How Long Are Eye Prescriptions Good For?

As Willowbrook’s trusted eye care professional, Superior Eye Care receives a lot of questions about eye health and vision, including “How long are eye prescriptions good for?” Here, we answer that common question and other frequently asked questions about prescription expiry periods on glasses and contact lenses.

1. Can You Get New Eyewear With an Old Prescription?

Maybe you ran out of contacts or broke your glasses. You go to order new ones, only to find out that your prescription is out of date. Can you get new eyewear with an old prescription? Not if it has expired. Laws and regulations prohibit providers from filling expired prescriptions. Even if you feel your eyes have not changed, you must get a new prescription before you can order contacts or glasses. 

2. How Long Are Eye Prescriptions Good For?

When asking the question, “How long are eye prescriptions good for?” the answer is typically a year or two. Depending on your state laws, glasses prescriptions may last one or two years. However, contact lenses typically have a vision prescription validity of one year. Since contacts sit directly on your eye, your doctor needs to ensure the lenses are not causing any damage to your eyes or eyesight.

You can typically find the expiration date on your prescription. If you can’t find the written prescription, contact the office that provided your most recent eye exam or prescription eyewear. State laws usually require eye doctors to keep your information on file for several years.

3. Why Do Prescriptions Have Expiration Dates?

As your eyes change over time, your eyewear prescriptions may also shift. Eyes undergo the most significant change during childhood and typically stabilize at about the age of 18. However, your eyesight may still decline (or improve) at any point over time. When this happens, your current prescription may become inaccurate or non-functional.

The expiration date on your prescription represents the longest time your eye doctor feels you can go without receiving a new exam. While you may receive the same prescription several years in a row, regular exams are essential for vision and eye health. Wearing glasses or contacts with inaccurate prescriptions can cause eye strain, headaches, and even accidents.

4. How Often Should I Get an Eye Exam?

How often you should receive an eye exam depends on various factors, including your age, any vision issues you may have, and the health of your eyes. Optometry guidelines recommend the following eye exam frequency by age group:

• Infants: Babies should receive their first eye exam at about six months of age.
• Preschool-aged children: To protect the development of their eyes and vision, children should get another exam between the ages of three and five. 
• School-aged children: Once children start school, they spend a lot of time reading, writing, and using technology. Eye doctor recommendations include annual eye exams for children aged six to 17. 
• Adults:  From ages 18 to 64, adults should receive an eye exam every year. For adults over 65, annual exams can also help identify common aging-related eye conditions like presbyopia (difficulty seeing up close) and glaucoma.

5. Are Prescriptions for Contacts and Glasses the Same?

While you may hope to save time using one prescription for both contacts and glasses, this is not usually possible. Even if the eyewear renewal timeframe is the same, the prescriptions themselves are different.

For starters, your contact lens prescription is valid for a specific brand and style. In addition, it will include sizing measurements such as the base curve (BC) and diameter (DIA) of the lens. When renewing spectacle prescriptions, you will not see these measurements on your prescription. 

Now that you know how long eye prescriptions are good for, you may realize you need a new prescription for your eyewear. For contact lens fittings or a new eyeglass prescription in the Woodlands, call Superior Eye Care at 281-298-5905.