Licensees can now submit mailing address changes online. Step-by-step instructions on the web pages will guide you through the process. Mailing address changes submitted online will be reflected in the licensing system 24 hours after they are submitted. Click here to begin.

Purpose of the New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry

The primary purpose and obligation of the Board is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by providing laws and regulations to govern the practice of optometry and to safeguard against any unprofessional, improper, incompetent, and unlawful practice of the profession, the most significant of which could result in blindness or loss of life.  

Standards and Criteria for Licensing and Regulation

Licensing agencies, the Board included, usually require a candidate to provide documentation such as a birth certificate, letters of reference, photo, verifications of licensure in other licensing jurisdictions, resumé or curriculum vitae, completed application form, applicable fees, affidavits regarding disciplinary history, and so forth. Candidates for licensure to practice optometry in New Mexico must also meet the following educational criteria:

  • Completion of a bachelor's degree program
  • Completion of a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degreed program at a college of optometry approved by the American Optometric Association's Council of Optometric Education (AOACOE)
  • If the applicant’s O.D. degree was received before January 1985, proof is required of completion of a minimum 100 hour post-graduate clock hour course in ocular therapeutics pharmacology presented by an AOACOE accredited school
  • If the applicant’s O.D. degree was received before January 1995, proof is required of completion of a minimum 20 hour post-graduate clock hour course in clinical pharmacology with particular emphasis on the administration of oral pharmaceutical agents in the treatment and management of visual defects or abnormal conditions of the human eye and its associated organs. The course must be presented by an AOACOE accredited school
  • Proof of having successfully passed the following Parts of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) standards exam:

    Part I - Basic Science Exam

    Part II - Clinical Science Exam

    Part III - Patient Care Exam (consisting of Patient Management, Visual Recognition and Interpretation of Clinical Signs, and Clinical Skills)

    Part IV - Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease Exam.

In addition, the Board requires that candidates for licensure pass a New Mexico Board Exam. The level and privileges at which each state allows optometrists to practice represent unique situations and challenges. National exams and school curriculums prepare the student at a certain level, but because of varying requirements from state to state; the NBEO may or may not address certain areas sufficiently, depending on the licensing jurisdiction. 

Each state has the authority to test based upon its own statutory guidelines. New Mexico appropriately designed its examination expressly for its specific laws to ensure that candidates entering this state have the ability to practice at this state's level. The Board's exam is designed to test clinical skills at the highest level allowed in New Mexico. 

After the Board began accepting the NBEO in 1995, it redesigned its exam specifically to access clinical skills and avoid re-testing non-clinical skills. The Board’s clinical exam emphasizes and prioritizes areas that have the greatest impact on the patient, and presents a true representation of the candidate's ability to provide clinical care under the privileges allowed in this state. The Board’s licensing exam consists of the following:

  1. A Jurisprudence exam on the New Mexico Optometry Act and the Optometry Board's Rules and Regulations – 16.16 NMAC; and
  2. A Board-administered Clinical Practicum that is designed to test clinical skills at the highest standard of care. This examination is designed to test applicants’ capacities to protect the life and sight of their patients.

For more information contact:

New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry
2550 Cerrillos Road, Second Floor
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
(505) 476-4945
(505)476-4620 or 4645 Fax
Optometry.Bd@state.nm.us