(a) Definitions.
  (1) "Military service member" means a person who is on active duty.
  (2) "Military spouse" means a person who is married to a military service member.
  (3) "Military veteran" means a person who has served on active duty, who was discharged or released from active duty, and who was not dishonorably discharged.
  (4) "Active duty" means current full-time military service in the armed forces of the United States or active duty military service as a member of the Texas military forces, as defined by §437.001, Government Code, or similar military service of another state.
  (5) "Armed forces of the United States" means the army, navy, air force, space force, coast guard, or marine corps of the United States or a reserve unit of one of those branches of the armed forces.
(b) License eligibility requirements for applicants with military experience.
  (1) Verified military service, training, or education will be credited toward the licensing requirements, other than an examination requirement, of an applicant who is a military service member or military veteran.
  (2) This subsection does not apply if the applicant holds a restricted license issued by another jurisdiction or has an unacceptable criminal history.
(c) Alternate licensing procedure authorized by Texas Occupations Code §55.004 and §55.005.
  (1) Applicants currently licensed in another state.
    (A) Application.
      (i) The military service member, military veteran or military spouse applicant must be licensed in good standing as a therapeutic optometrist or the equivalent in another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States that has licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of the Act.
      (ii) The military service member, military veteran or military spouse applicant shall submit a completed Military application, including the submission of proof of the applicant's status as a military service member, military veteran or military spouse along with all documents required under §271.2 of this title.
      (iii) A military service member, military veteran, or military spouse licensed in another state is exempt from the application fee in §273.4 of this chapter (relating to Fees (Not Refundable)). Such an applicant is not exempt from exam administration fees charged for an exam administered by an organization or person other than the Board.
      (iv) A license issued under this subsection shall be a license to practice therapeutic optometry with the same obligations and duties required of a licensed therapeutic optometrist and subject to the same disciplinary requirements for that license.
    (B) License Renewal.
      (i) Initial military licenses expire on the second January 1 after the date the license is first issued. If the initial license is timely renewed, the licensee may thereafter renew the license by paying the renewal fee prior to the expiration date set in §273.8 of this chapter.
      (ii) The requirements for renewing the license are the same as the requirements for renewing an active license.
  (2) Requirements for license for military requirements for renewing an active service member, military veteran or military spouse applicant not currently licensed to practice optometry who was licensed in Texas within five years of the application submission.
    (A) Application.
      (i) The military service member, military veteran or military spouse applicant shall submit a completed Military application, including the submission of proof of the applicant's status as a military service member, military veteran or military spouse along with all documents required under §271.2 of this title.
      (ii) An application fee in the same amount as the application fee set out in §273.4 of this chapter must be submitted with the application.
      (iii) A license issued under this subsection shall be a license to practice therapeutic optometry with the same obligations and duties required of a licensed therapeutic optometrist and subject to the same disciplinary requirements for that license.
    (B) License Renewal.
      (i) Initial military licenses expire on the second January 1 after the date the license is first issued. If the initial license is timely renewed, the licensee may thereafter renew the license by paying the renewal fee prior to the expiration date set in §273.8 of this chapter.
      (ii) The requirements for renewing the license are the same as the requirements for renewing an active license.
(d) Alternative method to demonstrate competency. To protect the health and safety of the citizens of this state, a license to practice optometry requires the licensee to obtain a doctorate degree in optometry and passing scores on lengthy and complex nationally accepted examinations. An alternative method to demonstrate competency is not available at this time.
(e) Alternate licensing procedure for military service member or military spouse authorized by Texas Occupations Code §55.0041.
  (1) Application.
    (A) The military service member or military spouse applicant must be licensed in good standing as a therapeutic optometrist or the equivalent in another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States that has licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of the Act. For purposes of this subsection, the Board finds that every state and territory that issues a therapeutic license to a graduate of an accredited optometry school has licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of the Act.
    (B) The military service member or military spouse applicant shall submit:
      (i) proof of the service member's or spouse's residency in this state and a copy of the service member's or spouse's military identification card;
      (ii) a completed Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint card provided by the Board;
      (iii) an official license verification from the state in which the applicant is licensed that has licensing requirements substantially equivalent to the Act; and
      (iv) application form.
  (2) License.
    (A) A license issued under this subsection:
      (i) shall be a license to practice therapeutic optometry with the same obligations and duties required of a licensed therapeutic optometrist and subject to the same disciplinary requirements for that license,
      (ii) will expire three years after the license is issued, or if occurring prior to the expiration of the three-year period, the date when the military service member or military spouse is no longer stationed at a military installation in this state, and
      (iii) may not be renewed.
    (B) The application and license is exempt from the Texas Jurisprudence Examination and the application fee and initial license fee in §273.4 of this chapter.

Source Note: The provisions of this §273.14 adopted to be effective March 23, 2014, 39 TexReg 2079; amended to be effective March 29, 2016, 41 TexReg 2316; amended to be effective December 9, 2019, 44 TexReg 7540; amended to be effective August 27, 2023, 48 TexReg 4665