A long-term wearer of low-Dk hydrogel lenses has superficial corneal vessels extending 2 mm into the clear cornea all around the limbus. What is the most appropriate change?

Refit with silicone hydrogel lenses

Switch to a thicker hydrogel lens

Continue as before and review in 1 year

Change to an overnight wearing schedule

Free DHA Optometrist mock test

12 original exam-style questions from our Optometrist bank, timed at the exam’s own pace, scored against the 55% DHA pass mark. They span 7 of the 9 blueprint domains, so you will see exactly where you are weakest - free, no sign-up.

Free diagnosticNo sign-up · no email · results instantly

Sit 12 original exam-style questions at real exam pace

These are 12 original questions taken from our Optometrist bank, spread across 7 of the 9 domains of the published blueprint. You get 72 seconds per question, which is exactly the pace of the real OPT5581 exam (14 minutes for 12). At the end you will see which domains you are weakest in, and the full worked reasoning for every question.

12: questions
14:24: time limit
55%: DHA pass mark

A short diagnostic cannot predict whether you will pass - only the real exam does that. It will show you, honestly, where you currently stand.

What the real Optometrist licensing exam looks like

Candidates for a Optometrist licence in the UAE sit a computer-based multiple-choice examination - DHA exam code OPT5581, delivered through Prometric for DHA, MOHAP and SHA, and through Pearson VUE for DOH Abu Dhabi. The DHA pass mark is 55% (DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026); other authorities set their own, so confirm yours before booking. The result is reported to you as pass or fail only - your score is never released.

Pass marks at a glance: DHA exam codes and pass marks for all written exams in one sourced table.

The paper is built to a published blueprint, which is why a domain-by-domain diagnostic is more useful than a raw percentage. Your questions above were drawn from across Anterior Segment Disease, Binocular Vision and Orthoptics, Ocular Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Paediatric Optometry and Low Vision and 3 more - the same areas the real paper weights.

Before you can book the exam at all you need Dataflow primary source verification of your degree, licence and experience, which typically runs several weeks. Candidates routinely underestimate this and end up sitting the exam sooner after study than they planned. Check where you stand with our free eligibility checker or confirm whether your title even requires an exam using the Prometric exam checker.

You get three attempts in total across all UAE authorities - not three each - under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements. At roughly AED 880 per attempt, plus the licensing delay each failure adds to your visa and start date, the cost of going in underprepared is not really the exam fee.

What is on the Optometrist exam: the full blueprint

The published blueprint splits into 9 domains and 61 testable sub-topics. The diagnostic above samples across them, which is why its breakdown maps onto the structure the real paper is built from.

Refraction and Clinical Optics~18%8 topics
Binocular Vision and Orthoptics~12%7 topics
Ocular Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology~10%6 topics
Anterior Segment Disease~14%8 topics
Posterior Segment and Neuro-ophthalmology~14%8 topics
Glaucoma~8%6 topics
Contact Lenses~10%7 topics
Paediatric Optometry and Low Vision~8%6 topics
Professional Practice, Ethics and Infection Control~6%5 topics

Questions: 150 multiple-choice (DHA OPT5581)
Duration: 3 hours, including registration
DHA pass mark: 55% - reported as pass or fail only

Figures for the DHA exam, from the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP, NHRA and OMSB set their own length, timing and pass mark. See the DHA exam guide and pass marks for every DHA exam.

A worked Optometrist exam question

Every question in the diagnostic and in the paid bank is written to this standard: a clinical stem, four plausible options and the reasoning for the answer, with its source.

Anterior Segment Disease

A young man has bilateral itchy, watery eyes with mild lid swelling every spring. There are fine papillae on the upper tarsal conjunctiva and the cornea is clear. What is the most appropriate treatment?

ATopical antibiotic drops
BTopical antiviral ointment
CTopical antihistamine dropsCorrect
DOral corticosteroids

Why: Itching is the key symptom of allergic conjunctivitis, and seasonal recurrence with papillae supports the diagnosis. A topical antihistamine, or a mast cell stabiliser or combined agent, along with allergen avoidance, is first-line treatment. Antibiotics and antivirals have no role.

Source: College of Optometrists Clinical Management Guidelines: Conjunctivitis (Seasonal and Perennial Allergic)

Optometrist sample questions with answers

4 more original exam-style Optometrist questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the diagnostic above, so sit that first if you have not.

