that a well educated licensed optician is the way to providing the best visual results for our patients.  We also believe that if you are registering our profession it should also indicate a basic level of proficiency.  Please sign our petition if you agree.