UK routes to registration

To qualify as an optometrist or dispensing optician in the United Kingdom, you must:

  1. Apply to enrol on an approved qualification in Optometry or Dispensing Optics. Please visit the What to study and where page to find out where you can train to become an optometrist or a dispensing optician.
  2. Register with the GOC as a student. By law, any student undertaking approved qualifications in Optometry or Dispensing Optics must register with us. Please visit the Student Registration page to complete an application form.
  3. Upon completion of an approved qualification, you must register with the GOC as a fully qualified individual to become an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician and practise in the UK.

Optometry Progression Courses

Trainees who have successfully completed an optometry qualification under our previous Accreditation and Quality Assurance Handbook: Routes to Registration in Optometry (2015/2020), may be required to complete the Scheme for Registration, as part of the full route to registration, to be eligible to join the GOC register. You can find information on the entry requirements to the Scheme for Registration on the College of Optometrists website. 

If you do not meet the requirements to join the Scheme for Registration, you may be eligible to complete an Optometry Progression Course. We are currently aware of the following providers offering an Optometry Progression Course:

  • University of Highlands and Islands
  • University of Huddersfield

We recommend that you contact these providers directly, if you have not already, to understand whether you would be eligible and able to join their optometry progression courses. If you are not eligible to join a progression course and would like to join to GOC register, it is likely that you will need to successfully re-complete an Optometry qualification. In this situation, we would recommend you contact our approved Optometry providers to understand the options available to you. You can find a list of current approved providers on our ‘What to Study and Where’ page. 

As the regulator, we are unable to get involved in individual admissions and progression decisions. We can only consider concerns which fall within our statutory remit, including those related to compliance with our Education Standards. You can find further information about our processes for raising a concern about an education provider on our website.