The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking public comment on a proposal to extend the information-collection requirements of its Contact Lens Rule for an additional 3 years. The current Office of Management and Budget clearance expires January 31, 2027.

Published in the October 14 Federal Register, the notice addresses requirements related to prescription release, patient confirmation of receipt, electronic prescription delivery, prescription verification, and recordkeeping. Under the rule, contact lens prescribers must provide patients with a copy of their prescription upon completion of a fitting and maintain documentation of prescription release.

The FTC estimates that compliance with the rule requires approximately 3.22 million labor hours annually, including 2.07 million hours for prescribers and their staff and 1.15 million hours for contact lens sellers. The estimated annual compliance cost is approximately $134 million.

The agency is requesting feedback on the necessity of the information-collection requirements, the accuracy of its burden estimates, and potential ways to reduce administrative demands while maintaining compliance. The notice does not propose changes to the underlying Contact Lens Rule. Rather, it concerns renewal of existing information-collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Public comments must be submitted by December 14. Comments may be submitted electronically through Regulations.gov under docket reference P145403. OM