3.2 Interns, Score Transfer, and Reciprocity

3.2 Interns, Score Transfer, and Reciprocity

Quick Answer: Register as a pharmacy intern under CGS § 20-598 when intern employment begins. Connecticut requires 1,500 intern hours. Score transfer is how a first-time candidate sends NAPLEX/MPJE scores to Connecticut. Reciprocity / license transfer under CGS § 20-592 and NABP’s Electronic Licensure Transfer Program (eLTP) is how an already-licensed pharmacist becomes a Connecticut pharmacist after passing the Connecticut MPJE at 75.

MPJE items in this leaf mix three files that DCP keeps separate: the intern file, the examination / score-transfer file, and the reciprocity file. Using the wrong noun is a common exam trap.

Intern registration — CGS § 20-598 and RCSA § 20-576-8

CGS § 20-598(a) requires each individual who is employed by or serving under the supervision of a pharmacist in a pharmacy or institutional pharmacy for the purpose of obtaining the professional experience required by § 20-590 to register as a pharmacy intern with the commission at the time of commencing that employment or service. The applicant may not be registered unless the applicant has successfully completed two years of college and is enrolled in a professional program at a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (the statutory name; the current accreditor is the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education) and approved by the commission, or has completed the requirements for graduation from such a school, or—if a graduate of a foreign pharmacy school not approved by the commission—has passed a proficiency test for written and spoken English and a foreign pharmacy graduate equivalency examination. The intern application is certified under oath.

CGS § 20-598(b) requires the fee in § 20-601 and issuance of an identification number and card. That card becomes void and must be returned if the intern does not complete graduation requirements or terminates enrollment at an accredited, approved school. CGS § 20-601(8), as amended effective July 1, 2025, sets the intern application fee at $65, of which $5 is transferred to the pharmacy professional assistance program account. DCP’s intern-registration page still lists $60. Prefer the statute if a question asks for the current statutory fee; note the DCP page if a stem quotes the portal.

RCSA § 20-576-8(b) defines the professional experience as satisfactory completion of commission-approved objectives during fifteen hundred clock hours as a registered intern. Hours may be any combination of:

1. Employment or voluntary work in a Connecticut pharmacy or an institutional pharmacy approved by the commission, with no more than 40 clock hours in any one week;
2. An educational experiential program established and monitored by an ACPE-accredited school or college of pharmacy approved by the commission;
3. An out-of-state practical experience program approved by that state’s licensing agency; or
4. An industrial, research, or other professional experience program established by an ACPE-accredited school and approved by the commission, capped at 400 hours.

For Connecticut employment/volunteer hours under subdivision (1), no preceptor may supervise more than one intern at a time, the preceptor and intern must complete a preceptor statement, and the intern must notify the commission within five days of starting, changing site, changing preceptor, changing hours of supervision, or stopping. DCP’s examination FAQ confirms the 1,500-hour total and that hours are reported directly by the school of pharmacy or by the state board where the hours were earned—not by the student mailing a self-made log as the official verification.

Intern scope — RCSA § 20-576-9 versus technician bans

RCSA § 20-576-9 is short and is the intern-scope rule to memorize: a registered intern may compound and dispense drugs and devices and otherwise perform contemporary pharmacy services only when a pharmacist is physically present in the pharmacy or institutional pharmacy and personally supervising that compounding, dispensing, or delivery of services.

CGS § 20-571 defines direct supervision of pharmacy personnel, including interns, as supervision by a pharmacist who is physically present on the premises while routine dispensing occurs and who conducts in-process and final performance checks. Final verification is the last review that the product matches the order, including comparing the original prescription, the label, and the contents. The intern therefore does not independently complete the final check.

Connecticut’s technician prohibitions in RCSA § 20-576-39 (no new verbal orders, no counseling, no prescription interpretation, no final verification, no generic selection) apply to technicians. They are not copied into § 20-576-9. Interns are a separate registered class with a broader training-oriented scope under personal pharmacist supervision. Exam takeaway: intern ≠ technician. The intern may perform contemporary pharmacist functions under personal supervision; the pharmacist still owns the final performance check. Do not invent a statutory intern counseling ban that the intern regulation does not state, and do not let an intern replace the pharmacist on the final verify.

Score transfer versus reciprocity

Keep the nouns straight.

Score transfer is not “license transfer.” It is how a candidate who sat NAPLEX (and, if applicable, an MPJE) has NABP send those scores to Connecticut as part of a first Connecticut license-by-examination file. DCP’s score-transfer instructions tell the candidate to complete the Application for Pharmacist License by Examination, pay $200 to the Treasurer, include a signed recent photo, have the college complete the school section, and have the college and/or the state board of intern hours verify and seal a minimum of 1,500 hours directly to the Connecticut Commission of Pharmacy.

CGS § 20-592 is the reciprocity statute: a pharmacist licensed in another state, D.C., Puerto Rico, or a U.S. territory may be licensed in Connecticut in accordance with regulations. RCSA § 20-576-7 supplies those regulations. Among other criteria, the other jurisdiction’s original qualifications must have been at least equal to Connecticut’s at that time; the pharmacist must be an ACPE (or qualifying foreign) graduate; the pharmacist must be a Connecticut resident at application or have indicated an intention to practice in Connecticut; the pharmacist must have practiced at least one year in the last five years or have been licensed by examination within the previous twelve months (the Commission may accept equivalent experience); the other board must grant similar reciprocal privileges; the pharmacist must pass the pharmacy-law portion of Connecticut’s examination (the Connecticut MPJE); and the pharmacist must appear before the Commission for a personal interview.

DCP implements reciprocity through NABP’s Electronic Licensure Transfer Program (eLTP). The candidate files the eLTP application with NABP; NABP verifies licenses; the candidate uploads the eLTP Official Application into Connecticut eLicense and pays the $200 state fee; the candidate sits the Connecticut MPJE and needs 75; and, prior to licensure, the candidate has the Commission interview. After the Connecticut application is in, the candidate may apply for a temporary permit (section 3.1).

Realistic Connecticut scenario

A P2 who finished two years of college and is enrolled in an ACPE professional program starts a paid intern shift at a Stamford community pharmacy before the intern application is filed. That violates § 20-598: registration is due at the time of commencing intern employment. The preceptor who then supervises two interns on the same afternoon also violates RCSA § 20-576-8(c)(1) for Connecticut employment hours.

A Massachusetts pharmacist licensed by examination two years ago, with 18 months of recent practice, wants to move to New Haven. Score transfer is the wrong portal. That pharmacist uses eLTP / reciprocity, sits the Connecticut MPJE, and appears for the Commission interview. A May graduate who has never been licensed as a pharmacist uses examination / score transfer, not eLTP.

Official anchors

• CGS § 20-598 and RCSA § 20-576-8.
• DCP intern hours FAQ — 1,500 hours.
• DCP reciprocity instructions — eLTP, MPJE 75, Commission interview.