§ 34-23-51 — Application for License; Qualifications; Examination; License by Reciprocity

(a) Every person who desires to practice pharmacy within this state shall file with the secretary of the board his or her application for licensure as required by the board not less than 10 days prior to his or her examination. The application shall be accompanied by an examination and registration fee for residents and nonresidents of this state, the fees to be set by the board.
(b) The applicant shall furnish satisfactory proof that he or she is at least 19 years of age, of good moral character, and that he or she holds a professional degree from a division, school, college, or a university department of pharmacy recognized by the board. Each applicant shall also be a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government.
(c) The applicant shall have completed an approved practical training program under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist in a site recognized by the board as qualified for training pharmacy externs and interns, the training standards to be established by the board as long as the standards are not less than those set by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The completion of the practical training requirements shall be attested by affidavit from the licensed pharmacist preceptor under whom the training is served.
(d)(1) The applicant shall pass an examination administered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy or other entity approved by the board in subjects consistent with those required by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and in accordance with the rules of the board. In case of failure of a first examination, the applicant shall have within three years the privilege of a second and third examination. In case of failure in the third examination, the applicant shall be eligible for only one additional examination and this only after he or she has satisfactorily completed additional preparation as directed and approved by the board.
(2) An applicant may be admitted to the examination provided all of the requirements in subsections (a), (b), and (c) are met, and in addition, that affidavits attesting to the prescribed practical training program have been presented to the secretary prior to the examination.
(3) An application for examination by the board may be denied if the applicant is proven to have been involved in any violation of this chapter. An applicant who has been expelled from an examination for cribbing, cheating, or other dishonest conduct shall not be permitted to complete the examination applied for and shall not be permitted to file a new application for examination during the balance of the same calendar year or the calendar year next following the expulsion.
(e) The board may issue a license without examination to an applicant who furnishes satisfactory proof that he or she has been licensed to practice pharmacy by examination in another state that under like conditions grants reciprocal licensure without examination to pharmacists duly licensed by examination in this state, that he or she is a person of good moral character and temperate habits, and provided that the requirements in the state from which the applicant is reciprocating were no less than the requirements of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The application shall be accompanied by a fee set by the board. Each applicant for licensure by reciprocity shall be personally interviewed by two or more members of the board before being granted a license, and the applicant shall pass an examination on the laws governing the practice of pharmacy in this state. The applicant shall be approved for reciprocity by the board prior to the time that he or she begins the duties of a licensed pharmacist in this state. No applicant shall be granted reciprocal licensure unless all evidence and supporting documents of licensure in the state from which the applicant is reciprocating are approved as meeting the requirements for reciprocity of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The board shall set and collect a fee for submitting and certifying grades for reciprocity in other states.

Legislative History

(Acts 1966, Ex. Sess., No. 205, p. 231, §11; Acts 1975, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 147, p. 393; Acts 1989, No. 89-235, p. 303, §3; Act 98-643, p. 1414, §1; Act 2009-36, p. 126, §3; Act 2021-185, §1.)