COA® Exam FAQ: Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Questions Answered

COA® is the entry-level core certification for ophthalmic assistants from IJCAHPO, the International Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology. It confirms an assistant’s knowledge in defined content areas, and the next core levels are COT® and COMT®.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Recertification (opens in a new tab)

See also: COA certification guide

IJCAHPO awards the COA. You will also see the older name JCAHPO, which still appears in its web address (jcahpo.org) and in product names such as the JCAHPO Career Advancement Tool.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

No. COA is a voluntary national certification from IJCAHPO, not a license issued by a state. What an assistant may do on the job is set by the employer and applicable rules; we have not verified state-by-state rules for ophthalmic assistants, so check with IJCAHPO and your employer.

Source: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab)

See also: Optician license requirements by state

You must meet one of three IJCAHPO education and work-experience pathways. They are: graduate of an accredited Clinical Assistant-level program; graduate of an accredited Non-Clinical Assistant program plus 500 supervised hours; or high school diploma or equivalent, an approved independent study course, plus 1,000 hours working under an ophthalmologist. The work hours must fall within the 12 months before you apply, and program graduates from more than 12 months ago also need continuing education credits.

Source: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab)

Yes. IJCAHPO’s third pathway (COA-A3) accepts a high school diploma or equivalent plus an approved independent study course, either the JCAHPO Career Advancement Tool (JCAT) or the AAO Ophthalmic Medical Assisting course, and 1,000 hours of work under an ophthalmologist within the prior 12 months. If you finished the course more than 36 months ago, you must repeat it or submit continuing education credits.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

See also: Ophthalmic assistant career path

No. IJCAHPO has no minimum age, but you must have a high school diploma or equivalent before you apply for COA certification.

Source: IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

Yes. Candidates in a formal training program may apply up to two months before graduation, but IJCAHPO holds their results until it receives official notice of graduation and, where required, verification of work experience.

Source: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab)

The initial COA exam costs $300. A first retest costs $250 and a second retest $150, according to IJCAHPO’s fee schedule.

Source: IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Optional and penalty fees include $50 for rush application processing, $50 for a one-time 30-day eligibility extension, and $50 to appeal. Cancelling your application keeps $75 of the fee, Pearson VUE charges $25 to reschedule 5 to 29 business days ahead, and changes with less than 5 business days’ notice carry an $85 no-show fee.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

It is IJCAHPO’s own lower-cost way to sit the COA exam, separate from any study product: you pay $150 to take it, and if you pass you pay another $150 within 30 days of your official results to count it as your certification exam. A failed practice exam is not a formal attempt, there is no refund, and your next attempt must be the full initial exam.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

The COA exam has 200 multiple-choice questions and a 180-minute time limit. IJCAHPO counts the exam verification, recording acceptance, and non-disclosure agreement steps within that overall time.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Core Criteria Handbook (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

You schedule it at a Pearson VUE test center after IJCAHPO sends your confirmation notice. You must test within the 90-day eligibility period in that notice; one 30-day extension is allowed for $50.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; Pearson VUE — IJCAHPO (opens in a new tab)

Unverified — check with IJCAHPO. The official COA page describes Pearson VUE test centers, and IJCAHPO’s policies say only select exams are offered with online proctoring, so confirm your options with IJCAHPO before you plan to test from home.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification and Recertification Procedures and Policies (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Since August 1, 2025, the COA exam has covered 22 content areas. The largest are history and documentation (9%), ophthalmic patient services and education (8%), general medical knowledge (8%), and visual assessment, pupil assessment, and tonometry (7% each).

Source: IJCAHPO — COA exam content areas, effective 8/1/2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

See also: All 22 COA content areas

IJCAHPO does not publish one. It sets the passing score with a modified Angoff method, keeps passing scores confidential, and does not use a fixed percentage or a curve, so other candidates’ results do not affect yours.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certification and Recertification Procedures and Policies (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Core Criteria Handbook (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

IJCAHPO does not publish a COA pass rate in any source we checked, so we do not quote one. Ask IJCAHPO if you need a current figure.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

You get an unofficial pass/fail performance report at the test center, without your numeric score. IJCAHPO mails official results within about four weeks; its handbook says two to four weeks.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Core Criteria Handbook (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

IJCAHPO mails you a retest form with your official results, and you have 12 months from your initial exam date to submit up to two retest applications. If you do not pass the second retest, you must wait until 12 months after your initial test date and then submit a new application with all supporting documents and fees.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Core Criteria Handbook (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Recertify every 36 months by submitting 18 IJCAHPO continuing education credits, an application signed by your sponsoring ophthalmologist, and the $125 recertification fee by your recertification date, or retake the multiple-choice exam instead. Credits must be earned within the current cycle and cannot be carried over. optical.education study materials are not continuing education courses and do not award CE credit.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Recertification (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab)

You can still recertify for up to six months after your recertification date, but your certification becomes inactive and a late fee applies. If you have not recertified within six months, the certification is revoked, and IJCAHPO offers a one-time reinstatement option. IJCAHPO’s documents conflict here: its FAQ and a June 2022 notice say six months, but its fee schedule dated Feb 2025 says 12 months with an $85 late fee, so confirm with IJCAHPO.

Sources: IJCAHPO — Certification FAQs (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Recertification (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Non-Certified Status update announcement, June 2022 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) ; IJCAHPO — Fee schedule and timelines, dated Feb 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)