645—180.3(154) Licensure by endorsement.
	180.3(1) Applicants who have been licensed as an optometrist in another state may apply for licensure by endorsement by submitting the following:
	a. 	A completed licensure application and payment of the application fee.
	b. 	Verification of license from the jurisdiction in which the applicant has most recently been practicing during the time period in which the Iowa license was inactive, sent directly from the jurisdiction to the board office. The applicant must also disclose any public or pending complaints against the applicant in any other jurisdiction. Web-based verification may be substituted for verification from a jurisdiction’s board office if the verification includes:
	(1)	Licensee’s name;
	(2)	Date of initial licensure;
	(3)	Current licensure status; and
	(4)	Any disciplinary action taken against the license.
	c. 	Evidence of a passing score for all parts of the NBEO examination at the time of licensure as an optometrist in another state and evidence of a passing score for the Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease examination.
	d. 	Verification of current competence to practice as an optometrist by satisfying one of the following criteria:
	(1)	Current CELMO certification; or
	(2)	Practice as an optometrist for a minimum of 2,080 hours during the preceding two-year period; or
	(3)	Employment as a faculty member teaching optometry in an accredited school of optometry for at least one academic year during the preceding two-year period; or
	(4)	Completion of a minimum of 50 hours of continuing education during the preceding two-year period; or
	(5)	Passing the NBEO examination during the preceding two-year period.
	180.3(2) Applicants for licensure by endorsement who were issued their Iowa licenses within six months prior to the renewal date shall not be required to renew their licenses until the renewal date two years later.
	180.3(3) Licensure by verification. A person who is licensed in another jurisdiction but who is unable to satisfy the requirements for licensure by endorsement may apply for licensure by verification, if eligible, in accordance with rule 645—19.1(272C).
[ARC 0899C, IAB 8/7/13, effective 9/11/13; ARC 5776C, IAB 7/14/21, effective 8/18/21; ARC 6374C, IAB 6/29/22, effective 8/3/22; ARC 7000C, IAB 4/19/23, effective 5/24/23]