Contact Lens Rule and Eyeglass Rule: what optometry ads and offers must respect

Two federal rules sit under each eye exam ad, glasses bundle and contact lens offer an eye care practice runs. The Contact Lens Rule, 16 CFR Part 315, carries out the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act. The Ophthalmic Practice Rules, 16 CFR Part 456, known as the Eyeglass Rule, cover eyeglass prescriptions. Both are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, and both were amended in recent years: the Contact Lens Rule in 2020 and the Eyeglass Rule in 2024. Neither rule bans advertising. What they control is the promise behind the ad: when the patient gets the prescription, what the practice may charge for it, and whether a purchase can be tied to the exam.

This guide reads both rules from the point of view of marketing: what an offer may say, how a bundle has to work at the front desk, what a website or an online optical may not claim, and what records back the whole thing up. For the wider marketing plan, see our guides to optometry marketing ideas that follow the FTC eye care rules, vision therapy marketing, child vision screening outreach and diabetic eye exam outreach. For vision promises about laser surgery, see LASIK marketing.

The short version

• After a refractive eye exam, an ophthalmologist or optometrist must give the patient a copy of the eyeglass prescription right away, whether or not the patient asks, and before offering to sell glasses (16 CFR 456.2(a)).
• After a contact lens fitting, the prescriber must give the patient a copy of the contact lens prescription whether or not the patient asks (16 CFR 315.3(a)(1)).
• You may not make an eye exam available only to patients who agree to buy glasses or contacts from you (16 CFR 456.2(b)), and you may not require a contact lens purchase as a condition of releasing or verifying a prescription (16 CFR 315.3(b)(1)).
• No extra fee for the prescription itself and no liability waiver, under either rule.
• The FTC’s Eyeglass Rule guidance says a bundle of an exam with glasses, or a free exam with the purchase of glasses, may be advertised, as long as the prescription is given before the sales offer and the exam is not contingent on the purchase.
• Anyone who sells contact lenses may not represent, in an ad or a sales pitch, that contact lenses can be obtained without a prescription (16 CFR 315.7).
• Practices with a financial interest in selling eyewear must ask patients to confirm receipt of the prescription and keep the records for at least three years.

Who the two rules cover

The Eyeglass Rule applies to ophthalmologists and optometrists. Under 16 CFR 456.1, a refractive eye examination is the process of determining the refractive condition of a person’s eyes or the presence of any visual anomaly by objective or subjective tests, and a prescription is the written specifications for eyeglass lenses derived from that exam, including the information state law requires. Under 16 CFR 456.5, the rule does not apply to ophthalmologists or optometrists employed by a federal, state or local government entity.

The Contact Lens Rule reaches further. Under 16 CFR 315.2, a prescriber is an ophthalmologist, optometrist or other person permitted under state law to issue contact lens prescriptions, which includes a dispensing optician who is allowed under state law to issue prescriptions and fit contact lenses. The rule also places duties on sellers, so a practice that sells contact lenses, in the office or through its own online store, carries both sets of duties.

The FTC Act sits on top of both. Under 15 USC 45(a)(1), unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are unlawful, and 15 USC 52 prohibits any false advertisement likely to induce the purchase of food, drugs, devices, services or cosmetics. An offer can follow the two eye care rules and still be deceptive under the FTC Act if its price or its terms mislead.

Prescription release: the rule each eye exam ad depends on

Under 16 CFR 456.2(a)(1), the ophthalmologist or optometrist must provide one copy of the patient’s eyeglass prescription immediately after the refractive exam is completed and before offering to sell the patient ophthalmic goods, whether or not the patient asks. The FTC’s guidance adds that this applies to any refractive exam, no matter its purpose and whether or not you charge for the refraction, and that asking the patient whether they want their prescription does not comply: you must provide it automatically, and if the patient specifically refuses it, note the refusal in the file.

For contact lenses, 16 CFR 315.3(a) says that when a prescriber completes a contact lens fitting, the prescriber must provide a copy of the prescription whether or not the patient asks, must verify it as directed by a person acting for the patient, and must provide a copy to a person designated to act for the patient within 40 business hours of the request, noting the requester and the date and time in the patient’s record. The FTC’s contact lens guide says that if you are willing to sell lenses to the patient, the fitting is complete and you must provide the prescription, and that for a renewal the prescription must be provided immediately upon completion of the exam.

