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The Contact Lens Rule: 

A Guide for Prescribers 

and Sellers

he Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act increases consumers’ ability to shop around when buying contact lenses. The Act 

gives consumers certain rights, imposes duties on contact lens 

prescribers and sellers, and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop and enforce implementing rules. The FTC issued the 

Contact Lens Rule in July 2004 to spell out the Act’s requirements.

 

The Contact Lens Rule requires prescribers to give patients a copy of their contact 

lens prescriptions at the end of a contact lens fitting, even if the patient doesn’t 

ask for it. A patient who wants to buy contact lenses from another seller then may 

give the prescription to that seller. If a consumer doesn’t give his prescription to 

that seller, the seller must verify the prescription before selling the lenses. 

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Facts for Business

The verification process works like this: the 

consumer provides prescription information to 

the seller, who then submits it to the prescriber 

in a verification request. The prescriber has 

eight-business-hours to respond. If the prescriber 

does not respond within the required time, the 

prescription is verified automatically, and the 

seller may provide contact lenses to the consumer.

FOR PRESCRIBERS 

According to the Rule, “prescriber” refers to 

anyone permitted under state law to issue prescriptions for contact lenses — including ophthalmologists, optometrists, and licensed opticians who also are permitted under state law to 

fit contact lenses (sometimes called “dispensing 

opticians”).

Prescribers must:

• give a copy of the contact lens prescription 

to the patient at the end of the contact lens 

fitting – even if the patient doesn’t ask for it. 

• provide or verify the contact lens prescription to anyone who is designated to act on 

behalf of the patient, including contact lens 

sellers.

In any response to a verification request, 

prescribers must correct any inaccuracy in the 

prescription, inform the seller if it’s expired and 

specify the reason if it’s invalid.

Prescribers cannot require patients to:

• buy contact lenses

• pay additional fees or

• sign a waiver or release 

 in exchange for a copy of the contact lens 

prescription.

Prescribers may require a patient to pay for 

the eye exam, fitting and evaluation before giving the patient a copy of the contact lens prescription, but only if the prescriber also requires 

immediate payment from patients whose eye 

exams reveal no need for glasses, contact lenses, 

or other corrective eye care products. Proof of 

valid insurance coverage counts as payment for 

purposes of this requirement. 

Prescribers cannot disclaim liability or 

responsibility for the accuracy of an eye examination.

 

Prescription expiration

The Rule allows prescribers to set prescription expiration dates – one year or more from 

the date the prescription is issued to a patient. If 

applicable state law requires a specific expiration 

period that is longer than one year, however, the 

prescriber must follow that law. 

A prescriber may set an expiration date of 

earlier than one year only if that date is based 

on the prescriber’s medical judgment about the 

patient’s eye health. In these cases, the prescriber must document the medical reason for 

the shorter expiration date with enough detail to 

allow for review by a qualified medical professional, and maintain the records for at least three 

years. 

FOR SELLERS

Sellers may provide contact lenses only 

in accordance with a valid prescription that is 

directly presented to the seller or verified with 

the prescriber. That means sellers may provide 

contact lenses when the consumer presents his 

prescription in person, by fax, or by email if the 

prescription has been scanned and attached to 

the email. The consumer also can authorize the 

seller to verify his prescription via “direct communication” with the prescriber. (See next page, 

“What is direct communication?”.)

Verification

When verifying a contact lens prescription, 

sellers must provide the following information 

to the prescriber using direct communication:

• patient’s full name and address

• contact lens power, manufacturer, base curve 
Facts for Business

or appropriate designation, and diameter 

when appropriate

• quantity of lenses ordered

• date of patient order

• date and time of verification request

• a contact person for the seller, including 

name, fax and phone numbers and

• a clear statement of the prescriber’s regular 

Saturday business hours if the seller is counting those hours as “business hours” under 

the Rule.

Under the Rule, a prescription is verified if 

the prescriber:

• confirms its accuracy to the seller via direct 

communication

• informs the seller that the prescription is 

inaccurate and provides accurate information 

to the seller via direct communication or

• fails to communicate with the seller within 

“eight-business-hours” of receiving a complete verification request. During the “eightbusiness-hour” period, the seller must give 

the prescriber a reasonable opportunity to get 

in touch with the seller about the verification 

request.

Record-keeping

Sellers must maintain prescriptions presented 

to them, prescription verification requests, and 

prescriber responses to the verification requests. 

The Rule also requires sellers who count a 

prescriber’s Saturday business hours to maintain 

a record of what those hours are and how the 

seller learned of them. Sellers must maintain 

these records for at least three years. 

The Fine Print

What practices are not allowed?

Sellers must not:

• fill a contact lens prescription unless the seller has either received a copy of the prescription or verified the prescription as required 

by the Rule 

• fill a contact lens prescription if the prescriber tells them by direct communication 

within “eight-business-hours” after receiving 

the complete verification request that the prescription is inaccurate, expired, or otherwise 

invalid

• alter contact lens prescriptions. If the prescription specifies private label contact 

lenses, however, sellers may substitute 

“identical” contact lenses made by the same 

manufacturer and sold under a different 

name

• represent that consumers can get contact 

lenses without a prescription.

What’s a business hour?

Prescriptions are verified automatically if the 

prescriber doesn’t respond to the seller’s verification request within “eight-business-hours.” 

A business hour is defined as one hour between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding federal holidays, in the prescriber’s 

time zone. If a seller determines that a particular 

prescriber has regular Saturday business hours, 

the seller also may count those Saturday hours 

as business hours under the Rule. 

How is the “eight-business-hour” 

verification period calculated?

When calculating “eight-business-hours,” begin the verification period the first business hour 

after the prescriber receives a complete verification request and end it eight-business-hours later. 

For example, if the prescriber receives a request 

at 10 a.m. Monday, the prescriber must respond 

by 10 a.m. Tuesday. If there’s no response, the 

seller can provide the contact lenses at 

10:01 a.m. Tuesday. If the verification request is 

received at 10 p.m. Monday, the response would 

be due by 5 p.m. Tuesday. If there’s no response, 

the seller can provide the lenses at 5:01 p.m 

Tuesday.

What is direct communication?

“Direct communication” is a completed communication by telephone, facsimile or electronic 

mail.

Direct communication by telephone requires reaching and speaking to the intended 
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recipient, or leaving a voice message on the 

telephone answering machine of the intended 

recipient.

Direct communication by facsimile or electronic mail requires that the intended recipient 

actually receive the facsimile or electronic mail 

message.

For more details about compliance, see 

“Q&A: The Contact Lens Rule and the Eyeglass 

Rule” at www.ftc.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent 

fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid 

them. To file a complaint or get free information 

on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call 

toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); 

TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, 

telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraudrelated complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a 

secure online database available to hundreds of 

civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in 

the U.S. and abroad.

Your Opportunity to Comment

The National Small Business Ombudsman 

and 10 Regional Fairness Boards collect comments from small businesses about federal compliance and enforcement activities. Each year, 

the Ombudsman evaluates the conduct of these 

activities and rates each agency’s responsiveness 

to small businesses. Small businesses can comment to the Ombudsman without fear of reprisal. 

To comment, call toll-free 1-888-REGFAIR 

(1-888-734-3247) or go to 

www.sba.gov/ombudsman.

Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Office of Consumer and Business Education

October 2004

www.ftcgov

Federal Trade Commission

1-877-FTC-HELP

For The Consumer