You must include an expiry date on the contact lens specification.¹⁴⁸ 

You should use your professional judgement to decide the expiry date, which would normally be when the patient is due their next clinical review. See section on Contact lens check-ups.

Factors to consider when you determine the expiry date include: 

1. the type of contact lens
2. modality of wear
3. the clinical features of the patient.

If the expiry date and the next clinical review date are not the same, you should include both dates on the specification.

You should tell the patient when their next clinical review is due.

You should tell patients that they cannot be supplied with contact lenses once their contact lens specification has expired. The patient  must be refitted before the specification expires to ensure an uninterrupted supply of contact lenses. See section on Contact lens supply for more information and details of aftercare. 

You should tell patients that: 

1. it is important to have regular eye examinations as well as contact lens check-ups
2. they need a valid spectacle prescription to be refitted with contact lenses.