Pharmacy Licensure

Welcome to the MCPHS Pharmacy licensing page for upcoming graduates.

For questions specific to completing an application for pharmacy licensing, please contact the respective Board of Pharmacy. For questions specific to the NAPLEX, please contact the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy or refer to their website. For questions about submitting application materials to MCPHS for completion, contact the Registrar's Office (617) 732-2855.

Universal Licensing Requirements

Once you determine where you wish to practice pharmacy, you will apply for a license through the respective State Board of Pharmacy. Though licensing applications and processes differ from state to state, everyone will need the following:

Proof of graduation from an accredited institution;
1500 hours of intern experience;
Passing NAPLEX score;
Passing score on the state law exam/MPJE.

You will submit an application to the state in which you wish to practice pharmacy. They will clear you to sit for the NAPLEX.

A simple version of the process looks like this:

Application submission (including graduation verification and intern hours) sent to board of pharmacy/Register for NAPLEX via NABP website
Board of Pharmacy clears you to sit for NAPLEX and MPJE (state law exam)
Pass NAPLEX and MPJE
License to practice pharmacy granted.

Application Hints

Applications can be found on the Board of Pharmacy website for the state to which you are applying. The NABP maintains a list of contact information for Boards of Pharmacy.
Forward sections of the application that the school needs to complete to the Registrar’s Office. See below for more details.
Use MCPHS University as the name of the institution- we are no longer the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.
Manchester students: you must use the address of the Worcester campus program (19 Foster Street, Worcester, MA 01608) when completing applications.
Questions about your application and how to fill it out should be directed to the respective Board of Pharmacy, not the Registrar’s Office. They will be processing your applications and are thus the most accurate source for information about application completion.
Does your application have a deadline? New York applications must be postmarked by April 1st. Send them to the Registrar’s Office as soon as possible!

Submitting Verification of Graduation/Intern Hours Paperwork to the Registrar’s Office

Requests for graduation and intern hours verification should be sent to the Registrar’s Office to ensure they are mailed immediately after graduation. Your applications do not necessarily have to be submitted to your respective Board of Pharmacy by a certain date. Refer to their rules and regulations for more information about application submission.

Massachusetts Applicants

Applying to be a pharmacist in Massachusetts? Simply fill out our Licensure Release Form and submit it to the Registrar’s Office using one of the methods described at the bottom of the form.
- The Registrar’s Office will automatically complete a Verification of Graduation on your behalf and will send it out to you after graduation.
Be sure to use a valid address at which you will be living after graduation when completing the Licensure Release.
The VOG will be mailed back to you in a sealed envelope for inclusion with the rest of your application.
Do not open the VOG! The envelope will be clearly marked with ‘Do Not Open’ on front and back.
- Let others who reside at the same address know that you are expecting such an envelope in mid-May and not to open it!
It is your responsibility to fill out the rest of the application for licensure in Massachusetts. It can be found on the Professional Credential Services website.
Once you receive the VOG, you can mail the entire application to Professional Credential Services, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy’s processing unit.

Other States

The Registrar’s Office is responsible for completing any needed proof that you graduated from MCPHS University and in many cases, can certify intern hours.
- Even if the application asks for verification from the dean or program director, send your materials to the Registrar’s Office.
Does your state require that the school complete a portion of your application? Do you need a letter from the school? A transcript?
- School completes part of Your application
Complete the Licensure Request Form. Be sure to indicate the state, what you are requesting, the return mailing address, and your signature.
- School completes part of your application/supplemental paperwork
  Fill out your portion of the paperwork and send to the Registrar’s Office along with the Licensure Request Form. Forward only the portion of the application that the school needs to complete.
- School verifies graduation and/or intern hours, not part of application
  Send in the Licensure Request Form to request a letter of graduation and/or intern hours.
- Transcript needed (Do not request a transcript for licensure on Self-Service unless you are doing so after graduation!)
  Send in the Licensure Request Form and specify if a transcript is needed.

Name Used on Licensing Documents

***Keep in mind: the name that the Registrar’s Office uses on any application materials or your transcript will be the same name that is included in the MCPHS system. To check on this, log on to Self-Service and click on ‘My Profile.’ The name that you see is the name we will use. If you wish to update your name, please complete a Student Information Change form and submit it to the Registrar’s Office along with two forms of valid documentation.

Intern Hours

Many states will ask MCPHS to certify school intern hours, either through a letter or as part of your verification of graduation paperwork
Other states will require that the MA Board of Pharmacy certify your school rotation hours. I will inform the MA Board of Pharmacy that all of your have completed 1500 school rotation hours after graduation. To ask for certification of hours from the MA Board, send a written request to the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy that includes the following:
Name
MA Pharmacy Intern ID Number
An address to which the certification should be sent back
A $15 check made out to ‘Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Submitting a Request to the Registrar's Office

Mail (all campuses):
Registrar's Office
MCPHS University
179 Longwood Ave
Boston, MA 02115

Fax*:
(617) 617-1050

Scan and email*:
registrarsoffice@mcphs.edu

Drop off:
White 220 (Boston)
40 Foster St, Room 227 (Worcester)

*You should only fax or scan a request if the paperwork does not include a photo or require your original signature.

Verify that Requests are Received and Completed

Self-Service - you will have access to Self-Service for 90 after graduation.

Your request will appear in Self-Service once it is received by our office.
- This includes Licensure Release forms for Massachusetts.
The Recipient and Address fields indicate where the documentation was/will be sent.
The modifier describes the documentation.
You will notice that a date appears in the ‘date requested’ column that falls after graduation- this is for internal use by the Registrar’s Office; please disregard.
When a date appears in the ‘Date Produced’ column, this is the date that the documentation (transcript, letter, application) was mailed.

Please note: aside from those states that have a specific application deadline (e.g. New York), all materials will be mailed out after graduation.

NAPLEX/MPJE

The NAPLEX/MPJE is overseen by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Refer to the NAPLEX/MPJE Bulletin (extremely important!) as well as the ‘Students’ section of the NABP website for further information about registering for the examinations, score transferring, and other details.

Remember to refer to the Survey of Pharmacy Law CD for various licensure regulations, intern hour requirements, score transfer, and reciprocity regulations for each state.