1.2 Pharmacist Licensure by Examination & Reciprocity

Pharmacist Licensure by Examination & Reciprocity

Obtaining a license to practice pharmacy in the State of New Jersey is a rigorous statutory process governed by N.J.A.C. 13:39-2. The New Jersey State Board of Pharmacy oversees three primary entry tracks for pharmacists:

1. Licensure by Examination (Initial Licensure for Domestic Graduates)
2. Licensure by Examination (Foreign Pharmacy Graduates)
3. Licensure by Endorsement / Reciprocity (Licensed Out-of-State Pharmacists)

Regardless of the pathway selected, the overarching legislative objective remains uncompromised: verifying professional competence, legal aptitude, and moral integrity prior to granting the privilege of dispensing drugs and providing pharmaceutical care to New Jersey citizens.

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Initial Pharmacist Qualifications (Domestic Applicants)

Under N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.1, every candidate seeking initial licensure as a pharmacist in New Jersey must establish the following baseline qualifications:

1. Age and Identification

The applicant must be at least 18 years of age at the time of formal application. Official government-issued photographic identification is mandatory.

2. Good Moral Character & Disqualifying Convictions

New Jersey requires applicants to demonstrate Good Moral Character. Under the Uniform Enforcement Act (N.J.S.A. 45:1-21), the Board may deny licensure if an applicant has been convicted of:

• A crime involving moral turpitude.
• A felony or high misdemeanor under New Jersey law, federal law, or the laws of any other state.
• Any offense involving the illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, or possession with intent to distribute of controlled dangerous substances (CDS).
• Any offense demonstrating professional dishonesty, fraud, or insurance fraud.

3. Criminal History Record Background Check (CHRC)

Applicants must submit to mandatory state and federal criminal history record background checks conducted through electronic fingerprinting (LiveScan / IdentoGO). Fingerprint results are transmitted directly from the New Jersey State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the Board office. Applications remain incomplete until full clearance is issued.

4. English Proficiency (Foreign-Graduate Track Only)

N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.1(a) imposes no separate English examination on graduates of ACPE-accredited programs. English proficiency is assessed only on the foreign-graduate track, and it is assessed by NABP rather than by the Board: the TOEFL iBT is a component of FPGEC certification, which N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.1(b)3 makes a prerequisite to licensure. Do not answer an item by asserting a freestanding New Jersey English requirement for domestic Pharm.D. graduates — the rule does not contain one.

5. Professional Education

The applicant must have graduated and received a professional degree (Doctor of Pharmacy, Pharm.D., or a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy if graduated prior to ACPE's transition to the all-Pharm.D. standard) from a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

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Examination Requirements: NAPLEX & NJ MPJE Standards

Initial licensure candidates must pass two comprehensive standardized examinations administered in conjunction with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP):

                                Initial Licensure
                                        │
                ┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
                ▼                                               ▼
       NAPLEX Examination                              NJ MPJE Examination
   • Clinical Competence & Math                   • NJ Statutes (N.J.S.A. 45:14)
   • Result: Pass / Fail only                     • NJ Admin Code (N.J.A.C. 13:39)
   • Min 45-day wait on retake                    • Controlled Substances (13:45H)
                                                  • Federal Statutes & Regulations
                                                  • Result: Pass / Fail only
                                                  • Min 30-day wait on retake

The "Score of 75" Trap — Rule Text vs. What NABP Actually Reports

This is one of the most commonly mis-taught facts in New Jersey pharmacy law, and the two sources genuinely say different things. You need both.

What the New Jersey rule says. N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.2 is still on the books and still reads that an applicant for initial licensure "shall attain a passing score of not less than 75" on the NAPLEX (subsection a) and "not less than 75" on the MPJE (subsection b). If an exam question quotes the New Jersey Administrative Code, 75 is the codified benchmark.

What NABP actually reports. NABP's current NAPLEX/MPJE/UMPJE Candidate Application Bulletin states plainly, for both exams: "Your exam results will be reported as either Pass or Fail – you will not receive a scaled score." No number is transmitted to the candidate, and no number is transmitted to the New Jersey Board — only the Pass/Fail outcome. The widely repeated claim that you "need a 75" describes a legacy reporting practice that NABP no longer uses.

