TX MPJE Exam Flashcards

Q: What is the TX MPJE passing score?

Since January 2021, NABP reports MPJE results as Pass/Fail only — the numeric scaled score (75 was the pre-2021 threshold) is no longer disclosed to candidates or state boards. The exam has 120 questions (100 scored, 20 unscored pretest) over 2.5 hours at a Pearson VUE test center.

Q: What is the TX MPJE pass rate?

Neither NABP nor the Texas State Board of Pharmacy publicly reports a Texas-specific MPJE pass rate. NABP's published nationwide MPJE data is broken out by pharmacy school rather than by state exam, and recent process changes reportedly improved pass rates versus 2023.

Q: How long must I wait to retake the TX MPJE if I fail?

NABP requires a flat 30-day wait from the failed exam date before you can retest, whether it's your first or a later attempt — the wait does not escalate after multiple fails the way some other exams do. You must also reapply for eligibility and pay exam fees again, and you're limited to a maximum of 5 attempts per jurisdiction unless the board of pharmacy allows otherwise.

Q: What Texas-specific rules are most heavily tested on the TX MPJE?

Expect deep coverage of TSBP-specific rules including the 1:6 pharmacist-to-technician ratio (max 3 of 6 as trainees), mandatory PMP checks for opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and carisoprodol, the Texas 30-day fill window for Schedule II prescriptions, the annual (May 1) controlled-substance inventory, biennial license and permit renewal, and the five pharmacy license classes (A-E).

Q: Do I need to pass the TX MPJE in addition to the NAPLEX?

Yes — Texas pharmacist licensure requires passing both the NAPLEX (clinical and pharmacotherapy competence) and the TX MPJE (pharmacy law competence). The MPJE tests federal pharmacy law plus Texas-specific TSBP regulations under Tex. Occ. Code Title 3 Subtitle J.

Question 1

What is the TSBP, and what is its relationship to NABP?

Accepted Answer

The Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) is Texas's independent state regulatory agency that licenses pharmacists and pharmacies and enforces the Texas Pharmacy Act; NABP develops and administers the multistate MPJE exam itself, but Texas law and rules are enforced solely by TSBP.

Question 2

How often must a Texas pharmacist license be renewed, and what triggers the renewal cycle?

Accepted Answer

Texas pharmacist licenses renew biennially (every 2 years), with expiration tied to the license holder's birth month.

Question 3

How many hours of continuing education (CE) does Texas require per renewal cycle, and how much must be law-specific?

Accepted Answer

Texas requires 30 hours of CE per 2-year renewal period, of which at least 1 hour must cover Texas pharmacy law.

Question 4

How many internship hours must a pharmacy graduate complete before Texas licensure, and who owns day-to-day compliance at a pharmacy?

Accepted Answer

Texas requires 1,500 internship hours before licensure; day-to-day regulatory compliance at a pharmacy rests with the pharmacist-in-charge (PIC).

Question 5

What is the maximum pharmacist-to-technician ratio at a Texas Class A (community) pharmacy?

Accepted Answer

1:6 — one pharmacist may supervise up to 6 technicians/technician-trainees on-site.

Question 6

Within a Texas Class A pharmacy's 1:6 technician ratio, how many of the 6 may be trainees?

Accepted Answer

At most 3 of the 6 may be pharmacy technician trainees; trainee status is time-limited, and the individual must complete registration and certification requirements to continue working as a technician.

Question 7

Must Texas pharmacy technicians be registered with TSBP before working?

Accepted Answer

Yes — technicians must hold active TSBP registration and work only under direct pharmacist supervision; unregistered individuals may not perform technician duties.

Question 8

Can a Texas pharmacy technician verify a filled prescription or counsel a patient?

Accepted Answer

No — verification of accuracy and patient counseling are pharmacist-only tasks; technicians may perform mechanical/technical functions but cannot exercise professional judgment.

Question 9

How often must a pharmacy's DEA registration be renewed, and how does that differ from TSBP license renewal?

Accepted Answer

DEA registration renews every 3 years, while the TSBP pharmacist license and pharmacy permit renew every 2 years — the two renewal clocks run independently.

Question 10

Decode a DEA number: what do the two letters and seven digits represent?

Accepted Answer

The first letter is a registrant-type code (for example A, B, or F for practitioners, M for mid-level practitioners); the second letter is the first letter of the registrant's last name; the 7 digits are a numeric identifier that includes a built-in check-digit formula.

Question 11

Can a Texas mid-level practitioner (e.g., nurse practitioner, PA) prescribe controlled substances under their own authority?

