Can You Buy Contact Lenses Without a Prescription?

Can you order contacts without a prescription?

In the United States, you cannot legally order contact lenses without a prescription. It's illegal for sellers to let anyone buy contacts online, in person, or anywhere else without verifying their valid contact lens prescription.

This applies to all types of contacts — even cosmetic lenses that don't correct your vision.

Why you need a prescription for contact lenses

If you want to order contacts, your eye doctor needs to take precise measurements of your eyes so they can give you a contact lens prescription. This is different from an eyeglass prescription.

These measurements allow you to buy contacts that fit your eyes in exactly the right way. Lenses that don't fit well can lead to serious injuries and infections that could harm your eyesight. 

To ensure a proper fit, your optometrist or ophthalmologist will capture the following measurements and details during your contact lens exam:

• The exact curvature of each cornea (the clear outer layer at the front of your eye).

• The width of your corneas.

• The location and strength of astigmatism (if present), which may require toric lenses or other specialized contacts.

Your eye doctor will also show you how to wear and care for your specific contact lenses. Without this guidance, you could be risking serious complications that can permanently damage your vision.

They'll talk to you about:

• How to safely insert and remove each lens.

• How to clean and store your lenses, if necessary.

• Whether it's safe to sleep in your contacts.

• How often you need to replace your lenses.

A contact prescription usually expires one to two years after your lens fitting, depending on state laws and other factors. If your last prescription expired, you'll need to get a new one before you can order more contacts.

Risks of buying contact lenses without a prescription

Contacts that don’t fit your exact measurements can damage your eyes and eyesight. Therefore, wearing non-prescription contact lenses raises your risk of developing:

• Severe eye infections that can permanently damage your eyesight, such as acanthamoeba keratitis and fungal keratitis

• Corneal abrasions (painful eye scratches)

• Corneal ulcers (open sores on the front of your eye)

• Damage to your tear film (the tear, oil and mucus layers that protect and lubricate your eyes)

Some of these issues can lead to permanent vision damage or other long-term eye conditions. These problems can start very quickly, even on your first time wearing the lenses.

If you're wearing (or recently wore) non-prescription contacts and have any of the following eye symptoms, remove the lenses and call your eye doctor right away:

• Redness

• Swelling

• Irritation

• Pain

• Fluid or pus drainage

These could be signs of an infection that needs to be treated quickly.

Buying contact lenses without a prescription

Some untrustworthy sellers still sell non-prescription contact lenses even though it's illegal. You might see their lenses labeled as "one size fits all."

Never buy contacts from these sellers. Their prices and style selections might be tempting, but wearing these lenses can quickly lead to serious eye conditions that can be very painful and expensive to treat. They could even cost you your vision.

One dangerous misconception is that Halloween contacts and other cosmetic and colored lenses don't require a prescription. This isn't true — colored contacts need a prescription from an eye doctor just like any other lens, even if you already have 20/20 vision.

If a company lets you get contact lenses without a prescription, there's a good chance their lenses don't follow the government's strict health guidelines. Their contacts may be:

• Poorly fitting – Prescription-free contacts aren't fitted to your specific eye shape, which can lead to scrapes, sores and infections.

• Counterfeit – Untrustworthy vendors may sell lenses that aren't actually the name brand they say they are.

• Contaminated – An analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Forensic Chemistry Center showed that 3 in 5 suspected counterfeit contacts were tainted with bacteria.

Several companies make safe and effective contact lenses that you can only buy with a current prescription. Some popular brands and manufacturers include:

• Acuvue

• Air Optix

• Alcon

• Bausch + Lomb

• Biofinity

• Clariti

• CooperVision

• Dailies

• Johnson & Johnson

• Miru

When you get your lenses from a trusted retailer, you can be sure your contacts will adhere to your prescription, fit the shape of your eyes and be free from any harmful germs.

Talk to an eye doctor if you aren't sure about a specific brand or vendor. They can verify that you're ordering safe, genuine contact lenses.

Legal considerations of buying contacts without a prescription

It's never a good idea to buy contact lenses without a prescription — it's also against the law.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) handle most of the laws surrounding contact lenses. Here's what they currently say:

• All contact lenses are FDA-regulated medical devices that require a prescription, even if they don't correct your vision.

• Your prescription has to be valid for at least one year after your fitting date. This time frame can only be shorter if there's a good medical reason.

• Once your contact lens fitting is done, your eye doctor is required to give you a copy of your prescription if you want one.

• You can buy contacts through their practice if you want to, but you don't have to. You have the right to shop around and use your prescription to buy contact lenses online or in person wherever you'd like.

The FTC requires providers to list certain information on your prescription, including:

• Their name, address, phone number and fax number

• Your name and exam date

• Your prescription's expiration date and issue date

• Power, base curve (BC), diameter (DIA) and any other important lens measurements

• Lens material

• Lens manufacturer, brand name and any other information about the lens they prescribe

What to do if you don't have a prescription for contacts

If you don't already wear contacts, schedule a contact lens exam with an eye doctor near you. The optometrist or ophthalmologist will check your eyes and vision, fit your eyes for contacts, and then give you your prescription. They'll also show you how to put your contacts in, take them out, and keep them clean.

If you already wear contacts, regular in-person eye exams are still important. Some retailers offer online prescription updates, but these simple vision tests don't check for changes in your eye shape or overall eye health.

Either way, your eye doctor is there to keep your eyes healthy and help you decide which lenses are best for you.

READ NEXT: Everything you need to know about buying contacts

Page published on Thursday, September 19, 2019

Page updated on Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Medically reviewed on Monday, October 28, 2024