Md. Code, Health Occupations § 11-403
This is the official text of Md. Code, Health Occupations § 11-403, part of Maryland’s Code, Health Occupations — governs the licensing of healthcare professionals.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§11–403.
Official statutory text
(a) A licensed optometrist may:
(1) Use the title “optometrist”;
(2) If the optometrist holds the degree of doctor of optics or doctor of optometry from a college or university authorized to give the degree, use the title “Doctor” or the abbreviations “Dr.” or “O.D.” with the optometrist’s name;
(3) If the optometrist is certified under § 11-404 of this subtitle, use the title “diagnostically certified optometrist”; and
(4) If the optometrist is certified under § 11-404.1 of this subtitle, use the title “therapeutically certified optometrist”.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a licensed optometrist may not attach to the optometrist’s name or use as a title:
(1) The words or abbreviations “Doctor”, “Dr.”, “M.D.”, “physician”, or “surgeon”, or any other word or abbreviation that suggests that the optometrist practices medicine; or
(2) Any word or abbreviation that suggests that the optometrist treats diseases or injuries of the human eye, including the words “eye specialist”, “eyesight specialist”, “oculist”, or “ophthalmologist”.
(1) Use the title “optometrist”;
(2) If the optometrist holds the degree of doctor of optics or doctor of optometry from a college or university authorized to give the degree, use the title “Doctor” or the abbreviations “Dr.” or “O.D.” with the optometrist’s name;
(3) If the optometrist is certified under § 11-404 of this subtitle, use the title “diagnostically certified optometrist”; and
(4) If the optometrist is certified under § 11-404.1 of this subtitle, use the title “therapeutically certified optometrist”.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a licensed optometrist may not attach to the optometrist’s name or use as a title:
(1) The words or abbreviations “Doctor”, “Dr.”, “M.D.”, “physician”, or “surgeon”, or any other word or abbreviation that suggests that the optometrist practices medicine; or
(2) Any word or abbreviation that suggests that the optometrist treats diseases or injuries of the human eye, including the words “eye specialist”, “eyesight specialist”, “oculist”, or “ophthalmologist”.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Maryland?
Find a Maryland lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.