Section 1320.50  Endorsement

a)         An applicant who is licensed under the laws of another jurisdiction shall submit an application to the Division, together with:

1)         Certification of Graduation

A)        Certification of graduation after January 1, 2008 from an optometry program approved by the Division in accordance with Section 1320.20; or

B)        Certification of graduation between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 2007 from an optometry program approved by the Division in accordance with Section 1320.20 and:

i)         Evidence that the applicant has practiced optometry for a minimum of 5 years utilizing ocular pharmaceutical agents including oral agents under the laws of another jurisdiction that are deemed by the Board, pursuant to subsection (b), to be substantially equivalent to those of Illinois; or

ii)        Evidence of completion of a course or its equivalent as determined by the Board, pursuant to subsection (b), in oral ocular pharmaceutical agents as designated in Section 1320.335(b); or

C)        Certification of graduation prior to January 1, 1994 from an optometry program approved by the Division in accordance with Section 1320.20 and:

i)          Evidence that the applicant has practiced optometry for a minimum of 10 years utilizing ocular pharmaceutical agents under the laws of another jurisdiction that are deemed by the Board to be substantially equivalent to those of Illinois; or

ii)         Evidence of completion of:

•           a course or its equivalent as determined by the Board in diagnostic pharmaceutical agents.  The course shall be approved by the Division upon the recommendation of the Board and shall include a curriculum of at least 55 hours of lecture in the diagnosis of eye disease, including the use of diagnostic pharmaceutical agents.  The course shall be conducted by an approved school of optometry and shall include a comprehensive examination.  Documentation of the content of the course shall be provided to the Division by the applicant; and

•           satisfactory training in diagnostic and topical ocular pharmaceutical agents and therapeutic clinical procedures, including, but not limited to: a comprehensive course in ocular pharmaceutical agents as determined by the Board, within 3 years prior to application.  Applicants will be required to submit documentation of the course to the Division when applying under this subsection (a)(2); or

iii)        Evidence of completion of the requirements set forth in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i) or (ii);

2)         Certification from the jurisdiction of original licensure and current licensure stating:

A)        The period of time during which the applicant was licensed in that jurisdiction, including the date of the original issuance of the license;

B)        A description of the licensure examination in that jurisdiction;

C)        Whether the records of the licensing entity contains any record of disciplinary actions taken or pending against the applicant;

3)         Certification of passage of Part I and Part II, including passage of the Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease (TMOD) section  of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) examination, by NBEO standards, or an equivalent comprehensive examination administered in another jurisdiction;

4)         Certification of passage of Part III of the examination administered by NBEO, by NBEO standards, or an equivalent comprehensive practical examination administered in another jurisdiction; and

5)         The required fee as set forth in Section 1320.400.

b)         The Division shall examine each endorsement application to determine whether the requirements in the jurisdiction at the date of licensure were substantially equivalent to the requirements then in force in this State.  The applicant may be required to submit a copy of the Act and rules in effect at the time of original licensure.  If an applicant has taken a licensure examination other than Part I and Part II of the National Board prior to 1970, the examination and results will be required by the Board to determine that substantially equivalent requirements have been met.  The Division may, within a reasonable time, either issue a license by endorsement to the applicant or notify the applicant of the reasons for the denial of the application.

c)         The Division may, in individual cases, upon recommendation of the Board, in accordance with Section 12 of the Act, waive the comprehensive practical examination for an applicant for endorsement, after full consideration of the applicant's optometric education, training and experience, including, but not limited to, whether the applicant has achieved special honors or awards, has had articles published in professional journals, has participated in writing textbooks relating to optometry, and any other attribute which the Board accepts as evidence that such applicant has outstanding and proven ability in optometry.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 6008, effective April 5, 2024)