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Pennsylvania Pharmacist — Requirements & Free Practice

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Pharmacist

Pennsylvania pharmacist (RP) license issued by the State Board of Pharmacy under the Pharmacy Act.

Licensing authority: Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy · Application information

Licensure by endorsement under Act 41 of 2019
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Applicability
Considered case by case when the Board's existing reciprocity options do not provide a means of licensure (Department of State Act 41 page).
Competency
Demonstrates competency through methods determined by the Board, including continuing education or experience in the profession for at least two of the five years preceding the application (Act 41 § 6.1(a)(2)); the Board determines the method case by case.
Current License
Holds a current license from another state, territory or country whose requirements the Board determines are substantially equivalent to or exceed Pennsylvania's (Act 41 § 6.1(a)(1)).
Fees
Pays the fees established by the Board by regulation (Act 41 § 6.1(a)(5)).
Good Standing
No act constituting grounds for refusal, suspension or revocation and no discipline by the issuing jurisdiction, unless the Board determines otherwise in its discretion (Act 41 § 6.1(a)(3)-(4)).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2019-08-29.

Licensure by examination (Pennsylvania as primary state authorizing the NAPLEX)

All of the following:

Applicant Status
Applicant does not hold a pharmacist license in any U.S. state and applies with Pennsylvania as the primary state of licensure, whose Board authorizes the NAPLEX (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Background And Verifications
FBI fingerprint-based criminal history check, National Practitioner Data Bank self-query, and verification of every health-related license held elsewhere (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Child Abuse Training
3 hours of Board-approved training in child abuse recognition and reporting (49 Pa. Code §§ 27.21(b), 27.25(d), 27.808(a)).
Education
Pharm.D. or B.S. in Pharmacy from an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy; a graduate of a foreign pharmacy school must hold FPGEC certification from NABP, and the Board may approve foreign or nonaccredited schools or individual graduates case by case (Pharmacy Act § 3(a)(3); 49 Pa. Code § 27.52(e); Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Foreign Graduate Practical Examination
49 Pa. Code § 27.52(c) states that the Board may waive the theoretical examination for a foreign graduate but will require the practical examination; no official source identifies a currently offered practical examination, so that slot is recorded as a condition only.
Internship
At least 1,500 acceptable intern hours; all may be earned in an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program; B.S. graduates and FPGEC-certified foreign graduates must earn at least 500 hours outside an academic program in a licensed pharmacy; for an experienced foreign graduate the Board may approve a special internship of 500 to 1,500 hours (49 Pa. Code § 27.52(c); Pharmacist Licensure Guide). Affidavits of internship experience must be filed before authorization to take the examination (49 Pa. Code § 27.21(d)).
Opioid Education
4 hours of Board-approved education (2 hours pain management or identification of addiction, 2 hours prescribing or dispensing of opioids) documented within one year of license issuance (ABC-MAP § 9.1(a)(2), as stated in the Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Statutory Qualifications
Pharmacy Act § 3(a): at least 21 years of age, good moral and professional character, fitness to practice, and no disqualifying felony conviction relating to controlled substances unless the § 3(a)(6) conditions are met.
Reactivation of a license lapsed for 1 year or more
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
A holder who engaged in activities outside pharmacy during the lapse completes continuing education equivalent to the hours required had the license been active (49 Pa. Code § 27.31(d)).
Current Proficiency
Show current proficiency to practice pharmacy; full-time practice of pharmacy in another state during the lapse is evidence of it (49 Pa. Code § 27.31(d)).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-06-28.

Licensure by reciprocity (license transfer)

At least one of the following alternatives:

  • Pennsylvania Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (practice unavailable)
Applicant Status
Applicant holds an active pharmacist license in another U.S. state, territory or possession that is the basis of the Pennsylvania license, and submits an NABP-processed reciprocal licensure (license transfer) application (Pharmacy Act § 3(g); 49 Pa. Code § 27.25(a); Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Background And Verifications
FBI fingerprint-based criminal history check, National Practitioner Data Bank self-query, and verification of every health-related license held elsewhere (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Child Abuse Training
3 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training (49 Pa. Code § 27.25(d)).
Education
Pharm.D. or B.S. in Pharmacy from an ACPE-accredited school, or FPGEC certification for a foreign graduate (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Internship
At least 1,500 acceptable intern hours (at least 500 outside school in a licensed pharmacy for B.S. or FPGEC-certified applicants); the Board may accept one year of full-time practice in another U.S. state or a completed one-year U.S. pharmacy residency in lieu of intern hours (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Jurisprudence Exam Exemption
An applicant first licensed on or before January 26, 1983 does not take the Pennsylvania MPJE; an applicant licensed after that date who demonstrates a passing FDLE score for the license that is the basis of the transfer does not take it either. The FDLE is a discontinued examination, superseded by the MPJE for Pennsylvania licensure from November 1, 1998, so it is not a leaf (49 Pa. Code §§ 27.24, 27.25(b)-(c); Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Opioid Education
4 hours of Board-approved education (2 hours pain management or identification of addiction, 2 hours prescribing or dispensing of opioids) documented within one year of license issuance (ABC-MAP § 9.1(a)(2), as stated in the Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Reciprocal State
Pharmacy Act § 3(g): the state in which the applicant is licensed must under similar conditions grant reciprocal licensure without examination to pharmacists licensed by examination in Pennsylvania.
Reinstatement after revocation

