What is an pharmacist license, and how do you get one?
Pharmacists are licensed by a state board of pharmacy. The requirements are a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from a school accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, a state-set number of supervised internship hours, a passing score on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, and a passing score on the state's pharmacy law examination — the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination in most states. Pharmacists earn a $140,910 median.
- Complete an ACPE-accredited Doctor of Pharmacy programme.
- Log the internship hours your state board requires.
- Pass the NAPLEX.
- Pass the state pharmacy law examination.
- Apply to the board, then renew with continuing education.
How to get a pharmacist license
- 1
Complete an ACPE-accredited PharmD
Finish a Doctor of Pharmacy programme accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, typically four years after prerequisite study, including the advanced pharmacy practice experiences that generate much of your internship time.
- 2
Register as an intern and log your hours
Obtain the intern registration your state board issues and accumulate the supervised practice hours it requires under licensed pharmacists, documenting them as you go. Boards differ on how much may be earned before graduation.
- 3
Pass the NAPLEX
Sit the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination at Pearson VUE, covering pharmacotherapy, patient assessment and monitoring, medication preparation and dispensing, calculations and health and wellness. It is scored against a scaled standard.
- 4
Pass the state law examination
Take the MPJE for your state, or its own law examination where it uses one, covering federal pharmacy law plus that state's practice act, licensure rules and controlled substance regulations. This must be repeated for every state you license in.
- 5
Apply to the board and add authorities
Submit your application with degree, hours and examination results. After licensure, obtain immunisation authority and any collaborative practice authorisation your state offers, and renew with continuing education including the topics your board mandates.
Pharmacist license requirements
Requirements are set by each state board of pharmacy within a highly standardised national framework. You need:
Doctor of Pharmacy
A PharmD from a programme accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, typically four years following prerequisite study, including advanced pharmacy practice experiences.
Internship hours
Supervised practice hours logged under a licensed pharmacist, with the number set by each board and much of it accumulated through the degree's practice experiences.
NAPLEX
The North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, assessing clinical knowledge and the ability to apply it to patient care, developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
State law examination
The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination in most states, or a state-specific equivalent, covering federal and that state's pharmacy law. It must be taken for each state you license in.
How much a pharmacist license costs
Examination and licence fees are small next to the doctoral degree. Budget for:
The PharmD dominates the cost of entering this profession. NABP publishes examination fees directly and each board sets its own application and renewal fees; pharmacists licensed in several states pay MPJE and application fees for each.
The pharmacist license exam
Two examinations stand between graduation and licensure. The NAPLEX, developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, assesses safe and effective pharmacotherapy, patient assessment and monitoring, medication preparation and dispensing, pharmaceutical calculations and health and wellness, scored against a scaled standard. The Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination covers federal pharmacy law together with the specific state's practice act, licensure rules and controlled substance regulations — and because the state content differs, it must be taken separately for each state you license in, which is the practical constraint on multi-state practice. A few states use their own law examination instead of the MPJE format.
How long it takes to get licensed
Six to eight years of higher education including prerequisites and the four-year PharmD, with internship hours accumulated throughout and licensure following within weeks of the examinations.
Pharmacist license types: the full ladder
Pharmacy has a clear ladder from technician through intern to pharmacist, with board specialties above.
Pharmacy technician
Registered or licensed support staff preparing and dispensing under pharmacist supervision; a separate credential rather than a step within pharmacist licensure.
Pharmacy intern
A registration issued to PharmD students allowing supervised practice, under which the required internship hours are accumulated.
Licensed pharmacist
The core licence: dispensing, clinical review, counselling and, within state rules, immunisation and other expanded services.
Immunisation and expanded practice authority
Granted by state rule and usually requiring specific training, covering immunisation, collaborative practice agreements and in some states test-and-treat protocols.
Board certified pharmacotherapy and specialty credentials
Specialty board certifications in areas such as pharmacotherapy, oncology, critical care and ambulatory care, held on top of licensure.
Pharmacist-in-charge
The named pharmacist accountable to the board for a pharmacy's compliance — a designated role with defined statutory responsibilities rather than a separate licence.
Pharmacy technician vs Pharmacist: pharmacist license
Pharmacist license reciprocity between states
Pharmacy has a well-established transfer process. A licensed pharmacist can generally obtain licensure in another state by score transfer or reciprocity through NABP, without re-taking the NAPLEX, provided the original licence was obtained by examination and is in good standing. The consistent exception is the law examination: because pharmacy law is state-specific, you must take that state's MPJE or equivalent even when everything else transfers. Some states also impose an additional practice-hours or jurisprudence requirement. Confirm with the destination board before relying on the process.
Pharmacistsalary & job outlook
Pharmacists earn a median of about $140,910 per year ($67.75/hour), with hospital, clinical specialist and industry roles varying around that and community pharmacy making up the largest share of employment. Employment is projected to grow 4.6%, with roughly 14,200 openings a year. See the full pharmacist salary guide for pay by state, city and experience level.
Pharmacist license requirements by state
Every state licenses pharmacists through a board of pharmacy, so what differs is intern hour requirements, the law examination and the scope of expanded services authorised.
All states license pharmacists through a board of pharmacy. What differs is the number of internship hours required, whether the state uses the MPJE or its own law examination, continuing-education requirements including mandated topics, and the scope of expanded services — immunisation authority, collaborative practice agreements and test-and-treat protocols — granted by state rule rather than by the base licence.
Browse all state guides
Pharmacist license FAQs
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (Pharmacists) · National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) · Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (29-1051). Requirements and fees are set per state and change, confirm with your state board before applying.
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