Are you entitled to a free NHS sight test?
More than 30 million people in the UK are entitled to a free eye examination paid for by the NHS. The list below details those that are automatically entitled to regular NHS sight tests. You may also be entitled to a voucher towards the cost of any spectacles or contact lenses prescribed. Your local optician will be able to advise on NHS entitlements based on your own individual circumstance.
- Aged 60 or over
- Under 16 or under 19 still in full time education
- Live in Scotland *
- Diagnosed as having diabetes or glaucoma
- 40 years of age or over with a close relative with glaucoma
- Registered blind or partially sighted
- In need of complex lenses (you may also get an optical voucher)
- Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
- Working Tax Credit/Child Tax Credit (and are named on a NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate)
- You are named on a valid HC2 or HC3 certificate
- Under 16 or under 19 and still in full time education
- Named on a valid HC2 or HC3 certificate
- In need of complex lenses
- You or your partner claim Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Working Family’s Tax Credit/Disabled Person’s Tax Credit (and are named on a NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate)
* Automatically entitled to a voucher.