General Optical Council registration for the year beginning April 1 2017 is now open to OOs, DOs and optical businesses.
The Council encouraged registrants to apply online by logging in to their MyGOC account at www.optical.org by March 15 in order to pay the renewal fee of £330. Applications made after this date but before the final deadline of March 31 will have to pay an additional £20.
Michelle Norman, GOC head of registration said: ‘Registration is a legal requirement for anyone practising in the UK. Those who fail to renew will be removed from our registers and will be unable to practise.’
Following a review the GOC will no longer issue registration cards as they were only valid on the day that they are issued and cannot be relied on as proof of current registration.
Renewal notices this year will be sent via email. The GOC said this would save an estimated £50,000 per year.
Practitioners with a total gross income of less than £12,000 per year are eligible for the GOC’s low-income fee of £230 and must apply by February 1 should they wish to pay via direct debit.