← Back to search

HRS §459-8

Required exams for optometry applicants

If you apply to be an optometrist in Hawaii, you must pass certain national exams. The board sets the passing scores and decides whether to accept older exam scores. It will accept newer scores and may accept older ones if they are equivalent and you have a valid license elsewhere.

The statute, as written — Conduct of examinations

Each applicant whose application is received by the board after December 31, 1986, shall pass all written examinations given by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. Beginning January 1, 1991, each applicant shall also pass a practical (Patient Care) examination administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. The board shall state in its rules the pass/fail cutoff scores for all required examinations. The board shall accept the passing scores of all National Board of Examiners in Optometry written examinations if the examinations were passed in their entirety by the applicant after December 31, 1986. The board shall accept the scores of the practical (Patient Care) examination only if the examination was passed by the applicant after January 1, 1991. The board may accept the scores of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry written examinations passed before December 31, 1986, and the National Board of Examiners in Optometry practical (Patient Care) examination passed before January 1, 1991, if the examinations are determined by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry to be substantially equivalent to the current examinations and the applicant holds a current and valid license under the laws of another state.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.