Applying for Licensure by Exam

Who Can Apply:

• In-state graduates
• Out-of-state graduates
• Foreign graduates

Steps to Apply:

1. Download the Candidate Registration Bulletin:
   • Visit the NABP website.
   • This bulletin provides instructions on creating your profile and registering for the NAPLEX and MPJE exams.
2. Register for Exams:
   • If Alabama is your primary license state, register for both the NAPLEX and MPJE.
   • If not, register only for the MPJE.
3. Create a Gateway Profile:
   • Use the link on the ALBOP homepage to create your profile.
   • For help, watch the “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
4. Submit Your Application:
   • Log in to your Gateway profile.
   • Click on the “Applications” tab and select “New Pharmacist Exam.”
   • Upload the following documents:
     • Birth certificate (or U.S. passport)
     • Driver’s license
     • Photo
     • College affidavit (Must contain your school’ ‘s official seal or sent directly to our office by your school)
5. Controlled Substance Registration (if applicable):
   • If you plan to work with controlled substances, pay a $100 fee for your controlled substance registration.
6. Testing Approval:
   • Once your application is complete and you graduate, the Board will notify NABP of your eligibility.
   • NABP will then send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) number, which you will use to schedule your exams.
7. Complete the Virtual Interview:
   • Prior to licensure, you must complete a virtual interview with Board members.
   • If you graduated from Samford or Auburn, the interview will be done as a group in the Spring.
   • If you graduated from another school, you will receive an email to schedule your interview when we approve your eligibility to test. You may complete your interview before or after passing your exams.
8. Receive Your License:
   • Once you pass your exams and complete your interview, your pharmacist license will be granted.
   • You can print your license from your Gateway profile, and a decorated engraved license will be mailed to you.

Important Notes for Foreign Graduates:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or legally present in the U.S. with appropriate documentation (as per Alabama law).
• Complete the FPGEC certification through NABP before applying for licensure.
• You are required to take both the NAPLEX and MPJE exams and complete 1500 internship hours to be eligible for licensure.

Applying by Reciprocity

Who Can Apply:
This is for pharmacists already licensed in another state.

Steps to Apply:

1. Complete the e-LTP Application:
   • Visit the NABP website and fill out the e-LTP application.
   • Save this application; you’ll need to upload it later for your ALBOP application.
2. Apply for the AL MPJE:
   • Go to the NABP website and apply to take the AL MPJE exam.
   • This application is separate from the e-LTP, and both must be completed for eligibility.
3. Create a Gateway Profile:
   • If you haven’t done so already, create a Gateway profile using the link on the ALBOP homepage.
   • For help, watch the “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
4. Submit Your Application:
   • Log in to your Gateway profile.
   • Click on the “Applications” tab and select “New Pharmacist Reciprocity.”
   • Upload the following documents:
     • Birth certificate (or U.S. passport)
     • Driver’s license
     • Photo
     • NABP eLTP application
5. Controlled Substance Registration (if applicable):
   • If you will work with controlled substances, pay a $100 fee for your controlled substance registration.
6. Eligibility Confirmation:
   • Once you complete the steps on NABP and ALBOP, your name will appear on NABP’s list of candidates.
   • After ALBOP grants you eligibility, NABP will send you an Authorization to Test (ATT) number.
7. Schedule Your Exam:
   • Use the ATT number to contact the testing company and set a date for your MPJE exam.
8. Complete the Virtual Interview:
   • After passing the MPJE, you will receive a link to schedule your virtual interview.
9. Receive Your License:
   • Once you pass the exam and complete the interview, you will be granted your pharmacist license.
   • Log back into your Gateway profile to print your license. A decorated engraved license will also be mailed to you.

Pharmacists renew their licenses on even-numbered years. The deadline to renew your pharmacist license on time is December 31 of even-numbered years. Between January 1 and 31 of the following year, your renewal will be considered late, but you can still renew online. After January 31, the online renewal window will close, you will need to reinstate by completing the following:

1. Using the link on the ALBOP homepage, create a Gateway profile if you have not already done so. For more instructions on how to do this, please view our “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
2. Click on the grey Pharmacist tile and select the orange Reinstatement button on the lefthand side. The reinstatement fee is calculated based on how long the license has been inactive.
3. If your license has been inactive for 5 years or less, you will be required to submit proof of CE. If your license has been inactive for more than 5 years, you will be required to take the MPJE.

