State and National Board Examinations/Licensure Requirements

Licensure as An Intern
Students enrolled in School must have a valid, current California Pharmacy Intern License. Incoming students are required to apply for a Pharmacy Intern License during the Fall semester of the PY1. Students will be provided intern application packets during the Pre- IPPE co-curricular course and given instructions on its completion. LifeScan Fingerprinting will be completed during this process. Completed applications are submitted to the Office of Experiential Education. After processing, the Office of Experiential Education will submit the applications for the entire class to the Board of Pharmacy. Once the applications are received and processed, the Board of Pharmacy mails the Intern License to the student. A copy of the Intern License should be provided to the Office of Experiential Education and the Office of Student Affairs where it will be added to the student’s permanent file. https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/applicants/intern.shtml

Students cannot participate in the IPPE or APPE program without a current California Pharmacy Intern License. In addition, student pharmacists are not allowed to actively immunize unless they are Registered Pharmacist Interns in the state of California. All students must always carry their pocket licenses with them when visiting experiential practice sites.

Visiting Board of Pharmacy Inspectors may ask to examine professional licenses when making site visits; this may also include the licenses of interns participating in experiential education at the site. Preceptors may also ask students to provide a copy of their intern license during your site orientation. All students must disclose information regarding Board of Pharmacy – Board Actions to the Office of Experiential Education within 15 days of receipt of any notice of action against their license from the Board of Pharmacy.

Licensure as A Pharmacist
To become licensed to practice pharmacy in California, you must meet the Registered Pharmacist requirements of the California Board of Pharmacy. These requirements can be found on the state board of pharmacy website at: https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/index.shtml

California Board of Pharmacy
The California State Board of Pharmacy (CSBP) is a consumer protection agency. One way the board fulfills its consumer protection mandate is to assure that those licensed to practice pharmacy possess minimum competency. To this end, California law requires candidates to take the NAPLEX™ and California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Examination (CPJE). You can obtain a copy of this code and other California pharmacy laws from the board’s Web site. These examinations require candidates to demonstrate that they possess the minimum knowledge and abilities necessary to perform safely and effectively in independent pharmacy practice in the U.S. as well as in California. For more information, go to https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/index.shtml.

North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX)
The NAPLEX™ (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) is developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) for use by the state boards of pharmacy as Requirements for pharmacist licensure in California are listed in California Business and Professions Code section 4200(a)(1-6) 40 part of their assessment of competence to practice pharmacy. This computer-adaptive test provides the most precise measurement of the student’s knowledge and ability in pharmacy. By using the NAPLEX™, the state boards provide a valid and objective examination that tests the competence in important aspects of the practice of pharmacy. The NAPLEX™ also assists the state boards of pharmacy in fulfilling one aspect of their responsibilities to safeguard the public health and welfare. For more information, go to https://nabp.pharmacy/.

California Practice Standards and Jurisprudence Examination (CPJE)
The California State Board of Pharmacy, through its Competency Committee, develops the CPJE. The board’s CPJE is comprised of 90 multiple-choice questions, administered by computers at designated test centers throughout the country. California law (California Business and Professions Code section 4200.2) requires that the CPJE include items that demonstrate proficiency in patient- communication skills, aspects of pharmacy practice, and the application of clinical knowledge that is not measured by NAPLEX and California law.
For more information, go to: https://pharmacy.ca.gov/applicants/.

Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE)
The computer-based Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination® (MPJE) combines federal and state-specific law questions to serve as the state law examination in participating jurisdictions. The MPJE is based on a national blueprint of pharmacy jurisprudence competencies; however, the questions are tailored to the specific law in each state. For more information, go to https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/examinations/mpje/.