4.2 Pharmacist Licensure: Education, NAPLEX/MPJE & Internship

The Full Path to Initial Licensure

To become a licensed pharmacist in New York, Education Law §6805 and Title 8 NYCRR Part 63 (specifically §59.6) require an applicant to satisfy five categories of requirements simultaneously:

1. Age — at least 21 years old.
2. Citizenship/immigration status — a U.S. citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
3. Character — "good moral character," as determined by the Department.
4. Education — a bachelor's degree or higher in pharmacy from a qualifying program (below).
5. Examination and experience — passing NAPLEX and the New York-specific MPJE, plus supervised internship hours (except where exempt).

Education Pathways

New York recognizes three education routes:

The FPGEC-eligible coursework floor is exact and testable:

• At least 60 semester hours of preprofessional study, including a minimum of 20 hours in basic sciences and 20 hours in general education; and
• At least 90 semester hours of professional study, including a minimum of 15 hours in biomedical sciences, 20 hours in pharmaceutical sciences, and 15 hours in clinical sciences.

A candidate who is short on any one subcategory — say, 12 hours of biomedical science instead of 15 — does not qualify on the FPGEC/non-accredited pathway even if total hours exceed 150.

NAPLEX and the New York MPJE

New York requires passing scores on both national NABP examinations, each from within the past five years of the application:

• NAPLEX (North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination) — clinical/therapeutic competency, standardized nationwide.
• MPJE (Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination), New York edition — federal and New York-specific pharmacy law.

The MPJE format is standardized by NABP across every jurisdiction even though the content is state-specific: 120 questions (100 scored, 20 unscored pretest items). Candidates get 2.5 hours, must answer at least 107 questions to receive a score, and must reach a scaled passing score of 75. A candidate who answers fewer than 107 questions has no score reported at all; answering 107–119 (not completing all 120) triggers a scoring penalty proportional to the unanswered items.

Internship Hours — the 1,040 vs. 2,080 Rule

Every non-exempt candidate must complete supervised practical experience under a licensed and currently registered preceptor pharmacist, with full-time defined as 40 hours per week:

The PharmD exemption exists because the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum already embeds Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs/APPEs) — hundreds of supervised clinical rotation hours — inside the degree itself; Part 63 treats a PharmD graduate as having already completed the internship requirement. A pharmacy graduate who holds only the older Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree, by contrast, is NOT automatically exempt and must log the applicable 1,040 or 2,080 hours.

To accrue hours legally, a candidate must first obtain a Limited (Intern) Permit — fee $70, non-refundable — which authorizes supervised practice before full licensure. All hours must be earned in a registered pharmacy establishment, under a preceptor who is both licensed and currently registered with NYSED; internship time worked under a lapsed or unregistered preceptor does not count, and candidates are expected to document hours on Board-approved affidavits submitted with the license application.

Exam Registration and the Authorization to Test

Candidates do not schedule NAPLEX or the NY MPJE directly with a testing center. They first register with NABP, which verifies that the candidate meets New York's education, experience, and admission requirements in coordination with the Department; once NYSED confirms eligibility, NABP issues an Authorization to Test (ATT). Only after receiving the ATT can a candidate schedule an exam appointment with Pearson VUE. Results are typically available roughly seven business days after the test date and are released only through the candidate's individual NABP e-Profile account — the Department does not release scores directly. Candidates requiring disability-related testing accommodations must file NABP's accommodation request, with supporting documentation, before scheduling.

Foreign-trained candidates on the FPGEC pathway also have a testing prerequisite of their own: FPGEC certification itself requires passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and demonstrating English proficiency (commonly via TOEFL iBT), in addition to the semester-hour coursework thresholds above. FPGEC certification must be completed and verified before NABP will process NAPLEX/MPJE eligibility for that candidate.

Part III Elimination

New York formerly required a hands-on compounding practical exam, referred to as the "Part III" examination, as a licensure condition. Effective January 1, 2022, Part III is no longer required for pharmacist licensure in New York. The paperwork associated with avoiding Part III (Form 4B) was eliminated along with the requirement itself. A 2026 MPJE candidate should NOT expect a Part III component — the current path is NAPLEX + NY MPJE + internship (or the PharmD exemption) only.

Fees at Initial Licensure

The current total fee for initial pharmacist licensure is $339, composed of a $115 application fee and a $224 registration fee (the registration fee bundles in the $45 continuing-education fee that otherwise applies each renewal cycle, discussed in section 4.3).

Exam Traps

• Do not assume every pharmacy graduate is internship-exempt — only PharmD graduates are; BS Pharmacy graduates from ACPE programs still owe 1,040 hours.
• The MPJE's 120-question/75-scaled-score/2.5-hour format is identical in every state — what changes state to state is the law tested, not the exam mechanics.
• "Part III" is now a historical/legacy term for pre-2022 candidates; do not treat it as a current requirement.