Free NHS eye tests and glasses in Liverpool

Children under 16, yes, whatever happened. Adults, only in certain circumstances: you must be entitled to an NHS optical voucher, and a medical condition must have caused the loss or damage. The glasses must not be covered by a warranty or insurance, and the NHS has to approve the request before the work is done. Tell us what happened and we will make the request for you.

The NHS checks adult requests against its list of conditions: alcohol or drug dependency, arthritis, brain injury, dementia, diabetes, epilepsy, heart attack, Huntington’s disease, learning disability, a mental health condition, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, physical disability, stroke, vertigo and visual impairment. Other conditions are passed to an NHS clinical adviser to decide. Having the condition is not enough on its own: it has to have caused the loss or damage, for example glasses broken during a seizure or a fall.

Come in or call us and explain what happened. For adults we contact the NHS for approval before we repair or replace anything, and if it is approved the NHS voucher pays towards the cost. You cannot ask the NHS yourself: the request has to come from the optician. For children under 16 no approval is needed.

Yes. Children under 16 get an NHS voucher to repair or replace their glasses however they were broken or lost, as often as it happens. Bring them in and we will sort it out.

You get an NHS optical voucher towards glasses if you are under 16, 16 to 18 and in full-time education, have an HC2 certificate, need very complex lenses, or you or your partner get income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or Universal Credit and meet the criteria. An HC3 certificate gives partial help. Depending on your prescription and the glasses you choose, the voucher pays in full or goes towards the cost.

Yes. Every child under 16 who needs glasses gets an NHS voucher, and we have a proper choice of children’s frames it covers in full, so there is nothing to pay. If they would rather have a designer frame, the voucher comes off the price.

Your eye test is free at 60, but being over 60 does not on its own give you a voucher for glasses. You get one if you also get a qualifying benefit, have an HC2 or HC3 certificate, or need very complex lenses.

You can, if you or your partner get Universal Credit and meet the NHS earnings criteria. We check this with you when you come in.

Not on PIP alone, because it is not one of the qualifying benefits. You may still get help through the NHS Low Income Scheme, which can give you an HC2 or HC3 certificate. Ask us and we will point you in the right direction.

Diabetes gives you a free NHS eye test, but not free glasses on its own. You get a voucher for glasses if you also meet one of the voucher conditions, such as a qualifying benefit or an HC2 certificate.

Yes. The voucher comes off the price of the glasses you choose and you pay the difference. We tell you plainly which frames it covers in full and which it goes towards.

In England: children under 16, 16 to 18 year olds in full-time education, anyone aged 60 or over, people with diabetes or glaucoma, anyone 40 or over whose parent, brother, sister or child has glaucoma, people an eye doctor says are at risk of glaucoma, anyone registered blind or partially sighted, people who need very complex lenses, people with an HC2 certificate, and people who get income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or qualifying Universal Credit, or are under 20 and depend on someone who does.

Yes. It is the same examination: same optometrist, same equipment, same time. The NHS pays the fee instead of you.

Proof of entitlement if you have it, for example your benefit award letter or your HC2 or HC3 certificate, and your current glasses. If you are not sure whether you qualify, ask when you book and we will check for you.