Obtaining Your PD Measurement

Your pupillary distance measurement, or "PD", is essential when ordering prescription lenses. It refers to the distance in millimeters between the center of one pupil to the center of the other. Having a correct PD measurement ensures that you are looking through the best point in your lenses. 

Here are some ways you can obtain your PD measurement:

  1. With your eye exam : ask your Eye Care Professional to take this measurement during the course of your eye exam.
  2. Without an eye exam : visit your local Eye Care Professional and request they take this measurement for you. Please note: some will charge a small fee for this service*.
  3. Measure your PD yourself. 

    Here are the basic steps for measuring your PD if you don't currently wear glasses. All you need is a millimeter ruler and a mirror.

    An essential aspect of Proper Glasses, your Pupillary Distance

    1. Stand in front of a mirror (about 12 inches away).
    2. Hold a millimeter ruler horizontally, just above your eyes and flat against your eyebrows. 
    3. Close your right eye.
    4. With your left eye, align the ruler’s zero mark to the center of the pupil of your left eye.
    5. Without moving the ruler, close your left eye and open your right eye.
    6. Find the millimeter mark on the ruler that is aligned with the center of the pupil of your right eye. Record this measurement. This is your distance binocular PD (also known as single PD).

    Here are the basic steps for measuring your PD if you already wear prescription glasses. All you need is a millimeter ruler, a mirror, and a felt tipped permanent marker.

      1. Wearing your glasses, stand in front of a mirror (about 12 inches away).
      2. Close your right eye.
      3. Using just your left eye, put a small mark on the left lens of your glasses, directly in front of your pupil.
      4. Without moving your head, close your left eye and open your right eye.
      5. Using just your right eye, put a small mark on the right lens of your glasses, directly in front of that pupil.
      6. Take off your glasses and measure the distance between the two dots on your glasses. This is your distance binocular PD (also known as single PD). **

       

      *Note: If you're getting your PD measured by someone who is not your doctor, they are allowed to charge you. If you're requesting previously taken measurements from your doctor's office, they are not allowed to charge you as this is part of the records you paid for when you got your exam. For more information on this, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an Eyeglass Rule, which describes what information you are entitled to and how doctors are to comply with the rule.

      **Source: Introduction to Pupillary Distance with Facts and Insights - MIRA Measure Blog