Cost & access
Eye exams: who gets one free, and what an adult pays
Coverage depends on your age and your medical conditions, and the rule that catches people out is the one about diabetes.
5 min read · Updated
Eye examinations sit on one of the sharpest dividing lines in Ontario health coverage, and a great many people end up on the wrong side of it by accident.
Who is covered
In Ontario, OHIP covers a routine eye examination once every 12 months for people aged 19 and under and 65 and over. Other provinces draw the age bands differently, so check yours.
For adults aged 20 to 64 it does not — unless you have a qualifying medical condition, in which case an examination is covered at any age. The list includes diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts, retinal disease, and several others.
Diabetes is the one people miss. If you have it, your eye examination is covered, you should not be paying for it, and you should be having one regularly — diabetic retinal damage develops without symptoms until it is advanced.
What an adult pays otherwise
Expect roughly $90 to $150 for a private examination. What matters is what the quoted price includes: retinal imaging, dilating drops and contact lens fitting are frequently extra, and a contact lens assessment is a separate charge from a glasses prescription almost everywhere. Ask what is included before you book rather than at the desk afterwards.
Your prescription belongs to you
You are entitled to a copy of your prescription, and you can fill it wherever you like. This is where the real saving on glasses usually is — frames and lenses vary enormously in price for the same correction, and online retailers are often dramatically cheaper. The examination and the eyewear are two separate purchases, and nothing obliges you to make both in the same place.
Do not skip it on cost alone
An eye examination is not only a sight test. It detects glaucoma, which is symptomless until vision is permanently lost, and it picks up signs of diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions before anything else does. If the fee is genuinely out of reach, that is precisely what this site is for.
These articles summarise public health guidance and are not a substitute for care from a regulated health professional who knows your situation. If this is an emergency, call 911. For a mental-health crisis, call or text 9-8-8. See our Crisis resources.