This matters for marketing because the order of events in the office is the promise your ads make. If an ad invites patients in for an exam and the optical team shows frames before the prescription is in the patient’s hand, the eyeglass sequence in 456.2(a) is broken, no matter what the ad said.

Fees, payment and waivers

Under 16 CFR 456.2(c), you may not charge any fee in addition to the exam fee as a condition of releasing the eyeglass prescription, though you may charge for verifying glasses dispensed by another seller when the verification is performed. Under 16 CFR 315.3(b)(2), you may not require payment in addition to, or as part of, the fee for an eye exam, fitting and evaluation as a condition of providing or verifying a contact lens prescription.

Both rules allow you to require payment for the exam before you release the prescription, but only if you would also require immediate payment from a patient whose exam showed no need for glasses or contacts, and proof of insurance coverage counts as payment (16 CFR 456.2(a)(2) and 315.4). An ad or a website page that says “prescription released on payment” should reflect a policy that applies to all exam patients the same way.

Neither rule allows a waiver. 16 CFR 456.2(d) and 315.8 bar placing on the prescription, or requiring the patient to sign, a form waiving or disclaiming the prescriber’s liability for the accuracy of the exam. Keep that language off intake forms, prescription templates and online order pages.

Exam and eyewear bundles and “free exam” offers

16 CFR 456.2(b) says it is an unfair act or practice to condition the availability of a refractive eye exam on a requirement that the patient agree to buy ophthalmic goods from you. The FTC’s Eyeglass Rule guidance answers the bundle question directly. It says you can advertise a single price for an eye exam and one or more pairs of frames or complete eyeglasses, or a free exam with the purchase of eyeglasses, but you must still provide the prescription before offering to sell glasses, so that the patient can choose the bundle or pay the routine cost of an exam and leave with no glasses and with their prescription. It says the exam cannot be contingent on the purchase.

That answer turns into three working rules for an offer. First, the exam must be available on its own at a stated routine price. Second, the prescription goes to the patient before anyone offers the bundle in the office. Third, a patient who declines the bundle pays the routine exam price, gets the prescription and pays nothing extra for it.

The word “free” brings in the FTC’s guide at 16 CFR 251.1. It says that when a purchaser is told an item is free if another is bought, the purchaser is paying nothing for the free item and no more than the regular price for the other, and the seller may not recover the cost by marking up the item that must be bought or by substituting inferior goods or services. The regular price is the price at which the seller openly and actively sold the item in its recent, regular course of business for a reasonably substantial period, which the guide puts at 30 days. All terms, conditions and obligations of a free offer should appear clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer, and the guide says a footnote reached through an asterisk is not disclosure at the outset. For a “free exam with glasses” offer, that means the frames and lenses in the offer carry their regular prices, and the condition appears next to the word “free”. Our guide to free consultation offers covers the free guide in more detail.

The FTC’s bundle answer is written for eyeglasses. For contact lenses, 16 CFR 315.3(b)(1) says you may not require the purchase of contact lenses from you or anyone else as a condition of providing or verifying the prescription. A contact lens offer built the same way as the glasses bundle, with the prescription released first and the exam and fitting available at a stated price without any purchase, follows the text of both rules; have counsel confirm the structure for your state.

What contact lens ads and online stores may not say

Under 16 CFR 315.7, which repeats 15 USC 7605, any person who manufactures, sells, offers for sale or distributes contact lenses may not represent, by advertisement, sales presentation or otherwise, that contact lenses may be obtained without a prescription. The FTC’s guide lists this among practices sellers must not engage in: suggesting or stating that customers can get contact lenses without a valid prescription either in their possession or on file with their prescriber. Check ad copy, product pages, cart pages and social posts for phrases that imply no prescription is needed.

