Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 14-1-3 - Application Examination and Interview3.1. Before any person may sit for the interview, he or she shall submit a written application on the Board's application form, which will be supplied by the Board or its designee. The application shall require the following: the applicant name, address, date and place of birth, citizenship and a detailed history of his or her educational qualifications, showing the name, the place where and the length of time which the applicant attended pre-optometry and optometry schools. The applicant shall also state in the application whether he or she has taken any other State Board examinations and the results of the examinations and whether or not he or she has actively engaged in practice of optometry in any other state. With the application he or she shall include two (2) current photographs of himself or herself, not to exceed two (2) inches by two (2) inches in size and his or her birth certificate.3.2. In the application the applicant shall state that he or she shall abide by the laws of this State regulating the practice of optometry and by the rules adopted by the Board.3.3. The application shall be subscribed and sworn by the applicant. His or her signature shall be witnessed and notarized by a notary public.3.4. The Board shall deny the right to sit for the interview to any person furnishing false information in the application, or if the applicant has been licensed before it is made known to the Board of the falseness of the information, the license is subject to suspension, revocation or cancellation.3.5. Certified transcripts from pre-optometry and optometry colleges attended by the applicant shall accompany each application. The certified transcripts of record shall show the total number of hours of attendance, the subjects studied, the grades given and the date of graduation.3.6. Passing all required parts of the National Board Examination is to be confirmed by receipt of a passing grade report from the National Board of Examiners in Optometry or its successor, or equivalent and submitted with the application.3.7. The applicant shall file the completed application and application fee with the Board or its designee no later than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the interview dates. The completed application, records and fees are to be mailed to the Board or its designee in one (1) parcel and all transcripts are to be left sealed or the applicant may choose to have the schools that he or she has attended to send sealed certified transcripts directly to the Board or its designee. Applicants may also apply for licensure using the online application process on the Board's website.3.8. The applicant shall take and pass the Online State Rule Examination for West Virginia optometry available through the National Board of Examiners in Optometry or its successor, or equivalent.3.9. Only applicants qualified for the highest level of certification shall be granted a license and no license of any description shall be granted except those including, at a minimum, oral prescriptive and injection certifications. Applicants who do not satisfy all the requirements for oral and injection certification, and any other certification that may from time to time be established, shall not be permitted to sit for the license interview and shall not be granted a license of any description.3.10. The fee for the application shall be determined by the Board's rule, Schedule of Fees, W. Va. Code of State Rules, §14CSR5.3.11. A low-income individual may apply for a waiver of all initial licensing fees using a Board-approved form. The Low-Income Waiver of Initial Licensing Fees form, provided by the Board, and all required documentation shall be submitted with the applicant's application for licensure. 3.11.a. Upon receipt of a completed low-income waiver form and required documentation, the Board shall review the application for a waiver and issue a decision for approval or disapproval of the low-income waiver within thirty (30) days.