We describe a coupling correction scheme we have developed and used to successfully reduce the vertical emittance of the NSLS X‐ray ring by a factor of 6 to below 2A˚. This gives a vertical to horizontal emittance ratio of less than 0.2%. We find the strengths of 17 skew quadrupoles to simultaneously minimize the vertical dispersion and the coupling. As a measure of coupling we utilize the shift in vertical closed orbit resulting from a change in strength of a horizontal steering magnet. Experimental measurements confirm the reduced emittance. © 1994 American Institute of Physics