How to reconcile them. The 75 in 13:39-2.2 now functions as the codified expression of NABP's passing standard rather than a figure anyone sees. A candidate who passes receives no performance detail at all; only a failing MPJE result generates a Candidate Performance Report, and that report shows relative performance across the four competency areas rather than a score.

The 107-Item Rule

The NJ MPJE delivers 120 items (100 scored + 20 unscored pretest items) in 2.5 hours using computer-adaptive delivery. You must answer at least 107 items for any result to be reported at all; answering 107 to 119 items produces a result with a penalty applied for each unanswered item, and answering fewer than 107 means no result is reported and the attempt is consumed. Because the exam is adaptive, you cannot skip an item or return to a confirmed answer.

[!IMPORTANT] Score Validity & Retake Timing: Under N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.2(c), NAPLEX and MPJE results are valid for only five years from the date the applicant passed the respective examination — a candidate who passed the NAPLEX six years ago and never completed licensure must retake it. Under NABP policy, a candidate who fails the NAPLEX must wait at least 45 days before retesting; a candidate who fails the NJ MPJE must wait at least 30 days. NABP permits a maximum of five attempts per jurisdiction unless the Board directs otherwise, and MPJE scores are never transferable between jurisdictions — the score-transfer program covers only the NAPLEX and the new UMPJE.

[!NOTE] Which law exam does New Jersey use? NABP launched the Uniform MPJE (UMPJE) in 2026 as a jurisdiction-neutral alternative, and a number of boards have retired their state-specific MPJE in favor of it. New Jersey is not a UMPJE-participating jurisdiction, so the state-specific NJ MPJE — testing New Jersey statutes and regulations alongside federal law — remains the required jurisprudence exam for New Jersey licensure.

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Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Licensure Pathway

Pharmacists educated outside the United States and its territories face a specialized statutory pathway under N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.1(b). Intern registration for these candidates is governed by N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.7(c), and the internship itself by N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.6. Because foreign pharmacy schools are not accredited by ACPE, the Board requires independent educational equivalency and language validation.

Step 1: NABP Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) Certification

Before a foreign graduate can take any state licensure exam or register for a New Jersey pharmacy internship, the candidate must secure official FPGEC Certification from NABP. To earn the FPGEC Certificate, the candidate must:

1. Submit academic credentials demonstrating completion of a professional pharmacy degree program comparable to domestic curricula.
2. Pass the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE).
3. Pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) with specific minimum sub-scores established by NABP:
   • Reading: 22
   • Listening: 21
   • Speaking: 26
   • Writing: 24

Step 2: Internship Registration & Experience Hours

Once the foreign graduate possesses an active FPGEC Certificate, they must formally register with the Board as a Pharmacy Intern and complete 1,440 hours of Board-approved practical experience in New Jersey under an approved preceptor, within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of application. N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.1(b)4 states expressly that the internship "shall not commence before the applicant has been certified by FPGEC," and N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.7(c) independently bars the Board from even registering the candidate as an intern before FPGEC certification. College externship hours from foreign institutions cannot be credited toward this requirement.

Step 3: Licensure Examinations

Upon verified completion of the 1,440 internship hours, the foreign graduate is authorized to sit for the NAPLEX and the NJ MPJE, and must receive a Pass result on each examination.

[!WARNING] Critical Exam Rule: A foreign pharmacy graduate CANNOT log or earn any valid practical experience hours in New Jersey until they have received their official FPGEC Certificate AND registered with the New Jersey Board as a pharmacy intern. Any hours worked prior to obtaining the intern registration certificate are legally void.

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Licensure by Reciprocity / Endorsement

Under N.J.A.C. 13:39-2A.1, pharmacists licensed in another state or jurisdiction may obtain a New Jersey pharmacist license without retaking the NAPLEX through the process of reciprocity (also known as license transfer or licensure by endorsement).

[!WARNING] Citation trap. Reciprocity is not a section of Subchapter 2. It has its own freestanding subchapter: Subchapter 2A, comprising 13:39-2A.1 (requirements for reciprocal licensure), 13:39-2A.2 and 2A.4 (proof of character and criminal history background check), and 13:39-2A.5 (the jurisprudence examination). N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.5 is "Refusal to license" — a different rule entirely. An answer choice that pins the reciprocity hour requirement on 13:39-2.5 is citing the wrong rule.