If your practice sells contacts online, it is a seller under the rule. 16 CFR 315.5 says a seller may sell lenses only under a prescription presented by the patient or prescriber, or verified by direct communication. The seller must give a prominent method, with a clear and prominent disclosure of it, for the patient to present a copy of the prescription before asking for the prescriber’s contact details (315.5(g)), may not alter the prescription, including by naming a brand other than the one on it unless the patient gave that brand when asked (315.5(f)), and must keep records of verification communications for at least three years (315.5(h)). A prescription is verified if the prescriber confirms it, corrects it, or does not respond within eight business hours of a complete request (315.5(c)).

Under 16 CFR 315.6, a contact lens prescription expires on the date set by state law if that is one year or more after issue, otherwise not less than one year after issue, unless the prescriber sets an earlier date based on medical judgment about the patient’s ocular health. A shorter expiration needs documented reasons in the patient record kept for at least three years. Recall messages and reorder reminders should not tell patients their prescription has expired before the date on it.

Confirmation of release and digital delivery

Since the 2020 amendments, 16 CFR 315.3(c) requires a prescriber with a direct or indirect financial interest in the sale of contact lenses to confirm release of the prescription: the patient signs a separate acknowledgment, a prescriber-retained copy of the prescription or a prescriber-retained copy of the exam receipt, or, for a digital copy, the prescriber keeps evidence that it was sent, received or made accessible, downloadable and printable. Since the 2024 amendments, 16 CFR 456.4 requires the same kind of confirmation for eyeglass prescriptions from prescribers with a financial interest in the sale of eyewear. Both rules give an optional sample sentence, keep the records for at least three years, and say that if the patient declines to sign, you note the refusal on the document and sign it. Both FTC guidance pages say confirmation should not be part of pre-appointment paperwork, because a confirmation signed before the patient receives the prescription does not comply.

Both rules allow a digital copy instead of paper if you identify the specific delivery method, such as text message, email or a patient portal, and obtain the patient’s verifiable affirmative consent to it, and keep that consent record for at least three years (16 CFR 456.3 and the definition of provide to the patient a copy in 315.2). The FTC’s Eyeglass Rule guidance says digital delivery should not be a default, that a patient who wants paper must get paper, that a new delivery method needs new consent, and that a patient may revoke consent at any time. It also says one document can confirm receipt of both an eyeglass and a contact lens prescription when both are finalized at the same time, if it is clear what the patient is signing.

If prescriptions go out by email or text, the channel carries patient information. Our guides to email and fax for practices and business texting rules cover those channels.

Penalties and enforcement

Under 15 USC 7608 and 16 CFR 315.9, a violation of the Contact Lens Rule is treated as a violation of a rule under section 18 of the FTC Act regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The Eyeglass Rule is issued under the same section, 15 USC 57a, as its authority line in Part 456 shows. Under 15 USC 45(m)(1)(A), the FTC may seek a civil penalty in federal court against anyone who violates such a rule with actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied from objective circumstances, that the act is unfair or deceptive and prohibited by the rule. The statute sets the penalty at not more than 10,000 dollars for each violation, and 16 CFR 1.98(d) lists the adjusted maximum as 53,088 dollars for penalties assessed after January 17, 2025. The FTC adjusts these amounts for inflation each year in the table at 16 CFR 1.98, so read the current table rather than the figure in the statute.

If an offer could reach patients in Medicare or a State health care program, a separate federal rule applies. Under 42 USC 1320a-7a(a)(5), a person who offers or transfers remuneration to an individual eligible for Medicare or a State health care program, knowing or having reason to know it is likely to influence the individual to order or receive from a particular provider any item or service payable by Medicare or a State health care program, is subject to a civil money penalty of not more than 20,000 dollars for each item or service. HHS adjusts these amounts for inflation each year in the table at 45 CFR 102.3, so read the current table rather than the figure in the statute. Ask counsel before you run a discount or free offer on a service a program pays for.

