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Hawaii Pharmacist — Requirements & Free Practice

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Pharmacist License

License to practice pharmacy in Hawaii as a registered pharmacist under HRS chapter 461.

Licensing authority: Hawaii State Board of Pharmacy, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · Application information

Licensure by examination (graduate of an ACPE accredited or candidate status college of pharmacy)

All of the following:

Age
At least 18 years of age (HRS §461-5(a)(1)); the application also requires U.S. citizenship, U.S. nationality, or authorization to work in the United States.
Application
Application for Exam and License - Pharmacist with the $50 non-refundable application fee; licensure requirements must be completed within the application retention periods stated by the Board.
Education
Degree from a school or college of pharmacy accredited by, or holding candidate status with, ACPE (HRS §461-5(a)(2); HAR §16-95-22(b)(2)); a certified transcript is sent directly by the school (HAR §16-95-33(a)).
Exam Scores
NAPLEX and Hawaii MPJE each passed with a minimum score of 75 (HAR §16-95-22(c)(2); application item 3).
License History
No encumbered license, pending disciplinary action or unresolved complaint in any state, or full information about any such matter (HRS §461-5(a)(5)); verification of any other state license.
Practical Experience
At least 1,500 hours of practical experience under a licensed pharmacist in the United States, acquired after the first year of pharmacy school (HRS §461-5(a)(3); HAR §16-95-34); the examinations may be taken before the hours are completed, but no license issues until they are.
Prior Examination
HAR §16-95-22(c)(2) also accepts passage of the NABPLEX, which HAR §16-95-2 defines as the examination now known as the NAPLEX.
Score Transfer
An applicant who takes the NAPLEX in another state through the NABP Score Transfer Program files the Hawaii application no later than ninety days after the examination and has the score report sent to the Board (HRS §461-6(b); HAR §16-95-22(d)).
Licensure by examination for graduates of a school or college of pharmacy outside the United States (FPGEC certification)

All of the following:

Education
Graduate of a school or college of pharmacy outside the United States not recognized by the Board as accredited; verification of academic record and graduation (HRS §461-5(b); HAR §16-95-33(b)).
English Proficiency
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) passed (HAR §16-95-22(e)(2)); the application states minimum TOEFL scores of 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based and a Test of Spoken English (TSE) minimum of 50.
Exam Scores
FPGEE, NAPLEX and Hawaii MPJE each passed with a minimum score of 75.
Fpgec
Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification obtained before applying; a copy is attached to the application.
Other Requirements
All other requirements of licensure by examination (age, license history, application and fees) apply (HAR §16-95-22(a)-(d)).
Practical Experience
At least 1,500 hours of practical experience in the United States; experience gained outside the United States is not credited.
Licensure by reciprocity or NABP licensure transfer (pharmacist licensed in another U.S. state or territory)

All of the following:

Jurisprudence Exam
All applicants must take and pass the Hawaii MPJE with a minimum score of 75; an MPJE taken for another state is not valid (application item 3.c; HRS §461-8.5(a) limits examination of these licensees to knowledge of Hawaii statutes and rules).
License
Current valid pharmacist license in another U.S. state or territory with qualifications equal to or exceeding Hawaii's, granted on standards at least equivalent to HRS §§461-5 and 461-6 at the time (HRS §461-8.5(a)(1), (b)).
License History
No pending disciplinary action or unresolved complaint; full information about any encumbered license (HRS §461-8.5(a)(3)-(4)).
Nabp Transfer
Official NABP licensure transfer application filed within ninety days of its issuance by NABP (HAR §16-95-22.5(a)(4)).
Non Equivalent Standards
An applicant unable to show licensure on standards at least equal to HRS §§461-5 and 461-6 may be issued a temporary license while fulfilling Hawaii requirements (HRS §461-8.5(c)).
Practice Hours
Practice as a registered pharmacist for 1,500 hours or more within the five years preceding the application (HRS §461-8.5(a)(2); HAR §16-95-22.5(a)(3)).
Prior National Examination
The application requires a NAPLEX converted score of 75 for licenses obtained on or after May 12, 1986; for licenses obtained on or after June 22, 1976 and before May 12, 1986 it accepts a NABPLEX general average of 70 (HAR §16-95-2: NABPLEX is now known as the NAPLEX); for licenses obtained before June 22, 1976 it accepts the licensing state's own pharmacist examination with a general average of at least 70.
Reciprocal Treatment
The other state must grant reciprocal treatment to Hawaii licensees (HRS §461-8.5(a)(5); HAR §16-95-22.5(b)); the application notes that California and Florida do not reciprocate.
Licensure by reciprocity or licensure transfer for foreign educated pharmacists licensed in another U.S. state or territory

