Why Won't My Optometrist Give Me My PD? The Frustrating Truth

Last updated: January 2025 | Reading time: 9 minutes

You paid for an eye exam. You received your prescription. You asked for your pupillary distance. And you got... resistance.

"We don't include that." "You'll need to purchase glasses to get that measurement." "That's part of the fitting service."

It's frustrating. The measurement takes seconds with the right equipment. It's your eye, your face, your measurement. Yet obtaining it can feel like pulling teeth.

Let's examine why this happens, what your rights actually are, and how to navigate the situation.

The Historical Context

To understand the current situation, you need to understand how the eyewear industry traditionally worked.

For decades, the model was simple: you saw an eye doctor for your exam, then you walked a few steps to the optical shop attached to that practice and bought glasses. The doctor diagnosed; the optician dispensed. Same building, often same business entity.

In this model, your prescription flowed seamlessly from exam room to lens lab. The optician measured your PD as part of fitting you for frames. There was never a need to write PD on the prescription because it was handled internally.

The prescription you took home—if you even bothered to take one home—was for records or emergencies, not for shopping around.

The Disruption

Online eyewear retailers changed everything.

Suddenly, patients wanted their prescriptions to order $39 glasses from the internet instead of $400 glasses from the attached optical shop. The attached shop, which often subsidized exam costs through glasses sales, faced an existential threat.

The prescription itself was protected by federal law—the FTC's "Eyeglass Rule" requires that you receive your prescription at no additional charge after an exam. But PD? That wasn't part of the prescription as legally defined.

Some practices noticed this gap. If they didn't provide PD, patients couldn't easily order glasses elsewhere. A small friction that might keep a few more customers buying in-house.

What the Law Actually Says

The FTC's Eyeglass Rule (16 CFR 456) specifies that eye care practitioners must:

• Provide patients with a copy of their prescription immediately after an eye exam
• Release the prescription without requiring patients to purchase eyewear
• Not charge additional fees for releasing the prescription

However, the rule defines "prescription" based on what's "required to be issued" under state law. In most states, a valid spectacle prescription includes:

• Sphere power (SPH)
• Cylinder power (CYL) and axis
• Add power (for bifocals/progressives)
• Prism (if prescribed)
• Expiration date
• Prescriber information

Pupillary distance is conspicuously absent from this list in most jurisdictions.

The rationale? PD is traditionally considered a "fitting measurement" rather than a "prescription element." It describes your face, not your optical correction needs. Legally, it's in a gray zone.

Why Some Practices Withhold PD

Understanding the motivations helps you navigate the conversation:

Financial Incentive

Let's be direct: the primary reason is money. Optical shops attached to practices generate significant revenue. When patients buy elsewhere, that revenue disappears.

A patient who can't easily get their PD faces a choice: figure it out themselves (with potential measurement error), pay for professional measurement elsewhere, or... just buy from the convenient in-house optical shop that already has the measurement.

This is business, not malice. But it's also not patient-centered.

Liability Concerns

Some practitioners genuinely worry about liability. If they provide PD and a patient orders poorly-made glasses online that cause problems, could the practice be blamed?

This concern is largely unfounded—providing an accurate measurement doesn't create liability for how others use it. But the fear persists in some practices.

"It's Complicated" Deflection

Occasionally you'll hear that PD is "more complex than it seems" or "needs to be measured for specific frames" and therefore can't simply be given as a number.

There's a grain of truth here for progressive lenses, which benefit from additional fitting parameters. But for single vision lenses, a properly measured PD works across different frames. This objection is often exaggerated to justify withholding.

Habit and Policy

Some practices have always operated this way and never questioned it. Front desk staff enforce policies they were taught without understanding the underlying economics. It's institutional inertia more than deliberate strategy.

Your Options When Faced With Resistance

Option 1: Ask Directly and Firmly

Sometimes a simple direct request works, especially if the resistance is based on habit rather than strict policy.

"I'd like my pupillary distance measurement included with my prescription, please."

If they hesitate: "I understand you typically measure PD during frame fitting, but I need the measurement for my records. You have a pupillometer—it takes just a moment."

Be polite but don't accept vague deflection. A specific "no" is more useful than being shuffled around.

Option 2: Request It During the Exam

Many practices are more willing to provide PD if you ask during the exam itself rather than afterward.

