The General Optical Council (GOC) will impose a £10 increase (approx. 2.5 per cent) to the main fee for optometrists and dispensing opticians for the 2026/27 registration period – taking the fee to £425.
The fees for optical students (£30) and for those on low incomes (£290) will be frozen at last year’s rates.
The GOC said it was “committed to achieving greater operational efficiency and value for money, having downsized to a more cost-effective office and enhanced its in-house legal and advocacy expertise to reduce expenditure on external legal fees in the past year”.
The regulator added that “these changes have allowed the GOC to keep the increase to the main registration fee below inflation (November 2025 CPI rate of 3.5 per cent) and to freeze the fees for students and those on low incomes”.