Wales raises NHS optical voucher values from April 2025

If you live in Wales and pay for glasses or contact lenses, there’s a quiet but important update. Welsh Ministers have signed new rules that refresh how NHS optical vouchers are valued and redeemed, so you know what support you can count on when you’re at the optician. These changes update the long‑standing 1997 regulations and are specifically for Wales.

Here are the dates to hold onto. The Regulations were made on 21 October 2025, laid before the Senedd on 23 October 2025, and come into force on 11 November 2025. Crucially, the changes take effect from 1 April 2025, so values and rules in this explainer apply from that date.

Let’s sort eligibility first. In Wales, you can get an NHS optical voucher if you’re under 16, under 19 in full‑time education, a looked‑after child, prescribed a complex appliance, a prisoner on leave, on certain means‑tested benefits, a dependant under 20 of someone receiving those benefits, or you have a low income and qualify through the NHS Low Income Scheme (HC2W/HC3W). The Welsh Government sets this out clearly and it’s your best reference point when checking your status.

What the voucher covers is a fixed amount set by your prescription. From 1 April 2025 in Wales, single‑vision codes range from voucher 1 at £22.37 through to voucher 5 at £383.41. Multifocal codes run from voucher 6 at £40.68 to voucher 10 at £539.01. There are also hospital eye service vouchers: voucher 11 at £539.01 and voucher 12 at £57.97 per contact lens. Your optician matches the code to your prescription and you pay any difference if your chosen frames or lenses cost more than the voucher value.

What changed this year? Ministers have uprated the add‑on amounts paid for certain clinical needs. That includes supplements for prisms and for tints or photochromic lenses, along with the ‘small glasses’ and children’s non‑stock lens supplements. The increases are modest-around four percent-so the help better reflects 2025 prices without rewriting the scheme. If your prescription needs these extras, your optician will add the supplement to your voucher claim. These updates are made in the 2025 amending Regulations.

You’ll also notice tweaks to complex lens vouchers-the small top‑ups for people with very strong prescriptions who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for a full voucher. The Welsh rules confirm an uplift for both single‑vision and other complex appliances, applied from 1 April 2025. Ask your optician whether a complex voucher applies alongside your prescription; if it does, it’s added to your claim automatically.

There’s a transition rule to avoid confusion at the counter. If you were issued a voucher between 21 October 2024 and 31 March 2025 but didn’t use it before 1 April 2025, that voucher keeps the older face value. New values apply to vouchers issued on or after 1 April 2025. So if you’ve got an older, unused voucher in a drawer, don’t expect it to inflate when you redeem it later. Check the issue date on the form and ask the practice to confirm the value before you choose frames.

How to use a voucher is straightforward. Bring proof of eligibility-this could be your benefits letter, an HC2W or HC3W certificate, or proof of age and full‑time study-and the practice will complete the voucher details with your prescription. If the practice doesn’t accept vouchers or you need to pay first, you can claim a refund up to the voucher value using the HC5W(O) form. Keep your receipt and prescription; the Welsh Government site explains the steps and where to send the form.

A quick note on free sight tests versus vouchers. Many people in Wales, including everyone aged 60 and over and those with certain clinical risks, are entitled to a free NHS sight test but may not automatically qualify for a voucher toward glasses. Think of it as two parts: the eye examination and the optical appliance. Check both your test entitlement and your voucher eligibility before booking so there are no surprises when you collect your glasses.

This is a Wales‑only explainer. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland run similar schemes but with different values and, in England’s case, voucher amounts that were frozen at 2024 levels for 2025. If you study or work across borders, always check the right nation’s rules before you buy.

Teachers and students often ask what to do if costs run ahead of the voucher. You can choose any frames or lenses; the voucher acts as a discount. Many practices stock ranges priced at the voucher level, and others will let you top up. If money is tight, ask about frames available within your code and whether any charity or local schemes can help alongside the NHS support. Your local health board or student services can point you to extra advice.

Finally, a small piece of policy context. Wales updated how voucher codes are described in 2023 and expanded eligibility to include prisoners on leave; this year’s instrument focuses on uprating the values and keeping the scheme current. For classroom discussion, it’s a useful case study in how health entitlements are adjusted by regulation rather than by headline law.