When the technician or doctor is taking preliminary measurements, simply say: "Please include my PD measurement with my paperwork today."

This catches the request before you're handed off to the optical sales staff, whose incentives are different from the clinical staff's.

Option 3: Offer to Pay

If a practice insists PD is a "dispensing service," offer to pay for that service separately.

"I understand this is typically included with glasses purchase. I'm happy to pay for a standalone PD measurement. What would that cost?"

Many practices will charge $10-30 for this—annoying, but cheaper than buying overpriced glasses you don't want. And some practices, faced with a direct offer to pay, will simply waive the fee.

Option 4: Visit a Different Provider

Pharmacies like Costco, Walmart Vision Centers, and some LensCrafters locations will measure PD for free or a small fee, no purchase required.

Independent opticians may also offer standalone measurement services. Call ahead and ask.

This approach separates your exam provider from your PD measurement provider, which may actually be fine—both are technical services that don't need to be bundled.

Option 5: Measure It Yourself

As a last resort, you can measure your own PD using various techniques. The accuracy depends on your technique and tools, but many people successfully self-measure.

This puts you in control regardless of what any practice does—though it shifts the accuracy responsibility to you.

Option 6: File a Complaint (for Egregious Cases)

If a practice actively obstructs your access to your prescription itself (not just PD), that may violate the FTC Eyeglass Rule. You can file complaints with:

• The Federal Trade Commission
• Your state's optometry board
• Your state's attorney general consumer protection division

This is a last resort for genuine bad actors, not normal business friction.

The Changing Landscape

The good news: this situation is slowly improving.

Consumer awareness has grown. Patients increasingly know to ask for PD and expect it. Practices that consistently refuse develop reputations that hurt them with informed consumers.

Some states have updated regulations to include PD in prescription requirements or prohibit withholding fitting measurements. California, for example, has moved toward requiring PD disclosure.

Online retailers have developed self-measurement tools that reduce dependence on practices for this information. The "lever" that PD withholding provided is weakening.

And many younger practitioners, trained in an era of online retail, don't see PD withholding as legitimate. Generational turnover is shifting norms.

What About "Free PD Apps"?

The proliferation of smartphone apps claiming to measure PD is a direct response to access problems.

These apps vary wildly in accuracy. The best ones use reference objects (like credit cards) and face detection algorithms to provide reasonable measurements. The worst ones are little more than guesswork disguised as technology.

If you use an app, look for:

• Requirement for a physical reference object
• Multiple measurement averaging
• Confidence indicators
• Face alignment guidance

Treat app measurements as good starting points that should be verified, not as definitive values.

Perspective: Is This Really About PD?

In some ways, PD is a proxy for a larger tension in healthcare: who controls patient information?

The ethical principle is clear: information about your body belongs to you. Measurements taken of your face, eyes, and vision should be available to you without barriers. You might use that information wisely or poorly, but it's still yours.

The economic reality is messier. Healthcare providers, including eye care providers, operate businesses. Those businesses need revenue. Practices that invested in expensive equipment and trained staff understandably want return on that investment.

These tensions exist throughout healthcare. Eye care just makes them visible around a concrete, comprehensible measurement.

Practical Advice

If you're planning an eye exam and want your PD:

1. Research practices beforehand — Call and ask: "If I get an exam, will you provide my pupillary distance?" The answer tells you what to expect.

2. State your expectation upfront — When booking, mention you'll want your PD. This sets the expectation before you're invested in the appointment.

3. Ask during the exam — Don't wait until checkout when you're facing optical sales staff.

4. Be pleasant but persistent — Hostility doesn't help, but neither does accepting vague non-answers.

5. Have a backup plan — Know where you can get measured independently if needed.

6. Consider long-term relationships — A practice that respects your information access is one you might actually want to return to.

Final Thought

Your PD is a fact about your face. It's not a trade secret. It's not proprietary information. It's not something that requires "interpreting" by a professional.

The measurement itself takes seconds with modern equipment. The reluctance to provide it reflects business interests, not scientific necessity.

You have options. You have rights (though PD specifically occupies a legal gray area). And increasingly, you have alternatives that make obstruction less effective anyway.

Get your PD. It's yours.

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Don't want to negotiate with your eye doctor? Measure your PD for free at home with our online tool—no appointment needed.