Questions to ask before an offer goes out

• Is the exam available on its own at a stated routine price, with no purchase required?
• In the office, does the patient receive the eyeglass prescription before anyone shows frames or quotes a bundle?
• Does the contact lens patient receive the prescription at the end of the fitting without asking?
• Is there any fee for the prescription itself, or any waiver language on our forms or prescription template?
• If the offer says “free”, are the conditions next to the word, and are the paid items at their regular price?
• Does any ad, product page or social post suggest contacts are available without a prescription?
• Is the confirmation of release signed after the patient has the prescription, not in pre-visit paperwork?
• For digital delivery, do we have the patient’s consent to the specific method on file?
• Could the offer reach a Medicare or Medicaid patient for a covered service?

Use and avoid

• Use: a stated routine exam price on each bundle or free exam offer.
• Use: “Your prescription is yours. We give it to you at the end of your exam.” on exam and optical pages.
• Use: a clear upload option for the patient’s prescription before any request for prescriber details in an online contact lens store.
• Use: a release confirmation form that is signed after the prescription is handed over or sent.
• Avoid: “exam only with purchase” or any offer that ties exam access to buying eyewear.
• Avoid: “no prescription needed” or similar wording near contact lenses.
• Avoid: a prescription fee, a release fee or a liability waiver.
• Avoid: raising frame or lens prices during a free exam promotion.
• Avoid: making digital delivery the default without the patient’s consent to the method.

An illustration

This example is invented. [Practice name], an optometry practice in [city] with its own optical, plans an ad: “Free eye exam with any complete pair of glasses.” The owner checks it against the two rules before it runs.

The exam stays available on its own at [routine price], and the ad says so next to the offer: “Free exam when you buy a complete pair of glasses at regular price. Exam alone is [routine price]. You receive your prescription at the end of your exam either way.” The front desk script changes so the doctor hands over the prescription at the end of the exam, before the patient walks to the optical, and the confirmation form moves from the check-in packet to checkout. The owner confirms that frame prices in the offer period match the prices charged over the prior 30 days, and asks counsel about patients whose vision plan or Medicaid coverage includes an exam.

Checklist

• List each exam, eyewear and contact lens offer you run, online and in the office.
• Give each exam a stated routine price that a patient can pay without buying anything.
• Train staff to hand over the eyeglass prescription right after the refraction and before any sales offer.
• Give the contact lens prescription at the end of the fitting, and respond to designated requests within 40 business hours.
• Remove prescription fees, release fees and waiver language from forms, templates and order pages.
• Put the conditions of any free offer next to the word “free”, and keep 30 days of regular price records for the items that must be bought.
• Search your site, ads and social posts for wording that suggests contacts need no prescription.
• If you have a financial interest in eyewear sales, collect release confirmations after delivery and keep them three years.
• Record consent to the specific digital delivery method before sending prescriptions by email, text or portal.
• Have a health care attorney review offers and scripts against your state optometry law and board rules.

How we help

We build websites, local and organic search, Google Ads and lead generation and an AI front desk for independent practices. For an eye care practice, that means exam and optical pages, ads and booking flows that state the routine exam price, put offer conditions next to the offer and say plainly that the prescription is the patient’s. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. Read our guide to healthcare marketing rules for the wider picture.

Sources

• 16 CFR Part 315: Contact Lens Rule
• 16 CFR Part 456: Ophthalmic Practice Rules (Eyeglass Rule)
• Federal Register: Contact Lens Rule, 85 FR 50668 (August 17, 2020)
• Federal Register: Ophthalmic Practice Rules (Eyeglass Rule), 89 FR 60742 (July 26, 2024)
• FTC: Complying with the Eyeglass Rule
• FTC: The Contact Lens Rule: A Guide for Prescribers and Sellers
• 15 USC 7601: Availability of contact lens prescriptions to patients
• 15 USC 7603: Prescriber verification
• 15 USC 7605: Content of advertisements and other representations
• 15 USC 7606: Prohibition of certain waivers
• 15 USC 7608: Violations
• 16 CFR 251.1: Guide concerning use of the word “free”
• 15 USC 45: Unfair methods of competition unlawful (subsections (a)(1) and (m)(1)(A))
• 15 USC 52: Dissemination of false advertisements
• 16 CFR 1.98: Adjustment of civil monetary penalty amounts
• 42 USC 1320a-7a: Civil monetary penalties (subsection (a)(5))
• 45 CFR 102.3: Penalty adjustment and table

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