There is a statutory scheme for dispensing opticians and optometrists who wish to maintain registration with the General Optical Council. The scheme runs in 3-year periods, and the current 3-year period will end on 31st December 2009. All dispensing opticians and optometrists will have to gain 36 CET credits by December 2009, for continued registration. There are specialty lists, including a specialty contact lens list for dispensing opticians who are also contact lens opticians. To continue to practise as a contact lens optician, an additional 18 contact lens CET credits must be gained by December 2009. At the end of 2009, all credit records will be reset to zero, to begin the next period on 1st January 2010. There are different requirements for those who join or rejoin the GOC Register during the 3-year period, for example for newly-qualified DOs. The Principles and Requirements and the Statutory Scheme Rules are available on the cetoptics and GOC websites.

ABDO intend to offer enough CET, as part of the membership fee, to fulfil the GOC requirement, via distance learning and Area CET events, as well as some e-learning initiatives.

Register now at WWW.CETOPTICS.COM to manage your CET record, and confirm any pending points. This is the website that the GOC and Vantage Technologies have set up to administer CET. Although it can be accessed via a link from the ABDO website, it is managed independently, including a 'Contact Us' section for queries.

If you are re-registering with the GOC after a period of absence, the ABDO Bookshop stocks a 'Re-registration Pack' with all the CET points and information you will need to re-register.

In addition to the guidance below, you are advised to consult the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of WWW.CETOPTICS.COM.