4.2 License Renewal, Continuing Pharmacy Education & Lapse Rules
Key Takeaways
Oregon pharmacist licenses expire June 30 of odd-numbered years. The 2025 renewals expire June 30, 2027.
Each Oregon renewal requires 30 hours of CPE, including 2 hours of law, 2 of patient safety, 2 of cultural competency and 1 hour of OHA pain management.
Oregon pharmacists must use NABP CPE Monitor, may count no more than 10 ACCME/AAVSB-RACE hours, cannot carry hours forward and must keep CPE proof for six years.
Oregon licenses lapsed more than 3 years require the Oregon MPJE for reinstatement. Licenses lapsed more than 5 years, without active licensure elsewhere, require both MPJE and NAPLEX.
Oregon allows a pharmacist with 20 years of licensure in good standing to retire the license. Retirement is not discipline, and a retired pharmacist may not practice.
Why this matters
Once licensed, an Oregon pharmacist keeps the license current through biennial renewal and continuing pharmacy education (CPE). MPJE items test the renewal date, the required CPE mix, record retention, and what happens when a license lapses for different lengths of time. The rules are in OAR 855-115-0035 to -0050 and OAR 855-135.
The renewal cycle
- Pharmacist licenses expire on June 30 of odd-numbered years and are renewed every two years (OAR 855-115-0030). The licenses renewed in 2025 expire June 30, 2027.
- Technician licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years. Intern licenses expire November 30.
- Renewal requires the biennial fee, completed CPE, a criminal background check submission and conduct disclosures (OAR 855-115-0035). The Board's 2025 renewal notice listed $474 for a late renewal: a $350 biennial fee, $50 late fee, $70 Prescription Drug Monitoring Program fee and $4 workforce survey fee. An on-time renewal omits the late fee.
- Licensees must keep their contact and employer information current, reporting changes within 15 days (OAR 855-104-0010).
The 30-hour CPE requirement (OAR 855-135-0050)
Each renewal requires 30 hours of CPE completed during the renewal period:
| Required topic | Hours |
|---|---|
| Pharmacy law | 2 |
| Patient safety or medication error prevention | 2 |
| Cultural competency (OHA-approved under ORS 413.450, or any cultural competency CPE) | 2 |
| Pain management, from the OHA Pain Management Commission | 1 |
| Other subjects pertinent to pharmacy | 23 |
Key details:
- Accepted sources: ACPE-accredited CPE, Board-approved programs, CVME, and ACCME AMA Category 1. ACCME AMA Category 1 and AAVSB-RACE credit is limited to 10 hours per cycle.
- CPE Monitor: pharmacists must register with NABP's CPE Monitor to track ACPE credit (effective July 1, 2023). For Board-approved or ACCME programs, which don't appear in CPE Monitor, upload certificates to the Board's eGov licensing record.
- Live CPE is not required, and CPE need not be pharmacist-specific.
- No carry-forward. Extra hours do not count toward the next cycle.
- Retention: keep proof of CPE for at least six years (OAR 855-135-0050(7)).
- First renewal is prorated. A pharmacist first licensed during the cycle owes fewer hours, in any topic, depending on the quarter of initial licensure. In the 2025 cycle the Board listed 16, 12, 8 and 4 hours for the four quarters before renewal.
Note
The Board offers free Oregon-approved law CPE explaining the 2024 rule reorganization: Division 115 (1.5 hours) and Divisions 120 and 125 (1 hour each). These programs are Board-approved but not ACPE-accredited, so pharmacists upload the certificates to eGov.
Audits and false attestations
Renewing is an attestation that the CPE is complete. If an audit or complaint shows the hours were not completed, or cannot be proven, the Board opens a case that may lead to discipline. A pharmacist who renews while admitting the CPE is incomplete has the renewal held as incomplete. The license lapses if the CPE is not finished and reported by the expiration date.
Renewal disclosures
The renewal application asks about criminal history and other licensing actions since the last renewal. A pharmacist who must disclose an arrest, citation, charge or disciplinary action provides, for each incident:
- A detailed written description with dates, the city and state, and the outcome.
- Police reports and court records: the judgment and sentencing order or dismissal, plus proof of compliance with any court-ordered terms.
- Any fully executed board orders or pending actions from other boards.
If an agency has no record, the pharmacist gets a statement from it saying so. Failing to provide these records may itself lead to discipline. Renewal also requires the Oregon Healthcare Workforce Demographic Survey, which the Board must collect before renewing a license.
Lapse, reinstatement, retirement and surrender
| Status | Oregon rule |
|---|---|
| Lapse (OAR 855-115-0040) | The license lapses if it is not renewed, or on a Board-accepted request. Lapse is not discipline, but practicing on a lapsed license is prohibited. The Board keeps jurisdiction, and it won't accept a lapse request while discipline is pending |
| Renewal after lapse of 12 months or less | Renew with the late fee (OAR 855-115-0035) |
| Lapsed more than 12 months | Apply for reinstatement |
| Lapsed more than 3 years | Reinstatement also requires passing the Oregon MPJE |
| Lapsed more than 5 years, without active licensure elsewhere | Reinstatement requires passing both the MPJE and NAPLEX |
| Retire (OAR 855-115-0045) | Available after at least 20 years of licensure in good standing. Retirement is not discipline. A retired pharmacist may not practice. Statute also exempts retired 20-year pharmacists from license fees until they return (ORS 689.275(3)) |
| Voluntary surrender (OAR 855-115-0050) | Ends the license. The Board keeps jurisdiction to investigate (ORS 689.153) |
Exam scenario
A pharmacist renewed in June 2025 and completed 34 CPE hours in the 2025–2027 cycle. Among them were 3 law hours, 2 patient-safety hours and the OHA pain-management hour, but no cultural competency CPE. The total is not the problem. The pharmacist is missing the 2-hour cultural competency requirement, and the 4 extra hours cannot be carried into the next cycle. The pharmacist must keep the certificates for six years.
Which set of CPE hours satisfies Oregon's subject-specific requirements for a pharmacist renewing a license that was in effect for the whole cycle?
3 hours of law, 2 of patient safety, the OHA pain-management hour and 24 other hours
2 hours each of law, immunization and compounding, plus 24 other hours
2 hours of law, 2 of patient safety, 2 of cultural competency, 1 OHA pain-management hour and 23 other pertinent hours
15 live hours, including 5 of law, and 15 home-study hours
How long must an Oregon pharmacist retain proof of completed CPE?
Three years, matching the general record-retention rule
Two years, until the next renewal
Seven years, matching clinical records
At least six years under OAR 855-135-0050(7)
An Oregon pharmacist let their license lapse four years ago and has not practiced anywhere since. What must they do to reinstate under OAR 855-115-0035?
Apply for reinstatement and pass the Oregon MPJE
Pay the late fee only
Pass both NAPLEX and the MPJE
Complete 1,440 internship hours
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.