(a) All persons engaged in the practice of optometry or who wish to begin the practice of optometry shall apply through the division director to the board for a certificate of registration. Such certificate of registration shall be granted to such applicants upon compliance with the conditions contained in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this Code section.

(b) The applicant shall be registered and given a certificate of registration if he or she holds a valid license from such other state boards of optometry as may be, under the rules of comity, recognized by the board. The fee for registering such applicant shall be in an amount determined by the board. A person practicing optometry who has been registered and given a certificate of registration under the rules of comity and who fails to pay the biennial registration fee, as established by the board, on or before the renewal date established by the division director shall forfeit his or her certificate of registration. Such person may be reinstated by paying all past due registration fees and an additional fee in an amount established by the board.

(c) Any other applicant for registration under this chapter shall be required to pass an examination approved by the board. In addition, each such applicant shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Be 21 years of age and of good moral character;

(2) Possess a high school education of not less than 16 Carnegie units, or the equivalent thereof to be determined by the board;

(3) Have completed not less than two years of preoptometry college work in a college of arts and sciences approved by the board, or the equivalent thereof to be determined by the board; and

(4) Hold a certificate of graduation from an accredited college or university teaching optometry, acceptable to the board, requiring a course of study therein of at least four school years.

Failure to pass a satisfactory examination shall not debar the applicant from participating in subsequent examinations before the board upon his or her complying with this chapter and upon payment of a reexamination fee as established by the board.

(d) Any applicant seeking a certificate of registration after July 1, 1994, must be qualified to use pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic and treatment purposes in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 43-30-1. Qualification to use pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic and treatment purposes shall be met by evidence of:

(1) Successful completion of pharmacological training and certification from a properly accredited institution of higher learning, or the equivalent thereof to be determined by the board; and

(2) Successful passage of an examination approved by the board which tests knowledge of pharmacology for treatment and management of ocular diseases.