What Is & How To Obtain Your Pupillary Distance?

What Is My Pupillary Distance?


What is Pupillary Distance (PD)?

Your Pupillary Distance is the distance between the centre of one pupil to the centre of the other pupil (the blacks of your eyes) measured in millimetres.

It is usually written as one value (e.g. 66mm) but sometimes written as two values.

We encourage you to ask your optician for your PD measurement. However, if you do not have a PD value on your prescription do not worry, you can measure it manually or by using our high precision online tool.


How to measure your Pupillary Distance (PD)?

Method 1

Measure your PD online

Simply visit our online tool (you need to be logged in) on a device that has a webcam/camera. You can use your phone, tablet or your computer. When you load the tool, it will run you through some basic instructions, and with a quick image, you will receive your PD measurement accurate to 0.5 mm.

You can then supply us with this value via email (or our online prescription form) if we require it to make up your glasses.


Method 2

Measure your PD manually

The pupillary distance can be easily measured by looking in a mirror and using a ruler! Please follow these steps:

Stand in front of a mirror at a distance of about 20cm (8 inches)

Close your right eye

Place your ruler flat against the mirror and align it horizontally with the millimetre scale pointing upwards

Looking over the top of the ruler with your left eye, align the zero mark of the ruler in the centre of your left pupil 

Now open your right eye and close your left but keep your head still and the ruler in the same position

Read the millimetre measurement corresponding to the centre of your right pupil

To be sure, you can repeat this process a few times for consistency

We can send you a custom-made PD ruler to help you measure your PD if this is helpful.


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