All of the following:

English Proficiency
For a license obtained before December 24, 1992: TOEFL minimum 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based, or TSE minimum 50, if the official language of the country of education was not English; for a license obtained on or after December 24, 1992: both TOEFL (550 paper-based or 213 computer-based) and TSE (50).
Fpgee Score
FPGEE minimum passing converted score of 75, verified by the Board with NABP.
Jurisprudence Exam
All applicants must take and pass the Hawaii MPJE with a minimum score of 75; an MPJE taken for another state is not valid.
License
Pharmacist license in another U.S. state or territory held by a graduate of a pharmacy school outside the United States; all reciprocity conditions of HRS §461-8.5 and HAR §16-95-22.5 apply.
Naplex Score
Passing NAPLEX score sent directly to the Board through the NABP Score Transfer Program.
Practical Experience
1,500 hours of practical experience; experience gained outside the United States is not credited.
Transcript
Official transcript sent directly from the foreign pharmacy college to the Board.
Biennial renewal of a pharmacist license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
Thirty credit hours of ACPE-approved continuing education in the two-year period preceding renewal, with the first-renewal exemption for recent graduates (HRS §461-8(d)); certification under oath and possible audit (HRS §461-8(g)-(h)).
Deadline
Renewal application and fees on or before December 31 of each odd-numbered year (HRS §461-8(a); HAR §16-95-71); failure to renew forfeits the license (HAR §16-95-72).
Inactive Practice
If the pharmacist has not practiced within the past five years, the Board may require additional requirements specified in rules adopted under chapter 91 (HRS §461-8(c)).
Vaccine And Contraceptive Training
Pharmacists who administer vaccines or prescribe contraceptive supplies complete the Board-approved training within every other biennial renewal period (HRS §461-8(e)-(f)).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-08-30.

Restoration of a forfeited pharmacist license within the first year of forfeiture
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Restoration application on the Board form (HAR §16-95-73(a)(1)(A)).
Board Discretion
The Board may deny restoration if the holder engaged in activities identified in HRS §436B-19 or §461-21 while the license was forfeited (HAR §16-95-73(c)).
Continuing Education
Compliance with the HRS §461-8 continuing education requirement (HAR §16-95-73(a)(1)(C)).
Fees
Penalty, current biennial and renewal fees (HAR §16-95-73(a)(1)(B)).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-08-30.

Restoration of a forfeited pharmacist license within the second or third year of forfeiture
Hawaii Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE) (practice unavailable)
After Three Years
A person who does not restore within three years must apply as a new applicant (HAR §16-95-73(d)).
Application
Restoration application on the Board form (HAR §16-95-73(a)(2)(A)).
Continuing Education
Compliance with the HRS §461-8 continuing education requirement (HAR §16-95-73(a)(2)(F)).
Employment
Employer statement (or self-employment attestation) of at least 1,500 hours as a licensed pharmacist within the five years preceding the application (HAR §16-95-73(a)(2)(B)).
Fees
Penalty, current biennial and renewal fees (HAR §16-95-73(a)(2)(E)).
Other Licenses
Statement from each other state or territory licensing official on the status of any license held (HAR §16-95-73(a)(2)(C)).

Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination

Provider
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
Format
Computerized fixed form
Exam questions
200 questions
Time limit
4.5 hours examination time; 5.5 hours total seat time
Passing score
Scaled score of 75
Examination outline
  • Foundational Biomedical Sciences (12%)
    • Anatomy and physiology
    • Biochemistry
    • Medical microbiology
    • Immunology
    • Pathophysiological bases of diseases
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences (31%)
    • Pharmaceutical calculations (eg, dose adjustments, delivery, ionization, ionic strength, isotonicity, ratio/percentage strength, osmolarity)
    • Medicinal chemistry
    • Medicinal chemistry: Physicochemical properties of drugs in relation to drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME)
    • Medicinal chemistry: Pathways of drug metabolism
    • Medicinal chemistry: Chemical bases for drug action, including bioorganic chemistry, structure-activity relationships, and fundamental pharmacophores related to drug-receptor interactions
    • Medicinal chemistry: Applicability to making drug therapy decisions
    • Pharmacology and toxicology
    • Pharmacology and toxicology: Pharmacodynamics, including drug-receptor interactions, agonists, antagonists, inverse agonists, and dose-response curves
    • Pharmacology and toxicology: Mechanisms of action of drugs, including biologics
    • Pharmacology and toxicology: Adverse effects and side effects of drugs
    • Pharmacology and toxicology: Mechanisms of drug interactions, including drug-drug, drug-disease, drug-food, drug-allergy, and drug-laboratory interactions
    • Pharmacology and toxicology: Mechanisms of acute and chronic toxic effects of xenobiotics, including drug and chemical overdose or exposure and antidotes
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Dosage form development and drug delivery systems such as immediate release, sustained release, and controlled release
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Disintegration and dissolution of solid oral dosage forms
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Physicochemical properties of drugs, excipients, solutions, and dosage forms
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Physical stability, chemical stability, and shelf-lives, including zero-, first-, second-, and pseudo-order reactions
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Interactions between drug formulation and biological effects
    • Pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics: Drug product manufacturing, including methods, processing, and quality assurance
    • Pharmacokinetics
    • Pharmacokinetics: Determining rates of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of drugs
    • Pharmacokinetics: Factors affecting rates of ADME, including age, sex, genetics, diet, disease, and drug interactions
    • Pharmacokinetics: Biological half-lives of drugs and related dosing
    • Pharmacokinetics: Compartment models (one-, two-, and non-)
    • Pharmacokinetics: Linear and nonlinear pharmacokinetics
    • Pharmacokinetics: Principles of bioavailability, bioequivalence, and biosimilars
    • Pharmacogenomics (eg, population-based genetic influences on drug metabolism and efficacy, genetic testing, tumor genotyping, pharmacogenetic screening)
    • Extemporaneous compounding (eg, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards including Chapters <795>, <797>, and <800>; dosage form preparation calculations; techniques used to prepare and dispense sterile and nonsterile preparations)
  • Social, Behavioral, and Administrative Sciences (20%)
    • Pharmacy law and ethics
    • Pharmacy law and ethics: Laws and regulations governing pharmacy
    • Pharmacy law and ethics: Regulatory, oversight, and professional organizations
    • Pharmacy law and ethics: Principles and application of biomedical ethics
    • Health care systems
    • Health care systems: Organization, regulation, and financing of health care delivery in the United States
    • Health care systems: Factors that influence delivery and use of health care (eg, social, political, economic, and technological)
    • Pharmacoeconomics (eg, analysis, interpretation, application, humanistic outcomes)
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health: Data sources and analytic tools
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health: Application of epidemiological study design
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health: Health promotion, disease prevention, and infection control
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health: Continuous quality improvement
    • Population-based care, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health: Social determinants and drivers of health
    • Practice management
    • Practice management: Financial management and budgeting
    • Practice management: Personnel management
    • Practice management: Business and strategic planning
    • Practice management: Risk management
    • Practice management: Procurement and inventory control
    • Professional communication
    • Professional communication: Verbal, nonverbal, written, and technology-based communication with patients, caregivers, providers, and stakeholders
    • Professional communication: Health literacy
    • Biostatistics and research methods (eg, study design, statistical tests, data collection instruments, research ethics)
    • Social and behavioral aspects of practice
    • Social and behavioral aspects of practice: Patient behavior including health-, illness-, and sick-role
    • Social and behavioral aspects of practice: Principles of behavior modification
    • Social and behavioral aspects of practice: Patient adherence
    • Social and behavioral aspects of practice: Cultural awareness
  • Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Sciences (37%)
    • Clinical pathophysiology as it applies to treatment of disease processes
    • Data collection (eg, patient history, physical assessments, laboratory values, point-of-care testing)
    • Data assessment (eg, clinical calculations, interpretation of data, diagnosing)
    • Patient-care decision making, therapy recommendations, and education (eg, plan, implement, monitor, follow-up)
    • Patient safety (eg, drug interactions, toxicity, drug-induced disease, drug use disorders)
    • Disease prevention (eg, screenings, immunization, non-pharmacological therapies, lifestyle modifications)
    • Personalized medicine (eg, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenetics)
    • Evidence-based practice
    • Evidence-based practice: Practice guidelines
    • Evidence-based practice: Drug information and evaluation
    • Evidence-based practice: Information source reliability
    • Evidence-based practice: Clinical trial evaluation
    • Self-care, including using natural products
Examination sources

