Pupillary Distance is the distance between the center of one pupil (the central black dot of your eye) to the center of the other pupil. Measured in millimeters, PD is important as it helps the laboratory technician to accurately create your eyeglasses frames by lining up your pupil with the center of the lens. As for obtaining your PD measurement, eye doctors are generally not legally obligated to give you this as it’s technically not part of the eye test itself, but something measured for the purpose of creating eyeglasses frames.

So if for some reason you can’t obtain the PD measurement from your optometrist, you have the option of measuring it yourself:

Step 1

Stand 20cm in front of a mirror (or with a friend facing you), and place a millimeter ruler on the bridge of your nose so that the ruler’s ‘0’ measurement is exactly in line with the center of your left pupil. Keep the ruler straight.

Step 2

Read the measurement in the mirror’s reflection (or let your friend read it) between the left pupil and the right pupil while you look straight ahead.

Step 3

Repeat this a few times for accuracy.

Your final option is simply to use an average PD measurement, which is the least accurate method. Most adults have a PD distance ranging between 57-65mm. For single vision lenses, adults have an average pupillary distance of 62mm. In the event that you cannot obtain your own pupillary distance from your optician or measure it yourself, it’s satisfactory to use this average PD measurement, but please remember that this is the least accurate option.

For those requiring bifocal or progressive lenses, we strongly recommend you get this information directly from your optician. After you receive your PD from the optician, you may notice there are two different values. If you have the numbers ‘65/60’ for example, the first PD is usually for distance vision and the second number is for near vision or reading.