---
title: O.C.G.A. § 43-30-8. Biennial registration; educational programs for optometrists; forfeiture of certificate upon failure to comply; reinstatement of certificate.
collection: code
id: 43-30-8
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 43-30-8 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30-8
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30-8.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30-8/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t43-ch1-32-(v30)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=921d056f_0#page=941
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30-7.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-30-9.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES / OPTOMETRISTS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 43-30-8. Biennial registration; educational programs for optometrists; forfeiture of certificate upon failure to comply; reinstatement of certificate.

(a) Each person practicing optometry shall register biennially with the division director by completing and filing a form to be furnished by the board.

(b) The board may approve educational programs to be held within or outside this state. The board shall approve only such educational programs as are available to all persons practicing optometry in the state on a reasonable nondiscriminatory fee basis. Any request for board approval of an educational program shall be submitted in a timely manner with due regard for the necessity of investigation and consideration by the board. The board may contract with institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, or qualified individuals for the providing of programs that meet this requirement; and such programs shall be self-sustaining by the individual fees set and collected by the provider of the program. The minimum number of hours of continuing education required shall be fixed by the board by February 1 of each calendar year. In no instance may the board require a greater number of hours of study than are available at approved courses held within the state; and the board is authorized to waive this requirement in cases of certified illness or undue hardship.

(c) Failure to register, to pay the registration fee, or to submit satisfactory proof of training shall forfeit the certificate of the delinquent optometrist; but a practitioner’s certificate may be restored upon payment of all delinquent registration fees, a penalty as established by the board, and the submission of satisfactory proof of training.

## History

Ga. L. 1933, p. 202, § 1; Code 1933, § 84-1109; Ga. L. 1956, p. 691, § 7; Ga. L. 1960, p. 961, § 2; Ga. L. 1971, p. 234, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 185, § 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 34, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1706, § 19; Ga. L. 2013, p. 639, § 2/HB 235.