Most people who’ve had an eye test know the General Optical Council (GOC) only by name, if at all — it’s the body that registers every optometrist and dispensing optician in the UK. But 2026 has been a busy year for the GOC, and the changes it’s working through affect how optical businesses themselves are run, not just who’s allowed to test your sight.
Why the GOC wants to regulate the business, not just the practitioner
Under the current rules, the GOC registers individual optometrists and dispensing opticians, but an optical business itself isn’t directly overseen in the same way. The GOC has argued this leaves a gap: the law around business regulation is complex and doesn’t give a clear, consistent system for optical businesses carrying out sight tests. Its 2025 consultation on the issue found strong backing for change — 78% of respondents agreed that a business carrying out a sight test or eye examination should be overseen by a regulator, not just the individual signing it off. Any formal change to the Opticians Act 1989 itself is a matter for Parliament, so this is a direction of travel rather than a done deal, but it signals where business oversight is heading.
A live consultation on sight tests and supervision
Running from 15 July to 21 October 2026, the GOC’s current consultation covers its “testing of sight” statement and proposed revisions to supervision and delegation — in plain terms, the rules on when a dispensing optician can act without an optometrist physically present, and what counts as an adequate sight test. For multi-branch practices and franchise-style opticians, where staffing models already stretch supervision across several sites, the outcome here matters more than most headlines suggest.
Registration fees are rising too
Alongside the regulatory review, the GOC’s main registration fee for optometrists and dispensing opticians is set to rise by £10 for the 2026/27 period, taking it to £425. It’s a modest increase on its own, but it lands in the same year as a separate consultation on how the GOC sets registrant fees going forward — worth factoring into any practice’s annual budgeting conversation with staff.
What it means if you run or work in a practice
None of this changes what a patient experiences at their next eye test. But for practice owners, the direction is clear: expect more formal expectations around how sight tests are supervised and delegated, and keep an eye on the GOC’s own consultation pages rather than assuming nothing will move until Parliament acts. Opticians across the UK — whether a single high street practice or a group with sites in Kensington and Chelsea, Aberdeen or Dumfries — are all covered by the same GOC rules, so the outcome of this year’s consultations will reach every practice sooner or later.
Full detail on the live consultation and the GOC’s own reasoning is on its General Optical Council website.