Accepted Answer

Yes — mid-level practitioners with Texas prescriptive authority obtain their own DEA registration (an M-prefix number) and may prescribe controlled substances within their delegated scope of practice.

Question 12

What defines a Schedule I controlled substance?

Accepted Answer

High abuse potential with no FDA-accepted medical use in the U.S. and no accepted safety for use even under medical supervision — Schedule I drugs cannot be legally prescribed.

Question 13

How many refills are permitted on a Schedule II prescription?

Accepted Answer

Zero — Schedule II prescriptions can never be refilled; each fill requires a brand-new prescription (written or electronic).

Question 14

What is the refill limit for Schedule III-V prescriptions?

Accepted Answer

Up to 5 refills within 6 months of the original issue date; after that limit, a new prescription is required.

Question 15

How much codeine per unit keeps a cough preparation in Schedule V rather than a more restrictive schedule?

Accepted Answer

No more than 200 mg of codeine per 100 mL (or per 100 g for solid forms) — above that threshold the product is scheduled more restrictively.

Question 16

When can a Schedule II drug legally be prescribed orally (verbally) instead of in writing?

Accepted Answer

Only in a bona fide emergency; the prescriber must follow up with a signed written or electronic prescription within 7 days of the oral order.

Question 17

What schedule is buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, and why does that matter operationally?

Accepted Answer

Buprenorphine is Schedule III, so it follows the Schedule III-V refill rule (up to 5 refills in 6 months) rather than the no-refill Schedule II rule, even though it treats opioid dependence.

Question 18

What core elements does federal law require on every controlled-substance prescription?

Accepted Answer

Patient name, drug name and strength, prescriber's name and DEA number, date of issue, and prescriber's signature — missing any required element makes the prescription invalid to fill.

Question 19

What does a 'DAW' (Dispense as Written) notation on a prescription do?

Accepted Answer

It blocks the pharmacist from substituting a generic equivalent, requiring the brand-name product be dispensed even when a bioequivalent generic exists.

Question 20

What is a pharmacist's 'corresponding responsibility' for controlled substances?

Accepted Answer

The pharmacist shares legal responsibility with the prescriber to ensure a controlled-substance prescription was issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice — a pharmacist can be held liable for knowingly filling an invalid prescription.

Question 21

If a pharmacy cannot supply the full quantity of a Schedule II prescription, how long does it have to dispense the remaining partial fill?

Accepted Answer

72 hours from the initial partial fill; if the remaining quantity isn't dispensed within that window, a new prescription is required to complete it.

Question 22

How can a prescriber let a patient receive up to a 90-day supply of a Schedule II medication?

Accepted Answer

By issuing multiple separate prescriptions (totaling up to a 90-day supply) with instructions or earliest-fill dates on each, rather than one prescription with refills, since Schedule II never permits refills.

Question 23

In Texas, how many days from the date of issuance does a pharmacist have to fill a Schedule II prescription?

Accepted Answer

30 days from the date of issuance (22 TAC 315.3, effective 2021, replacing the old 21-day rule); after 30 days it can no longer be dispensed and a new prescription is required.

Question 24

What federal law created the mandatory patient-counseling and prospective drug utilization review (DUR) requirements pharmacists follow today?

Accepted Answer

OBRA-90 (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) — it requires pharmacists to offer counseling on new prescriptions and perform prospective DUR before dispensing.

Question 25

What four things does a prospective DUR screen for before a prescription is dispensed?

Accepted Answer

Drug interactions, therapeutic duplication, incorrect dosage or duration, and drug-allergy contraindications.

Question 26

Is a pharmacist required to counsel every patient on every new prescription?

Accepted Answer

The pharmacist must offer counseling on every new prescription; the patient may decline the offer, but making the offer itself is mandatory.

Question 27

Below what age must a child generally be referred elsewhere rather than receive a pharmacist-administered immunization in Texas?

Accepted Answer

Under age 14 — Texas pharmacists generally must refer younger children to another qualified provider for immunizations.

Question 28

Is there an age exception that lets Texas pharmacists administer flu vaccine to younger patients than the general immunization age cutoff?

Accepted Answer

Yes — influenza vaccine has a lower age exception, permitting pharmacist administration to patients age 7 and older.

Question 29

Since what year has checking the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) been mandatory before certain dispensing or prescribing events?

Accepted Answer

Since March 2020 — Texas made PMP (PMP Aware) queries mandatory before prescribing or dispensing specific trigger-drug prescriptions.

Question 30

Name the four drug classes that trigger a mandatory PMP check in Texas.

