3.1 Pharmacist Qualifications and Exam Path

3.1 Pharmacist Qualifications and Exam Path

Quick Answer: Connecticut licenses a pharmacist under CGS § 20-590 only if the applicant is at least 18, holds an entry-level professional pharmacy degree from a commission-approved school (or qualifies as a foreign graduate under § 20-591), has the intern experience required by regulation, files a DCP application with the $200 issuance fee, and passes both the NAPLEX and the Connecticut MPJE with a scaled score of 75. A temporary permit is a reciprocity-only, supervised credential that expires in three months unless the Commission authorizes one three-month extension.

Connecticut MPJE Area 1.2.1 tests who may be licensed and what credential they must carry while they practice. The statute is a closed checklist. DCP will not issue a Connecticut pharmacist license because a dean emailed a graduation date, because NAPLEX was passed for another state last month, or because the candidate already works as a technician in Hartford. Work through CGS § 20-590, then contrast a full license with a temporary permit, then separate the personal certificate from the pharmacy (facility) license that belongs in Chapter 18.

Why this distinction appears on the MPJE

NABP writes the NAPLEX as a clinical competency exam. The MPJE is a jurisprudence exam for the jurisdiction in which the candidate seeks to practice. Connecticut still administers a Connecticut-specific MPJE, not the Uniform MPJE used in some other states. DCP’s April 2025 score-transfer instructions still say both exams require a passing score of 75 or better. Treat that 75 as a scaled score on NABP’s 0–100 scale, not as a raw percent of items correct.

DCP’s same April 2025 page still lists NAPLEX ($485) and MPJE – CT version ($200). Those dollar figures are stale versus the current NABP Candidate Bulletin, which prices MPJE as a $100 eligibility application plus $170 exam purchase ($270 NABP total). Teach the state application fee of $200 from CGS § 20-601(1) and DCP instructions (check or money order payable to “Treasurer, State of Connecticut”), and treat NABP’s published exam-purchase fees as the exam-vendor charges. Do not add the NABP exam fee and the DCP $200 together and call the sum a single “Connecticut license fee.”

The five issuance requirements in CGS § 20-590(a)

The Department of Consumer Protection issues a license to practice pharmacy upon authorization of the Commission of Pharmacy when the individual:

1. Has submitted a written application on a form approved by the department.
2. Has graduated from a college or school of pharmacy approved by the commission with a degree that was, at the time of graduation, an entry-level professional pharmacy degree (today, an ACPE-accredited Pharm.D. pathway).
3. Has the professional experience as a pharmacy intern required by regulations adopted under Chapter 54 (the 1,500-hour intern rule taught in section 3.2).
4. Has successfully passed any examinations required by the commissioner (NAPLEX and the Connecticut MPJE).
5. Is eighteen years of age or older at the time of application.

CGS § 20-590 does not add a separate “good moral character” checkbox. Age, education, intern hours, examinations, and a complete application are the statutory issuance elements. Fitness-to-practice problems (discipline, impairment, criminal conduct) are handled under CGS § 20-579 and related provisions, not as a sixth bullet in § 20-590(a). DCP’s examination application still requires a recent photograph signed by the applicant and a completed college section; those are application mechanics, not extra statutory elements.

Foreign graduates — CGS § 20-591

An individual who graduated from a foreign school of pharmacy not approved by the commission does not use § 20-590(a)(2) as written. CGS § 20-591 lets that graduate apply, but the graduate must still meet § 20-590(a) subdivisions (1), (2) as modified by regulation, (4), and (5), and must satisfy regulations that require:

• a proficiency test for written and spoken English;
• a foreign pharmacy graduate equivalency examination; and
• the same licensure examinations required of domestic graduates (NAPLEX and the Connecticut MPJE).

The statute does not use the letters FPGEC, but NABP’s Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification is the practical file that documents English proficiency and the equivalency examination. Do not tell the exam that a foreign diploma, standing alone, is enough.

Temporary permit versus full pharmacist license

A full pharmacist license authorizes independent practice of pharmacy in Connecticut. A temporary permit is a different credential for a reciprocity applicant who is already a licensed pharmacist elsewhere and needs a short bridge while Connecticut finishes licensure.

CGS § 20-590(b) authorizes DCP, upon Commission authorization, to issue a temporary permit only if the individual:

• practices under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist;
• has an application for reciprocity on file with the commission;
• is a licensed pharmacist in good standing in a state or jurisdiction that grants similar reciprocal privileges to Connecticut pharmacists; and
• has no actions pending against the license with any state’s pharmacy board or commission.

CGS § 20-590(c) then caps the permit: it expires when the holder is licensed as a pharmacist in Connecticut, or not later than three months from issuance, whichever occurs first. DCP shall not issue more than one temporary permit to an individual, but the Commission may authorize one three-month extension. DCP’s current temporary-permit page repeats that statutory clock and lists a $200 temporary-permit fee under § 20-601(20). An older DCP reciprocity-instructions page still says the permit allows work “for up to 180 days.” Prefer the statute: three months, plus one optional three-month extension if the Commission grants it. One hundred eighty days is a rough description of the maximum with the extension, not a substitute for the statutory three-month term.

A new graduate seeking first licensure by examination does not get a temporary permit. Temporary permits are a reciprocity tool.

Certificate, optional display document, and inspection

CGS § 20-593(a) says a license issued under §§ 20-590, 20-591, or 20-592 is evidenced by a certificate issued by the department upon Commission authorization. Subsection (d) says the department may issue a document suitable for display indicating that the individual has been issued a certificate of license. That display document is optional. Connecticut does not require a pharmacist to hang a personal license on the wall of the break room.

What is required is CGS § 20-607: each person practicing as a pharmacist, pharmacy intern, or pharmacy technician shall at all times have available for inspection by a DCP inspector a current certificate of license or temporary permit, or a current intern or technician registration. CGS § 20-609(a) requires the pharmacy license (the facility credential) to be conspicuously posted inside the pharmacy. Do not confuse personal availability of a pharmacist certificate with posting of the store’s pharmacy license.

CGS § 20-605 prohibits the practice of pharmacy without a license or temporary permit. CGS § 20-606 restricts use of the title “pharmacist.” CGS § 20-608 fines a pharmacist $100 and exposes the pharmacist to Commission discipline for permitting an unlicensed person to use the certificate, temporary permit, or display document.

Realistic Connecticut scenario

A May graduate from an ACPE-accredited school files the DCP examination application with a signed photo, the $200 fee, and sealed intern-hour verification. Pearson VUE reports NAPLEX 78 and Connecticut MPJE 74. Connecticut will not issue the license. Both examinations must be at 75 or better. The candidate retakes only the MPJE after NABP’s waiting period; the NAPLEX score remains usable for the Connecticut application so long as DCP and NABP still treat it as valid for that file.

A New York pharmacist with a reciprocity application on file obtains a Connecticut temporary permit and starts as the sole pharmacist on a Sunday overnight shift. That is not lawful. The temporary-permit holder must practice under direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist—DCP’s page says the holder must work alongside a Connecticut licensed pharmacist. The temporary permit is not a weekend solo-coverage card.

Official anchors

• CGS Chapter 400j — §§ 20-590, 20-591, 20-593, 20-601, 20-607.
• DCP pharmacist-by-score-transfer instructions — $200 application, 1,500 intern hours, passing score of 75 on NAPLEX and MPJE-CT.
• DCP temporary permit — three-month permit, one extension, $200 fee.