Hawaii Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE)

Provider
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (scheduled with Pearson)
Format
Computer-based adaptive examination with selected-response questions
Exam questions
120
Time limit
2.5 hours
Passing score
Hawaii requires a score of at least 75; results are reported as pass or fail
Examination outline
  • Area 1 — Licensure/Personnel (22%)
    • 1.1 – Responsibilities of the pharmacist and non-pharmacist personnel
    • Qualifications, scope of duties, limitations, and restrictions of duties, or conditions to practice for pharmacists-in-charge (or equivalent) and pharmacists
    • Qualifications, scope of duties, limitations, and restrictions of duties, or conditions to practice for non-pharmacist personnel
    • 1.2 – Licensures, registrations, and certifications for pharmacists or non-pharmacist personnel
    • Qualifications, examinations, internships, maintaining pharmacist competency, and renewals of licensures, registrations, or certifications
    • Classifications and processes of disciplinary actions
    • Reporting to and participating in programs addressing the inability to practice with reasonable skill and safety
  • Area 2 — Pharmacist Practice (33%)
    • 2.1 – Requirements for issuing prescriptions/drug orders
    • Requirements for drug uses, limitations, or restrictions
    • Scope of authority, scope of practice, limitations or restrictions of practice, and valid registration of practitioners who are authorized to prescribe, dispense, or administer drugs
    • Requirements for issuing non-controlled prescriptions/drug orders
    • Requirements for issuing controlled prescriptions/drug orders
    • Authority limitations of practitioners’ ability to authorize refills
    • 2.2 – Conditions under which the pharmacist or non-pharmacist personnel participates in the administration of drugs in the management of patients’ therapy
    • 2.3 – Requirements regarding counseling
    • Counseling or offering to counsel
    • Documenting counseling or documenting offering to counsel
    • 2.4 – Returning or reusing drugs
    • 2.5 – Regulations and agencies regarding pharmacy practice
    • Requirements for promoting quality and safety of public health
    • Protecting patient and health record confidentiality
  • Area 3 — Dispensing Requirements (24%)
    • 3.1 – Responsibilities for determining whether prescriptions/drug orders are issued for a legitimate medical purpose, and within all applicable restrictions
    • 3.2 – Transferring prescription/drug order information between pharmacies by authorized personnel
    • 3.3 – Prospective drug utilization reviews
    • Requirements for reporting to PMP and accessing PMP data
    • 3.4 – Exceptions to dispensing or refilling prescriptions/drug orders
    • 3.5 – Labeling of dispensed drugs
    • 3.6 – Packaging of dispensed drugs
    • 3.7 – Drug product conditions prohibiting dispensing
    • 3.8 – Requirements for the distribution and/or dispensing of non-prescription pharmaceutical products, including controlled substances and hazardous drugs
    • Dispensing or administration
    • Labeling of non-prescription drugs and devices
    • Packaging and repackaging of non-prescription drugs and behind-the-counter products
    • Dispensing-restricted, non-prescription drugs
  • Area 4 — Pharmacy Operations (21%)
    • 4.1 – Ordering, acquisition, and distribution of drugs, including maintenance and content of such records
    • Ordering and acquisition, including the maintenance and content of such records
    • Distribution, including the maintenance and content of such records
    • 4.2 – Recordkeeping in compliance with legal requirements, including content, inventory, maintenance, storage, handling, and reporting
    • Non-dispensing requirements for operations of pharmacies or practice settings
    • Possession, storage, and handling of non-hazardous drugs
    • Training, possession, handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous drugs
    • Allowing non-pharmacist personnel access to drugs
    • Requirements for conducting controlled substance inventories
    • 4.3 – Delivery of drugs
    • 4.4 – Conditions for permitted or mandated product selection
    • 4.5 – Compounding sterile, nonsterile, hazardous, and non-hazardous preparations
    • 4.6 – Centralized prescription processing or central-fill pharmacy dispensing
    • 4.7 – Requirements for the registration, licensure, certification, or permitting of a practice setting or business entity
    • Requirements for registration, license, certification, or permitting of a practice setting
    • Requirements for the renewal or reinstatement of a license, registration, certificate, or permit of a practice setting
    • Requirements for an inspection of a licensed, registered, certified, or permitted practice setting
    • Classifications and processes of disciplinary actions that may be taken against a registered, licensed, certified, or permitted practice setting
Examination sources