All of the following:

Court Order
Pharmacy Act § 7.1 states that, unless ordered by Commonwealth Court or an appeal therefrom, the Board shall not reinstate a revoked license.
Qualifications
Must meet all licensing qualifications of the Pharmacy Act for the license, including the examination requirement (Pharmacy Act § 7.1).
Waiting Period
May apply for reinstatement after at least five years from revocation (Pharmacy Act § 7.1).
Biennial license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
30 contact hours in the preceding biennial period, including 2 hours on patient safety and 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting; 2 hours on administering injectables for holders of that authority (49 Pa. Code § 27.32(a)).
Late Renewal
A pharmacist who fails to renew timely must cease practice until renewed and is assessed $5 per month late (49 Pa. Code § 27.31(c)).
Renewal Cycle
Renew every 2 years in even-numbered years by form and fee (49 Pa. Code § 27.31(b)).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-06-28.

Licensure by NAPLEX score transfer

All of the following:

Applicant Status
Applicant holds no pharmacist license in any U.S. state or was recently licensed in another U.S. state; another state board of pharmacy is the primary state that authorizes the NAPLEX, and the NAPLEX score is transferred to the Pennsylvania Board through NABP within NABP's limited time frame (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Background And Verifications
FBI fingerprint-based criminal history check, National Practitioner Data Bank self-query, and verification of every health-related license held elsewhere (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Child Abuse Training
3 hours of Board-approved training in child abuse recognition and reporting (49 Pa. Code §§ 27.21(b), 27.25(d), 27.808(a)).
Education
Pharm.D. or B.S. in Pharmacy from an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy; a graduate of a foreign pharmacy school must hold FPGEC certification from NABP, and the Board may approve foreign or nonaccredited schools or individual graduates case by case (Pharmacy Act § 3(a)(3); 49 Pa. Code § 27.52(e); Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Internship
At least 1,500 acceptable intern hours; all may be earned in an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. program; B.S. graduates and FPGEC-certified foreign graduates must earn at least 500 hours outside an academic program in a licensed pharmacy; for an experienced foreign graduate the Board may approve a special internship of 500 to 1,500 hours (49 Pa. Code § 27.52(c); Pharmacist Licensure Guide). Proof of the required education and 1,500 intern hours is needed before authorization for the PA MPJE (Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Opioid Education
4 hours of Board-approved education (2 hours pain management or identification of addiction, 2 hours prescribing or dispensing of opioids) documented within one year of license issuance (ABC-MAP § 9.1(a)(2), as stated in the Pharmacist Licensure Guide).
Statutory Qualifications
Pharmacy Act § 3(a): at least 21 years of age, good moral and professional character, fitness to practice, and no disqualifying felony conviction relating to controlled substances unless the § 3(a)(6) conditions are met.

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

Pennsylvania Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination

Provider
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy; appointments scheduled with Pearson
Format
Computer-based adaptive examination with selected-response questions
Exam questions
120
Time limit
2.5 hours
Passing score
Reported as pass or fail; minimum passing score as determined by NABP (49 Pa. Code § 27.24(c))
Examination outline
  • Licensure/Personnel (22%)
    • 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
    • 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
  • Pharmacist Practice (33%)
    • 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
    • Conditions under which the pharmacist or non-pharmacist personnel participates in the administration of drugs in the management of patients’ therapy
    • Requirements regarding counseling
    • Counseling or offering to counsel
    • Documenting counseling or documenting offering to counsel
    • Returning or reusing drugs
    • Regulations and agencies regarding pharmacy practice
    • Requirements for promoting quality and safety of public health
    • Protecting patient and health record confidentiality
  • Dispensing Requirements (24%)
    • Responsibilities for determining whether prescriptions/drug orders are issued for a legitimate medical purpose, and within all applicable restrictions
    • Transferring prescription/drug order information between pharmacies by authorized personnel
    • Prospective drug utilization reviews
    • Requirements for reporting to PMP and accessing PMP data
    • Exceptions to dispensing or refilling prescriptions/drug orders
    • Labeling of dispensed drugs
    • Packaging of dispensed drugs
    • Drug product conditions prohibiting dispensing
    • 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
  • Pharmacy Operations (21%)
    • 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
    • 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
    • Delivery of drugs
    • Conditions for permitted or mandated product selection
    • Compounding sterile, nonsterile, hazardous, and non-hazardous preparations
    • Centralized prescription processing or central-fill pharmacy dispensing
    • 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