(A)(1) Each certificate of licensure for the practice of optometry issued by the state vision professionals board shall expire on the last day of December of each even-numbered year, and may be renewed in accordance with this section and the standard renewal procedure established under Chapter 4745 of the Revised Code.

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(2) An optometrist seeking to continue to practice optometry shall file with the board an application for license renewal. The application shall be in such form and require such pertinent professional biographical data as the board may require.

(3)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, in the case of an optometrist seeking renewal who prescribes or personally furnishes analgesic controlled substances authorized pursuant to section 4725.091 of the Revised Code that are opioid analgesics, as defined in section 3719.01 of the Revised Code, the optometrist shall certify to the board whether the optometrist has been granted access to the drug database established and maintained by the state board of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.

(b) The requirement in division (A)(3)(a) of this section does not apply if any of the following is the case:

(i) The state board of pharmacy notifies the state vision professionals board pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that the license holder has been restricted from obtaining further information from the drug database.

(ii) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug database.

(iii) The license holder does not practice optometry in this state.

(c) If an optometrist certifies to the state vision professionals board that the optometrist has been granted access to the drug database and the board finds through an audit or other means that the optometrist has not been granted access, the board may take action under section 4725.19 of the Revised Code.

(B) All licensed optometrists shall complete continuing education in subjects relating to the practice of optometry, to the end that the utilization and application of new techniques, scientific and clinical advances, and the achievements of research will assure comprehensive care to the public. The board shall prescribe by rule the continuing optometric education that licensed optometrists must complete. The length of study shall be fifty clock hours each biennial licensing period, including twenty clock hours of instruction in pharmacology to be completed by all licensed optometrists.

Unless the continuing education required under this division is waived or deferred under division (D) of this section, the continuing education must be completed during the biennial licensing period beginning on the first day of January of each odd-numbered year and ending on the last day of December of each even-numbered year. If the board receives notice from a continuing education program indicating that an optometrist completed the program after the last day of December of an even-numbered year, and the optometrist wants to use the continuing education completed after that day to renew the license, the optometrist shall pay the penalty specified under section 4725.34 of the Revised Code for late completion of continuing education.

At least once annually, the board shall post on its web site and shall mail, or send by electronic mail, to each licensed optometrist a list of courses approved in accordance with standards prescribed by board rule. Upon the request of a licensed optometrist, the executive director of the board shall supply a list of additional courses that the board has approved subsequent to the most recent web site posting, electronic mail transmission, or mailing of the list of approved courses.

(C)(1) Not later than the first day of November of each even-numbered year, the board shall mail or send by electronic mail a notice regarding license renewal to each licensed optometrist who may be eligible for renewal. The notice shall be sent to the optometrist’s most recent electronic mail or mailing address shown in the board’s records. If the board knows that the optometrist has completed the required continuing optometric education for the biennium, the board may include with the notice an application for license renewal.

(2) Filing a license renewal application with the board shall serve as notice by the optometrist that the continuing optometric education requirement has been successfully completed. If the board finds that an optometrist has not completed the required continuing optometric education, the board shall disapprove the optometrist’s application. The board’s disapproval of renewal is effective without a hearing, unless a hearing is requested pursuant to Chapter 119 of the Revised Code.

(3) The board shall refuse to accept an application for renewal from any applicant whose license is not in good standing or who is under disciplinary review pursuant to section 4725.19 of the Revised Code.

(4) Notice of an applicant’s failure to qualify for renewal shall be served upon the applicant by mail to the applicant’s last address shown in the board’s records.

(D) In cases of certified illness or undue hardship, the board may waive or defer for up to twelve months the requirement of continuing optometric education, except that in such cases the board may not waive or defer the continuing education in pharmacology required to be completed by optometrists. The board shall waive the requirement of continuing optometric education for any optometrist who is serving on active duty in the armed forces of the United States or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the Ohio national guard or the national guard of any other state or who has received an initial certificate of licensure during the nine-month period which ended on the last day of December of an even-numbered year.

(E) An optometrist whose renewal application has been approved may renew the license held by paying to the treasurer of state the fee for renewal specified under section 4725.34 of the Revised Code. On payment of all applicable fees, the board shall issue a renewal of the optometrist’s certificate of licensure.

(F) Not later than the fifteenth day of January of each odd-numbered year, the board shall mail or send by electronic mail a second notice regarding license renewal to each licensed optometrist who may be eligible for renewal but did not respond to the notice sent under division (C)(1) of this section. The notice shall be sent to the optometrist’s most recent electronic mail or mailing address shown in the board’s records. If an optometrist fails to file a renewal application after the second notice is sent, the board shall send a third notice regarding license renewal prior to any action under division (I) of this section to classify the optometrist’s license as expired.

(G) The failure of an optometrist to apply for license renewal or the failure to pay the applicable renewal fee on or before the date of expiration, shall automatically work a forfeiture of the optometrist’s authority to practice optometry in this state.

(H) The board shall accept renewal applications and renewal fees that are submitted from the first day of January to the last day of January of the odd-numbered year next succeeding the date of expiration. An individual who submits such a late renewal application or fee shall pay the late renewal fee specified in section 4725.34 of the Revised Code.

(I)(1) If the date of expiration of a certificate of licensure issued by the board to an individual has passed and the individual has not filed a complete application during the late renewal period, the individual’s certificate of licensure shall be classified in the board’s records as expired.

(2) Any optometrist whose certificate of licensure has been classified as expired may submit an application to the board for reinstatement. For reinstatement to occur, the applicant must meet all of the following conditions:

(a) Submit to the board evidence of compliance with board rules requiring continuing optometric education in a sufficient number of hours to make up for any delinquent compliance;

(b) Pay the renewal fees for the biennium in which application for reinstatement is made;

(c) Pass all or part of the licensing examination accepted by the board under section 4725.11 of the Revised Code as the board considers appropriate to determine whether the application for reinstatement should be approved;

(d) If the applicant has been practicing optometry in another state or country, submit evidence that the applicant’s license to practice optometry in the other state or country is in good standing.

(3) The board shall approve an application for reinstatement if the conditions specified in division (I)(2) of this section are met. An optometrist who receives reinstatement is subject to the continuing education requirements specified under division (B) of this section for the year in which reinstatement occurs.