Do you want to change your frames or feel like your vision has worsened? Need to know if your prescription is still valid? You've come to the right place.

It is possible to renew your prescription lenses or contact lenses with just a prescription. The validity of a glasses prescription varies depending on your age, but also on what your eye care specialist has written on it. Well, now you know a little more, but how can you really tell if your prescription is still valid? Here's the answer!

The validity of a glasses prescription varies according to age.

Under 16 years old.

Prescriptions are valid for 1 year for anyone under 16. So if that's you, depending on your health insurance, you can renew or change your glasses every year.

This prescription is only valid for one use at an optician's (yes, you can't change your glasses every week). But don't worry, if your vision changes during the year, an ophthalmologist can issue you a new prescription without any problem! You will be covered by Health Insurance. As for your supplementary health insurance, reimbursement depends on your policy, so be sure to check your contract.

People aged 16 to 42.

• The prescription is valid for 5 years for people aged 16 to 42.
• The prescription is valid for 3 years for people over 42 years old.
  
  

If you need to change your glasses quickly but can't get an appointment with an ophthalmologist soon, you can book an appointment directly with your optician for an eye test. They can assess your vision and renew your lenses if needed.

Since April 2020, orthoptists have also been allowed to carry out an eye examination and renew your prescription.

⚠ These eye examinations are only possible if your ophthalmologist has not limited the validity of your prescription (or refused renewal without a check-up).

You can therefore reuse your prescription and benefit from coverage several times—pretty great, right? But be careful, there are a few conditions:

• Condition 1: You can reuse your prescription at the optician 12 months and 1 day after the date of your last purchase. After the eye test, if your vision has changed, the prescription can be reused.
  
  

• Condition 2: If your vision has not changed, you will have to wait 24 months and 1 day after the date of your last purchase before reusing your prescription (don't worry, the longer the wait, the sweeter the reward).
  
  

Validity of contact lens prescriptions

Opticians and orthoptists can also renew and adjust your contact lenses.

Just like glasses (to keep things simple), the validity of a prescription depends on your age. You must present the optician with a prescription that is:

• Less than one year old for people under 16 years old
• Less than 3 years old for people over 16 years old
  
  

How does it work? It's very simple! The optician performs a refraction test, adjusts your prescription (if needed), and informs the ophthalmologist who issued the original prescription.

Please note a few conditions:

• The ophthalmologist may refuse the renewal.
• This only applies to renewals.
• For a first prescription, you must book an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
  
  

One last tip from the Binocle team:

Opticians can replace your glasses without a prescription in certain emergency situations, such as if your glasses are lost or broken. They must inform your ophthalmologist of the results of the refraction test.

You now have everything you need to know about the validity of your glasses prescription. Before changing your glasses, you may also want to learn more about how optical reimbursement works. Since 2020, several things have changed regarding optical reimbursement with the "100% Health" reform!

We hope this article has helped you! Feel free to send us a message if you need more information. See you soon, Binoclards!