Utah CE Information

The following contains helpful information for Utah optometrists needing to renew their licenses.

Continuing Education Requirements in Utah:

In accordance with Section 58-16a-304, the standards for the 30 hours of qualified continuing professional education are as follows:
(1) Except for the special courses and volunteer hours described in Subsections R156-16a-304(2), (3) and (4), all qualified continuing professional education must be:
(a) courses approved by the Council on Professional Education (COPE); or
(b) optometry-related courses approved by the Council on Medical Education.
(2) A maximum of two hours of continuing professional education may be courses in certification or recertification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or Basic Life Support (BCLS).
(3) A maximum of two hours of continuing professional education may come from the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for training regarding the use of the Utah Controlled Substance Database.
(4) Licensees may fulfill up to 15% of their continuing education requirement by providing volunteer services within the scope of their license at a qualified location, in accordance with Section 58-13-3. For every four documents hours of volunteer services, the licensee may earn one hour of continuing education.
(5) Qualified continuing professional education hours for licensees who have not been licensed for the entire two-year renewal cycle will be prorated from the date of licensure.
(6) A licensee shall maintain competent records of completed qualified continuing professional education for a period of four years after close of the two-year licensure period to which the records pertain. It is the responsibility of the licensee to demonstrate that their continuing professional education meets the requirements of this section.
(7) Hours in excess of the 30 hours obtained in one two-year licensure cycle cannot be transferred to the next renewal cycle.
(8) A licensee who has a serious health problem or who has left the United States for an extended period of time, which may prevent the licensee from being able to comply with the professional continuing education requirements established under this section, may be excused from completing some or all of the requirements established under this section by submitting a written request to the Division and receiving Division approval.
(9) Additional continuing professional education hours required for controlled substance prescribers shall be in accordance with Section 58-37-6.5 and Section R156-37-402.

For New Graduates:

CE's for a newly licensed Optometrist are prorated.

See section 5 above.

How many Continuing Education Credits required will be dependent on the month in which the license was issued. The licensee will take the total hours of CE's required (30), divide it by the usual months in a renewal cycle (24), and multiply by the actual amount of months the license has been active to determine how many credits they will need.

Controlled Substance Courses:

1) The DEA has a requirement of a one-time 8-hour training for your DEA license. You need to attest that you have completed the coursework when you renew but you will not need to send certificates. This 8-hour training can be done at one setting or over multiple courses. Any Opioid training you have done in the past to satisfy the state opioid training requirements can be used. For example, you have completed the state opioid requirements for the past three license renewal cycles, that is 9 hours, you have therefore satisfied the federal DEA requirement.

2) Utah has an ongoing Opioid training requirement that must be completed each license renewal cycle. We must complete 3 hours of Opioid education each renewal cycle. 2 of those 3 hours can be used towards our 30 hours of CE that are required every two years.

3) Utah has a new requirement (SBIRT) that MUST be completed prior to our 2026 license renewal...so this renewal cycle or the next one. It only needs to be done one time and this course will satisfy the 3-hour requirement in 2) but only for the renewal cycle in which you complete the SBIRT course.

Again, remember, these requirements are only for those that maintain a CS Utah certificate and have controlled substance prescribing rights.

The approved SBIRT course and other approved courses are found on the DOPL website through the following link.

https://dopl.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cs-approved-ce-courses.pdf

Renew your license in Utah:

Licenses expire on September 30 of even years.
At least 60 days prior to the expiration date of a license, DOPL will email a renewal notice to the licensee's email address of record as provided to DOPL by the individual licensee. (Failure to notify DOPL of an address change could prevent a licensee from timely receiving renewal notification and other important correspondence from DOPL.)
Renewal Fees — Optometrist $93 | Optometrist with CS $171

Renew your Utah Optometry License Here

Here are a few helpful links:

Utah Optometry Laws and Rules