The mission of the South Dakota Board of Examiners in Optometry is to protect the public by ensuring competent visual care, licensure of qualified applicants, inspection of optometric offices, and enforcing updated statutes, rules, and regulations, including consumer complaint review and processing.
Online Controlled Substance Registrations
Controlled substance registrations (new, renewals, and changes to an existing registration) can now be done online.
The South Dakota Department of Health is pleased to announce that beginning on July 1, 2019, all new applications, renewal registrations, verifications, and changes to an existing registration, will be completed online with the South Dakota Department of Health's new registration system. Payment using the online Controlled Substance Registration system must be made using Mastercard or Visa credit and debit cards.
If you are a practitioner that does not have a federal DEA certificate to move to South Dakota and are applying for a new DEA number at a South Dakota location, you must write "pending" where it asks for the DEA registration on the state application, and you must also apply to the DEA for a new DEA number since you are not moving a number to South Dakota.
When submitting an application, please be sure to have all of your information ready, including any supporting documents needed to be uploaded, such as a copy of the updated federal DEA certificate. After the application has been submitted and the payment has been made, the Department will review the application, email the registrant if additional information is needed, approve or deny the application, or pend the application until we receive the new DEA number.
After July 1, 2019, you can log in at any time to view the application status or print a registration. Controlled substance registration certificates or letters will no longer be mailed. Any controlled substance registration can also now be a primary source verified on the website.
DEA Requirements
For those of you with DEA licenses, you may have received a notification that they are requiring additional CE in order to maintain your DEA certification. This mandate is separate from this state licensing board and does not impact your license to practice optometry in the State of South Dakota; however, you may still receive credit for attending this CE. It will still need to follow any of our state laws as listed in the summary above. Anything COPE-approved will be accepted. If not COPE-approved, you will need to submit the request for each course for approval using the attached form. If you attend this CE virtually, you will only be awarded the allowed 15 hours of self-directed learning.
South Dakota Optometric Society
Advanced Procedures Course July 20-23, 2023: You may have received information from the SDOS to register for this 32-hour COPE-approved course. If you attend, those 32 hours would apply toward your license requirements as listed in the summary above. The informational flyer that was sent out indicates that they will submit a certification to the SD Board of Examiners in Optometry, which is incorrect. These COPE hours will apply towards your 45 required each year; however, there is no further certification that exists at this time, nor can it be advertised that you have completed further training. If the legislature approves expanded procedures at a later date, the training and requirements to measure competency for those procedures would also be determined at that time. This board has not sponsored or sanctioned this course. This is a presentation from the South Dakota Optometric Society and despite the statement about board certification, this board is not involved in this event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. All licensees must complete 45 hours of continuing education classes every three years beginning the date the license is issued. Optometrists certified to use topical pharmaceutical agents (DPA or TPA) must complete five (5) hours annually of continuing education related to ocular disease. The five (5) hours of annual ocular disease education count toward the 45 hours per three years.
The South Dakota Department of Health supports practitioner participation in the SD PDMP program to improve patient care and reduce the misuse and abuse of controlled substances.
Visit the SD Board of Pharmacy to learn how to register for an account in PMP AWARxE. If you have any questions about the SD PDMP, please contact Melissa DeNoon at the South Dakota Board of Pharmacy (605) 362-2737.