# Eye exam without purchasing glasses **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461 "2014-01-10T19:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/41 "2014-01-11T21:52:20Z")
I do it every year. I have my eyes examined by my regular eye doctor, then take the prescription to Pearle Vision (if I need new glasses or the prescription has changed). ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/42 "2014-01-11T22:02:02Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Yeah, Zenni does too, although I’d hit a doctor at some point. > US: you can order eyeglasses with a 10 year old prescription, or even just numbers online. In store it may depend. Contacts require a current prescription by Federal law, which last 1 year here, although maybe other states have longer terms. Online retailers won’t accept numbers; they usually call your doctor before filling it. > > “Eyeglass rule” - by federal law ([PDF](http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2006-title16-vol1/pdf/CFR-2006-title16-vol1-part456.pdf)), as long as you pay for your eye exam, the doctor must immediately give you your prescription. Along with other restrictions on being a dick doctor. Also [Contact lens rule](http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus62-contact-lens-rule-guide-prescribers-and-sellers). You would need a more recent prescription than that. The last eye exam I had (done by an optometrist), the optometrist wrote the expiration date on the prescription, which was 3 years. Previously, I had gone to Walmart to have a new pair of glasses with an old prescription. The OD would not do it, saying that the prescription had expired. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/43 "2014-01-12T01:41:46Z")
Last time I got an eye exam I went to Wal-Mart. In addition to being pleasantly surprise by the thoroughness and professionalism of the exam, I was asked up front “Do you just want your prescription and plan to get the glasses elsewhere, or are you interested in buying your corrective lenses from us?” So that was an instance where the eye doctor brought up the topic first. I expect this is becoming more common these days. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/44 "2014-01-12T01:47:32Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I had my eyes examined at Walmart and when I asked for the things you mention they absolutely refused to give me those numbers. The stated reason was that IF they (Wallmart) made a mistake and gave me wrong numbers, I might sue them. When I went to Wal-Mart they gave me all the numbers, including PD, without my having to ask for it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/45 "2014-01-12T02:41:36Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > You would need a more recent prescription than that. The last eye exam I had (done by an optometrist), the optometrist wrote the expiration date on the prescription, which was 3 years. Previously, I had gone to Walmart to have a new pair of glasses with an old prescription. The OD would not do it, saying that the prescription had expired. It doesn’t **need** to be new (legally), and Zenni doesn’t ask for a physical copy or doctor confirmation of your prescription. YMMV if a certain state or doctor wants to use stricter rules or criteria. Which is understandable, as all it takes is one guy transposing some numbers or misreading his handwritten prescription on a cocktail napkin, for mistakes to happen. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Last time I got an eye exam I went to Wal-Mart. In addition to being pleasantly surprise by the thoroughness and professionalism of the exam It helps if you realize that they’re just people who work in the same building, and thus not the same as you’d expect from Walmartians (although even then it’s usually not the employees that are bad). ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/46 "2014-01-12T03:02:30Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From the Zenni Optical website: “The first numbers printed on the inside of a temple arm (the part that goes behind your ear) on a frame will just be the manufacturer’s model or stock numbers. But farther down the temple arm, there may be important numbers that refer to the dimensions of a frame. These numbers would be the measurement, in millimeters, of the lens width, bridge, and temple arm length.” Of course, I can’t see said numbers, because I need to take my glasses off to look. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/47 "2014-01-12T03:31:18Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > Of course, I can’t see said numbers, because I need to take my glasses off to look. Just that pair? If everyone on earth dies except for you, I recommend buying a cord to keep them safe. As a plus, there’s nobody to make fun of you for the dorkiness of having a glasses cord. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/48 "2014-01-12T05:49:49Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I had my eyes examined at Walmart and when I asked for the things you mention they absolutely refused to give me those numbers. The stated reason was that IF they (Wallmart) made a mistake and gave me wrong numbers, I might sue them. I was an A.B.O. certified optician for about 15 years. Measurements like pupillary distances and bifocal heights are the responsibility of the optician filling the prescription, not the prescriber. When I was in the business none of the ophthalmologists put P.D.s on prescriptions to try to ensure that their patients went to a qualified dispenser. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/49 "2014-01-12T06:34:26Z")
I do this (getting a written prescription for lenses, taking them to secondary glasses supplier) all the time, particularly for prescription safety glasses. My doctor has never had a problem with it. …though I do tend to buy pricey frames and lenses from her for my day-to-day glasses. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/50 "2014-01-12T08:39:06Z")
Do this every year for my son. His insurance covers the exam but not glasses in the store the doctor operates out of. And the insurance covers the glasses but not the exam at the Walmart where we buy the glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461/51 "2014-01-12T08:52:34Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > I was an A.B.O. certified optician for about 15 years. Measurements like pupillary distances and bifocal heights are the responsibility of the optician filling the prescription, not the prescriber. When I was in the business none of the ophthalmologists put P.D.s on prescriptions to try to ensure that their patients went to a qualified dispenser. Ah, you just reminded me. When I ordered my glasses from Costco they did some additional measurements to ensure my glasses would fit. That no doubt included the pupillary distance measurement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-exam-without-purchasing-glasses/678461.md?page=2)