North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination

Provider
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
Format
Computerized fixed form
Exam questions
225 questions
Time limit
6 hours
Passing score
Pass or Fail
Examination outline
  • Foundational Knowledge for Pharmacy Practice (25%)
    • Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts
    • Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmacology
    • Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, or pharmacogenomics
    • Pharmaceutical science principles and concepts: Pharmaceutics
    • Pharmaceutical compounding
    • Pharmaceutical compounding: Nonsterile preparations
    • Pharmaceutical compounding: Sterile preparations
    • Pharmaceutical calculations
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Patient parameters or laboratory measures
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Quantities of drugs to be dispensed or administered
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Rates of administration
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Dose conversions
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Drug concentrations, ratio strengths, osmolarity, or osmolality
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Quantities of drugs or ingredients to be compounded
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Nutritional needs and the content of nutrient sources
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Biostatistical, epidemiological, or pharmacoeconomic measures
    • Pharmaceutical calculations: Pharmacokinetic parameters
    • Drug development processes (eg, clinical trial phases, emergency use authorizations)
    • Research design principles and biostatistics (eg, blinding, randomization, biases, statistical tests and outcomes, ethics)
    • Retrieval, assessment, and interpretation of primary, secondary, and tertiary resources
  • Medication Use Process (Prescribing, Transcribing and Documenting, Dispensing, Administering, and Monitoring) (25%)
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Drug names and therapeutic classes
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Indications, usage, and dosing regimens
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Available dosage forms
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Prescription regulations (eg, boxed warnings, risk evaluation and mitigation strategies)
    • Prescriptions and medication order interpretation: Safety and effectiveness (eg, laboratory parameters, vital signs)
    • Therapeutic substitutions (eg, formulary restrictions, therapeutic alternatives, shortages, biosimilars)
    • Immunization services and documentation
    • Immunization services and documentation: Indications and scheduling
    • Immunization services and documentation: Contraindications and precautions
    • Immunization services and documentation: Storage and handling
    • Immunization services and documentation: Administration (eg, techniques, preparation, routes)
    • Immunization services and documentation: Adverse reactions
    • Medication handling, storage, stability, and disposal (eg, hazardous and nonhazardous drugs, controlled substances, parenteral medications, sharps handling, temperature control)
  • Person-Centered Assessment and Treatment Planning (40%)
    • Medication history, allergy history, and reconciliation
    • Health histories, screenings, and assessments
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Signs, symptoms, and findings of medical conditions, etiology of diseases, or pathophysiology
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Appropriateness of therapy (eg, medications, immunizations, non-drug therapy, dosing, contraindications, warnings, evidence-based decision making)
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Interactions (eg, drug-drug, drug-condition, drug-food, drug-allergy, drug-laboratory)
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Errors and omissions (eg, dosing, duplication, additional therapy needed, unnecessary therapy)
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Adverse drug reactions
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Toxicologic exposures and overdoses
    • Patient health conditions, including special populations and medication-related factors: Adherence
    • Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications
    • Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Therapeutic goals, clinical endpoints, and follow-up
    • Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Safety
    • Therapeutic monitoring, plan development, evaluation, and modifications: Effectiveness
    • Patient education
    • Patient education: Lifestyle modifications and health maintenance
    • Patient education: Medication use, storage, and disposal
    • Patient education: Disease state management
    • Over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements
    • Devices to administer medications and self-monitoring tests
  • Professional Practice (5%)
    • Adverse drug event reporting and medication error reporting (eg, MedWatch, VAERS)
    • Public health initiatives and risk-prevention programs (eg, tobacco and nicotine cessation, antimicrobial stewardship, health screenings, opioid stewardship)
    • Social determinants and drivers of health
    • Ethical considerations (eg, informed consent, ethical principles, professional conduct and responsibility, patient confidentiality)
  • Pharmacy Management and Leadership (5%)
    • Pharmacy operations (eg, operational planning, risk management, regulations and regulatory bodies, technology applications and informatics, error-prevention strategies, medication safety)
    • Inventory and supply management (eg, drug recalls, drug shortages)
    • Quality improvement activities (eg, medication use evaluation, root-cause analysis, continuous quality improvement)
    • Mentorship and preceptorship (eg, providing and receiving feedback, delegation of work activities, preceptor roles)
Examination sources