New SCRA Amendment: In January 2023, Congress added a new provision to the SCRA that
allows service members and their spouses to use their professional licenses and certificates when they
relocate due to military orders. In Alabama, pharmacists who wish to transfer their license under this act will need to apply for a Pharmacist Enrollment Certificate. Click here to read more information on this act.

To submit an application for a Pharmacist Enrollment Certificate:

1. Using the link on the ALBOP homepage, create a Gateway profile if you have not already done so. For more instructions on how to do this, please view our “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
2. Log in to your Gateway profile, click Applications, and select “Pharmacist Enrollment Certificate” application.

All certification applications can be found in your Gateway profile. See below for requirements.

Please note all certification applications will be submitted ONLINE ONLY beginning October 1st.

Consultant

All pharmacist consultants must complete an initial consultant certification course including an examination with a score of 75 or higher. The initial certification course must be an eight (8) hour board-approved course consisting of the following subject matters:

1. Regulations and laws, both state and federal, pertaining to services provided by consultant pharmacists.
2. Policy and procedures.
3. Administrative responsibilities.
4. Professional responsibilities.
5. Consultant pharmacy opportunities – history and overview.
6. Drug regimen review.
7. Ethics in consultant pharmacy.
8. Impact of consultant pharmacy on the total healthcare system.
9. Drug therapy/disease state monitoring.

All pharmaceutical consultants are required to complete eight (8) live hours that have previously been approved by the Board each renewal cycle.

Nuclear

All pharmacists engaged in the practice of nuclear pharmacy shall have training or shall have demonstrated previous training in the safe handling of radioactive pharmaceuticals. They must be registered with and certified by the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy. The nuclear certification must be renewed every 2 years in alignment with your pharmacist license.

A licensed pharmacist seeking to practice nuclear pharmacy in this state shall submit to ALBOP a certificate of training and a course outline from an accredited college of pharmacy, or other program recognized by the State of Alabama Department of Public Health, Radiological Health Branch and the Alabama Board of Pharmacy, and a certificate of such training which provides a minimum of 200 clock hours of formal didactic training. To satisfy the basic instruction requirement, 200 hours of classroom and laboratory training shall include:

1. Radiation physics and instrumentation
2. Radiation protection
3. Mathematics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity
4. Radiation biology
5. Radiopharmaceutical chemistry

The minimum on-the-job training which shall be included in a radio pharmacy internship is 500 hours of training and experience in the handling of unsealed radioactive material under the supervision of a licensed nuclear pharmacist. The training and experience shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

1. Ordering, receiving and un-packaging radioactive material safely, including performing related radiation surveys.
2. Calibrating dose calibrators, scintillation detectors, and radiation monitoring equipment.
3. Calculating, preparing and verifying patient doses while maintaining radiation safety standards of shielding.
4. Following appropriate internal control procedures to prevent mislabeling.
5. Learning emergency procedures to handle and contain spilled materials safely, including related decontamination procedures and surveys.
6. Eluting Technetium-99 from generator systems, assaying the eluate for technetium-99m, for molybdenum-99 contamination, and processing the eluate with reagent radiopharmaceuticals.
7. Clinical practice concepts

Nuclear CE: Satisfactory completion of no less than 2 hours of CE prior to recertification earned in the previous calendar year related to nuclear pharmacy shall be required.

Parenteral

Who needs a parenteral certification?

What are the initial training requirements to obtain a parenteral certification?

What are the renewal training requirements to maintain my parenteral certification?

Who is responsible for making sure all employees have the correct parenteral certification, if required?

Once I’ve completed my renewal training, do I have to send it to ALBOP?

How do I know what initial and renewal parenteral programs are Board approved?

Preceptor

In accordance with Section 34-23-73, in order to be approved as a preceptor, a Pharmacist must have been licensed to practice pharmacy for a minimum of 2 years and complete an initial 2-hour board approved preceptor training program.

All pharmacists who have been approved by ALBOP as a preceptor must complete a 2-hour training seminar for preceptors each renewal cycle or be approved by the School of Pharmacy for curriculum hours (a full-time faculty member of a school of pharmacy). Such training seminar shall have prior approval of the Board.

Please note that externship/internship may be acquired only under the supervision of a preceptor who may supervise no more than three (3) externs/interns at any one time.