Accepted Answer

Opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and carisoprodol — prescribing or dispensing any of these requires a PMP query.

Question 31

At what point in the workflow must the Texas PMP check happen — before or after dispensing?

Accepted Answer

Before prescribing or dispensing the trigger-drug prescription, not afterward.

Question 32

Which prescriber type is exempt from the Texas mandatory PMP check requirement?

Accepted Answer

Veterinarians — they are exempt from the mandatory PMP query requirement that applies to human prescribers and dispensers of trigger drugs.

Question 33

Can a Schedule II prescription ever be transferred between pharmacies?

Accepted Answer

No — Schedule II prescriptions are never transferable between pharmacies under any circumstance.

Question 34

How many times can a Schedule III-V prescription be transferred between two independent (non-shared-system) pharmacies?

Accepted Answer

One time only, unless the pharmacies share a real-time online database, in which case multiple transfers are allowed.

Question 35

What is the default rule on generic substitution when a prescription doesn't specify brand-only?

Accepted Answer

The pharmacist should substitute the equivalent generic by default unless the prescriber has written 'Dispense as Written' (DAW) or the required brand-medically-necessary language.

Question 36

What does an FDA Orange Book 'A' rating tell a pharmacist about a generic product?

Accepted Answer

It confirms the generic is therapeutically and bioequivalent to the reference brand, meaning it is substitutable without prescriber approval, absent a DAW restriction.

Question 37

What information must appear on a Texas dispensing label at minimum?

Accepted Answer

Pharmacy name and address, prescription number, patient name, drug name and strength, directions for use, and prescriber name — omitting a required element can make the product misbranded.

Question 38

Is the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of a drug a required label element?

Accepted Answer

No — WAC/wholesale cost information is not a required dispensing-label element.

Question 39

Sublingual nitroglycerin is exempt from which federal packaging requirement, and why?

Accepted Answer

It's exempt from PPPA (Poison Prevention Packaging Act) child-resistant packaging, because a resistant cap could delay a cardiac patient's emergency access to the dose.

Question 40

Under the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA), what are the daily and 30-day purchase limits for pseudoephedrine?

Accepted Answer

3.6 grams per day and 9 grams per 30-day period for an individual purchaser.

Question 41

Which DEA form is used to order or transfer Schedule II controlled substances between registrants?

Accepted Answer

DEA Form 222 (or its electronic CSOS equivalent) — used for Schedule II distribution/ordering, not for Schedule III-V.

Question 42

Which DEA form reports a theft or significant loss of controlled substances?

Accepted Answer

DEA Form 106 — filed with DEA (and typically local police) when controlled substances are stolen or significantly unaccounted for.

Question 43

How long must Texas pharmacies retain controlled-substance dispensing records, and how does that compare to the federal minimum?

Accepted Answer

2 years — Texas's retention requirement matches the federal minimum of 2 years.

Question 44

How often must a Texas pharmacy take a complete controlled-substance inventory, and must Schedule II be counted exactly or estimated?

Accepted Answer

Annually — on May 1 or the pharmacy's regular general physical inventory date (22 TAC 291.17), stricter than the federal biennial minimum; Schedule II drugs must always be counted exactly, never estimated.

Question 45

When must Schedule III-V inventory be counted by exact count rather than estimate?

Accepted Answer

When the container holds more than 1,000 dosage units — above that threshold, an exact count is required instead of an estimate.

Question 46

Which USP chapter governs nonsterile compounding, and which governs sterile compounding?

Accepted Answer

USP <795> covers nonsterile compounding preparations; USP <797> covers sterile compounding preparations.

Question 47

Which USP chapter specifically addresses handling of hazardous drugs in the pharmacy?

Accepted Answer

USP <800> — sets standards for handling hazardous drugs to protect personnel and the environment during compounding and handling.

Question 48

What distinguishes a Category 1 CSP (compounded sterile preparation) from a Category 2 CSP under USP <797>?

Accepted Answer

Category 1 has a shorter beyond-use date (about 12 hours at room temperature or 24 hours refrigerated) and less testing; Category 2 allows a longer beyond-use date but requires additional environmental monitoring and testing.

Question 49

What distinguishes a Texas Class A pharmacy from a Class C pharmacy?

Accepted Answer

Class A is a community pharmacy that dispenses to the public; Class C is an institutional pharmacy serving inpatients in a hospital or similar facility.

Question 50

How often do Texas pharmacy permits renew, and does that apply uniformly across license classes A-E?

Accepted Answer

Biennially (every 2 years) — the renewal cycle applies uniformly across all Texas pharmacy license classes, A through E.

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