Question 1 · Anterior Segment Disease
A patient has a red, watery eye with reduced corneal sensation. Fluorescein shows a branching epithelial lesion with terminal bulbs. Which treatment should be avoided?
1. ATopical antiviral treatment
2. BCycloplegic drops for comfort
3. CReferral to ophthalmology
4. DTopical corticosteroid drops
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Topical corticosteroid drops
A dendritic ulcer with terminal bulbs and reduced sensation is typical of herpes simplex epithelial keratitis. Topical steroids promote viral replication and can produce an enlarging geographic ulcer, so they must be avoided. Topical antivirals such as aciclovir ointment or ganciclovir gel are used.
Reference: College of Optometrists Clinical Management Guidelines: Herpes Simplex Keratitis
Question 2 · Contact Lenses
A trial soft toric lens with axis 180 is fitted for a prescription of -2.00 / -1.00 x 180. The orientation mark settles 10 degrees to the examiner's left and is stable. What axis should be ordered?
1. A170
2. B180
3. C10
4. D20
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. 10
Using the rule left add, right subtract (LARS), as viewed by the examiner, a 10 degree rotation to the left means 10 is added to the axis: 180 + 10 = 190, written as 10. Ordering 170 would double the error. The lens should be stable before the adjustment is made.
Reference: Efron, Contact Lens Practice, 3rd ed.
Question 3 · Glaucoma
A 30-year-old myopic man has vertical brown pigment on the corneal endothelium, slit-like iris transillumination defects in the mid-periphery and an IOP of 26 mmHg. What is the most likely diagnosis?
1. APseudoexfoliation syndrome
2. BPigment dispersion syndrome
3. CIris melanoma
4. DFuchs endothelial dystrophy
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Pigment dispersion syndrome
Pigment dispersion syndrome typically affects young myopic men, with a Krukenberg spindle, mid-peripheral radial iris transillumination defects and heavy trabecular pigment, and it can cause raised IOP. Pseudoexfoliation occurs in older people with flaky material on the lens capsule. Fuchs dystrophy causes guttae rather than a pigment spindle.
Reference: Kanski's Clinical Ophthalmology, 9th ed.
Question 4 · Contact Lenses
A long-term wearer of low-Dk hydrogel lenses has superficial corneal vessels extending 2 mm into the clear cornea all around the limbus. What is the most appropriate change?
1. ARefit with silicone hydrogel lenses
2. BSwitch to a thicker hydrogel lens
3. CContinue as before and review in 1 year
4. DChange to an overnight wearing schedule
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Refit with silicone hydrogel lenses
Limbal vessels growing into the cornea suggest chronic hypoxia. Refitting with high-transmissibility silicone hydrogel lenses and reducing wearing time remove the stimulus and empty the vessels. Thicker lenses and overnight wear reduce oxygen further.
Reference: Efron, Contact Lens Complications, 4th ed.

Last reviewed September 2026. About these questions: every item is original, written to the published blueprint, with a rationale and a reference, and no recalled or leaked exam content is used. How we write our questions.

How to use this diagnostic properly

1Sit it cold, once. Do not look anything up. A diagnostic you help yourself through tells you nothing. The number you get is only useful if it is honest.
2Read every rationale - especially the ones you got right. Getting a question right by elimination is not the same as knowing it. The worked reasoning is free above, whether or not you buy anything.
3Work weakest domain first. The breakdown orders your domains worst-first for exactly this reason. Studying what you are already good at feels productive and moves nothing.
4Re-sit under full exam conditions later. The real paper is far longer than this and stamina matters. Full-length timed papers are what the paid bank is for.

Frequently asked questions

Is this Optometrist mock exam really free?

Yes. All 12 questions, your score, the domain breakdown and the full worked answers are free, with no sign-up and no email required. The paid bank is a separate, much larger set of 450 questions.

Are these real Optometrist exam questions?

No. They are original questions written to the official Optometrist blueprint and drawn from our full bank - not leaked or recalled items, which would breach exam security and are frequently out of date. They follow the exam's format and domain weighting.

What is the pass mark for the Optometrist exam?

55% for the DHA Optometrist exam (OPT5581), as published in the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. Other authorities set their own pass marks, so confirm yours before booking. DHA reports only pass or fail - your actual score is never released to you, which is why a diagnostic like this is useful for seeing where you stand.

Does passing this mock mean I will pass the real exam?

No, and we will not claim otherwise. 12 questions cannot predict a full-length paper. What it does reliably show is which blueprint domains you are currently weakest in.

How many attempts do I get at the real exam?

Three in total across all UAE authorities under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements - not three per authority. Each attempt costs roughly AED 880.

What topics does the Optometrist exam cover?

The published blueprint splits into 9 domains covering 61 testable sub-topics: Refraction and Clinical Optics, Binocular Vision and Orthoptics, Ocular Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Anterior Segment Disease, Posterior Segment and Neuro-ophthalmology, Glaucoma, Contact Lenses, Paediatric Optometry and Low Vision, Professional Practice, Ethics and Infection Control. The full weighting table is on this page.

How long is the Optometrist exam and how many questions?

The DHA Optometrist exam (OPT5581) is 150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours, including registration and the introduction, as published in the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. Other authorities set their own length and timing, so confirm theirs in the current candidate bulletin.

Do I need to create an account to take this mock exam?

No. There is no sign-up, no email capture and no payment. The questions, your score, the domain breakdown and the full worked answers are all free, and nothing is held back behind a form.