The NABP Electronic Licensure Transfer Program (e-LTP)

All reciprocity applications must be initiated through the NABP Electronic Licensure Transfer Program (e-LTP). The NABP investigates the applicant’s initial licensure history, disciplinary records across all jurisdictions, and educational background, compiling an official electronic transfer dossier that is transmitted directly to the New Jersey Board.

Statutory Eligibility Criteria for Reciprocity

N.J.A.C. 13:39-2A.1(a) limits reciprocal licensure to pharmacists "duly licensed in mutually reciprocating states." Beyond that threshold, subsection (b) sets out a five-part test that the applicant must satisfy in full:

1. Initial Licensure by Examination: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)1i, the application must substantiate that the applicant "has obtained his or her initial licensure by examination" and that the initial license is in good standing. This is the single most-missed element on the exam: a pharmacist whose own first license was itself granted by reciprocity cannot use that license to reciprocate into New Jersey.
2. Clean Record in Every Jurisdiction: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)1ii, no other license held by the applicant in any state may be suspended, revoked, or otherwise restricted — with a narrow carve-out for a restriction imposed solely for failure to renew or failure to obtain continuing education credits in a state where the applicant is licensed but not practicing.
3. Education: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)2, the applicant must hold either a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from a minimum five-year course of study or a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, from an ACPE-accredited or ACPE-deemed-equivalent school. A foreign graduate whose school is neither must instead proceed under 13:39-2A.1(c), which requires a valid FPGEC certification.
4. Practice Experience Requirement: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)3, the applicant must have engaged in the practice of pharmacy for at least 1,500 hours within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of application; OR must have registered with the Board as an intern and satisfied all internship requirements set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:39-2.6 within that same two-year period. Note what the alternative actually is — it is a New Jersey Board-registered internship, not "being recently licensed somewhere else." The definition of "pharmacy intern" at 13:39-2.6(a) confirms the linkage: it expressly includes a person "who has applied to the Board for reciprocal licensure and has not been engaged in the practice of pharmacy for at least 1,500 hours within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of application."
5. Character and Criminal History Clearance: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)5, the applicant must satisfy the good moral character and criminal history background check requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:39-2A.2 and 2A.4 — the Subchapter 2A analogues of 13:39-2.3 and 2.4.
6. Jurisprudence Examination: Under 13:39-2A.1(b)4, the applicant must take and pass the NJ MPJE, consistent with 13:39-2A.5, and may sit for it only after submitting all required documentation to the Board and receiving authorization to test from NABP. Reciprocity does not waive the jurisprudence exam, and a passing MPJE result from another state can never be transferred to satisfy it.
7. NABP Transfer Criteria: Finally, 13:39-2A.1(d) layers NABP's own requirements on top: an applicant for licensure by reciprocity "shall meet all licensure transfer criteria utilized by NABP."

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Practical Legal Scenario: Navigating Out-of-State Transfer

Scenario: Pharmacist David has been licensed and practicing in Pennsylvania for six years. He accepts a position as a pharmacy manager at a retail store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. David submits an e-LTP application to transfer his license to New Jersey.

Legal Analysis:

1. David must request that NABP transmit his e-LTP dossier to the New Jersey Board, and must independently satisfy 13:39-2A.1(d) by meeting NABP's own licensure transfer criteria.
2. Because David has been actively practicing for six years, he easily meets the experiential threshold of at least 1,500 hours of pharmacy practice within the two-year period immediately preceding the application (13:39-2A.1(b)3), so he never has to fall back on the Board-registered internship alternative.
3. David is not required to retake the NAPLEX — 13:39-2A.1(b) requires only the MPJE. But his Pennsylvania license must have been obtained by examination; had Pennsylvania granted it by reciprocity, 13:39-2A.1(b)1i would disqualify him.
4. David must complete the New Jersey LiveScan fingerprint background check.
5. David must register for, sit for, and pass the NJ MPJE. His passing Pennsylvania MPJE result is worthless here — MPJE results are jurisdiction-specific and are never transferred.
6. Crucially, David cannot practice as a pharmacist or serve as the Pharmacist-in-Charge in Cherry Hill until the New Jersey Board formally issues his active New Jersey license number.