Know Before You Collaborate

• The Board of Pharmacy and Board of Medical Examiners (BME) jointly approve applications for collaborative practice between physicians and pharmacists.
• The collaborative practice agreement specifies the duties to be performed, documentation & communication between providers, quality assurance plans, and other details.
• ALBOP and BME have jointly created both a standard protocol and standard formulary that outline typical care and services to be provided by a physician/pharmacist collaboration.
• If a submitted CPA lists care and services that fall outside the standard protocol or standard formulary, that CPA will be sent to the Joint Committee for recommendation of approval. The Joint Committee is comprised of two ALBOP Board members and two BME Board members. The collaborative practice managers of each Board will also be present during Joint Committee meetings but will not be voting members.
• CPAs are to be renewed every 2 years, and notification of termination is required within 10 days.
• Amendments to the Authorized Care and Services section (which establish substantive additions or reductions to the scope of patient care services provided under the Agreement, including new therapeutic classes of drugs added to the authorized Formulary) must be provided to ALBOP and BME no later than 10 days from the date the amendment is signed by the parties.
• No retail pharmacy may employ a physician for the purpose of maintaining, establishing, or entering into a collaborative practice agreement. Nothing shall prohibit a retail pharmacy from hiring a physician or licensed medical practitioner for the purpose of conducting quality assurance reviews of its pharmacists that are engaged in the practice of collaborative drug therapy.

How to Apply

• To submit a CPA, please complete the Collaborative Practice Application located under Forms.
• The Collaborative Practice Application includes a coversheet of all required items to submit, the standard protocol, and standard formulary. The protocol will walk you through the necessary steps if the pharmacist’s scope of practice falls outside the standard protocol/formulary.

Qualifications

• Qualifications for Pharmacists
  • Active, unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in Alabama
  • Active, unrestricted Alabama Controlled Substance certificate issued by ALBOP
  • If the pharmacist is providing services in a facility permitted pursuant to § 34-23-30 only, the pharmacy must maintain an active unrestricted pharmacy permit and DEA registration
  • Paid all collaborative practice fees
• Qualifications for Physicians
  • Active, unrestricted license to practice medicine in Alabama
  • Active, unrestricted Alabama Controlled Substance certificate issued by BME
  • Shall have practiced medicine for at least 3 years OR 1 year if the physician is certified by a specialty board approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (AOABOS)
  • Paid all collaborative practice fees

Forms

Must submit application checklist, protocol, and formulary all at once. If performing test-to-treat, please complete the TTT protocol, not the standard protocol.

• Application checklist
• Standard protocol
• Test-to-treat protocol
• Standard formulary

Fees

• The fee for a new CPA is $300 to BME and $100 to ALBOP.
• The fee for renewing a CPA is $200 to BME and $50 to ALBOP.

Pharmacists are required to obtain 30 hours of CE each renewal cycle, with 6 of those 30 hours being live. “Live” means it can be in-person or virtual, but it cannot be a pre-recorded CE.  In order to receive credit, the CE shall be previously approved by the Board or be ACPE-approved. Any requests for approval of CE shall be submitted to the Board no less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to offering of the CE. A condition of approval shall be that the CE is pertinent to the practice of pharmacy. However, this requirement shall not apply to ACPE or ACCME approved continuing education courses for which a program number is available.

If you obtain your initial license in 2023, you are required to obtain 15 hours (3 of those 15 being live). If you obtain your initial license in 2024, you are NOT required to obtain any CE for that renewal cycle.

Attendees of board meetings, in person or virtually, may now receive CE credit. Please see process below to submit for credit.

• Full name must be displayed on Webex, and you must sign in individually.
• To claim your credit, you will need to complete a SignUpGenius survey. SignUpGenius link can be found on the website under About Us → Board Meetings → Claim CE Credit.
• The passcode will be available during executive session and CLOSE at 11:59 pm the day after the board meeting.
• Once SignUpGenius is completed, you will receive a confirmation email with details. Please retain this email for your CE records.
• Each meeting is worth 1 live hour. You must be present the entirety of the meeting in order to claim credit.
• Pharmacists can receive a max of 3 live hours/year for attending a Board meeting.
• Technicians can receive a max of 1 live hour/year for attending a Board meeting.

• College Affidavit
• Foreign Graduate Intern Hour Reporting