1.1 BCSCP Exam Format, Eligibility, Scoring & 2024 Content Outline
Key Takeaways
The BCSCP exam has 150 items (125 scored and 25 unscored pretest items) and a 3-hour-45-minute appointment that includes the introduction and tutorial.
BPS reports scaled scores from 200 to 800, and 500 is the passing point on every BPS specialty examination.
The 2024 BCSCP content outline (effective August 2025) weights Compounded Sterile Preparations 60%, Therapeutics and Patient Management 15%, and Professional Practice 25%.
Navigation is forward-only: items must be answered in order, you cannot skip, and you cannot return to change an answer.
The application fee is $600 and a retake is $300; candidates get up to three attempts, each followed by a 90-day washout period.
1.1 BCSCP Exam Format, Eligibility, Scoring & 2024 Content Outline
Note
Quick answer: The BPS Board-Certified Sterile Compounding Pharmacist (BCSCP) exam is a 150-item, 3-hour-45-minute computer-based test delivered at Pearson VUE test centers. It has 125 scored items and 25 unscored pretest items. Scores are scaled from 200 to 800 and 500 passes. The first application costs $600 and a retake costs $300. The content outline that took effect in August 2025 puts 60% of the exam on compounded sterile preparations.
The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) awards the BCSCP credential for its Compounded Sterile Preparations Pharmacy specialty. BPS describes the target candidate as a pharmacist who compounds sterile preparations and oversees the compounding process against quality, safety and environmental control requirements. BPS reports more than 1,990 board-certified sterile compounding pharmacists.
Exam format at a glance
| Feature | Current BPS rule |
|---|---|
| Items | 150 items: 125 scored, 25 unscored pretest items mixed in |
| Appointment time | 3 hours 45 minutes, including the introduction and tutorial |
| Item types | Mostly four-option multiple choice; some multiple-response and image-based items |
| Navigation | Forward-only: answer in order, no skipping, no returning to change answers |
| Guessing | No penalty, so answer every item |
| Calculator | On-screen scientific calculator |
| Reference tables | None: no normal laboratory values and no unit-conversion chart |
| Breaks | No scheduled break; one optional 10-minute break that uses exam time |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE test centers; remote testing only by case-by-case BPS approval (U.S., Australia, Canada) |
| Scheduling | BCSCP uses continuous testing; after the authorization to test (ATT), you have 90 days to sit |
Two format rules change how you should practice. First, you cannot flag and return, so you need to commit on each item and move on. Second, laboratory values appear in SI units that are common in U.S. practice, and no reference range table is provided. Know the usual ranges for potassium, magnesium, phosphate, calcium, sodium, glucose, serum creatinine, triglycerides and liver tests before exam day.
Scoring and results
BPS uses a criterion-referenced passing standard and equating, so different test forms are held to the same standard. Raw performance is converted to a scaled score from 200 to 800, and 500 is the passing point.
- Since January 2026, candidates in the continuous format see a preliminary pass/fail result on screen. The official score report appears in MyBPS within 45 calendar days.
- Passing candidates are told they passed; they do not receive a numeric score.
- Failing candidates receive their total scaled score and high/moderate/low feedback for each content domain. BPS advises reviewing the whole outline before a retake, not just the weak domains.
Fees, retakes and scheduling
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Initial application | $600 |
| Retake application | $300 (only after failing within the past year) |
| Attempts | Up to 3 in total for ATTs issued after January 1, 2026 |
| Between attempts | 90-day washout, then up to 90 days to schedule and complete the next attempt |
| After a third failure | Wait 12 months, then reapply at $600 |
| Rescheduling | Free 30 or more days out; $60 at 5 to 29 days; not allowed under 5 days (fees forfeited) |
| Annual maintenance | $125 per year in years 1 to 6 of the cycle |
| Recertification application | $400 in year 7 |
Eligibility
You must meet all three requirements:
- Graduation from an ACPE-accredited pharmacy program (or a program outside the U.S. that qualifies you to practice in your jurisdiction).
- A current, active pharmacist license or registration.
- Within the past 7 years, either:
- 4 years of compounded sterile preparations practice after licensure, with at least 50% of your time in the scope of the content outline; or
- an accredited PGY1 residency plus 3 years of that practice after licensure.
An employer must verify the practice experience on letterhead.
The 2024 content outline
BPS wrote this outline from a September 2024 job analysis, and it took effect in August 2025. It is the blueprint for every current form.
| Domain | Weight | Subdomains (weight) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Compounded Sterile Preparations | 60% | 1A Materials and Equipment (18%); 1B Compounding Process and Release (16%); 1C Facilities and Environmental Control (26%) |
| 2. Therapeutics and Patient Management | 15% | 2A Therapeutic Implementation (8%); 2B Therapeutic Outcomes and Monitoring (7%) |
| 3. Professional Practice | 25% | 3A Quality Management (15%); 3B Practice Management (10%) |
Across the seven subdomains there are 41 task areas. They range from source components, sterilization methods and insanitary conditions to medication adherence, product recalls and literature evaluation. Facilities and environmental control (26%) is the single largest subdomain. It alone outweighs the whole therapeutics domain.
Which standards the exam uses
The current revisions of USP <795> and USP <797> were published on November 1, 2022 and became official on November 1, 2023. BPS put them on the exam starting with the August/September 2023 window. USP <800> became official on December 1, 2019. USP's January 2026 FAQ says it became compendially applicable on November 1, 2023, to the extent that <795> and <797> apply. The BPS specialty page still says <800> is "informational", but that wording predates USP's current position, so study <800> as an applicable standard.
The outline also names OSHA, NIOSH, EPA, ISMP, FDA, CMS, CDC, ASPEN and The Joint Commission. You are expected to know how those rules interact with USP. BPS builds forms months ahead and avoids content that is still changing, so study practice guidelines as they stood about 6 to 12 months before your test date.
Recertification
Certification runs on a 7-year cycle, and at least 2 units of approved CPE or CPD must be reported every year. For cycles that began in 2024 or later, you recertify in one of two ways:
- Exam route: pass the recertification exam and report 20 units of continuing professional development (CPD).
- Credit route: earn 100 units, with at least 80 units of BPS-approved, assessed CPE from APhA or ASHP programs and up to 20 units of self-reported CPD.
How this guide is organized
- Chapters 1 to 7 cover Domain 1: standards and CSP categories, facilities, environmental monitoring, garbing and aseptic technique, beyond-use dating, sterilization and release testing, and materials, equipment and workflow.
- Chapters 8 and 9 cover preparation chemistry and Domain 2 patient care.
- Chapters 10 to 12 cover Domain 3: quality management, personnel competency, regulation and safety.
Spend your time roughly in proportion to the weights above, and treat facilities and environmental control as the largest single block.
How many of the 150 items on a BCSCP examination form count toward the candidate's score?
100
125
140
150
A candidate wants to skip a long calculation, finish the rest of the exam, and come back to it at the end. What does BPS policy allow?
Flagging the item and returning to it before submitting
Skipping it and receiving partial credit if it is left blank
Using the optional break to review earlier items
None of these; items must be answered in order and cannot be revisited once confirmed
A pharmacist completed an accredited PGY1 residency and then worked in a sterile compounding role for 3 years after licensure, spending most of that time on outline activities. How does this history compare with BPS eligibility for BCSCP?
It meets the residency pathway: PGY1 plus 3 years of practice within the past 7 years
It falls short; 4 years of practice is required regardless of residency
It falls short; a PGY2 in sterile compounding is required
It meets eligibility only if the candidate also holds a BCPS credential
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.