Foreign Graduates

PURPOSE: This rule establishes licensure requirements for pharmacist applicants who are graduates from a pharmacy school/ college not located in the United States or a United States territory. (1) Definitions. (A) Foreign school/college—For purposes of this rule, a foreign school/college shall be defined as a school/college of pharmacy that is not located in a United States (U.S.) state/territory. (2) Applicability. The provisions of this rule are applicable to all graduates of a foreign school/college, including, graduates currently or previously licensed as a pharmacist by another U.S. state/territory. Graduates from a foreign school/college of pharmacy shall comply with the provisions of this rule prior to filing an examination application, an application for pharmacist licensure, or a reciprocity application. (3) Prior to applying for a Missouri pharmacist license, graduates of a foreign school/college shall first obtain Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee Certification (FPGEC) from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP). Potential applicants shall pay all fees and comply with all application/certification procedures required by NABP. (4) After receiving FPGEC certification, applicants shall file a Foreign Graduate Pharmacist License Examination Application with the board or, if applicable, a Foreign Graduate Pharmacist Transfer/Reciprocity Application, as provided in section (5). Applications shall be submitted on a form provided by the board and accompanied by the application fee and must include— (A) A copy of a certificate showing proof of name, date of birth, and place of birth by one (1) of the following methods: 1. Birth certificate; 2. Baptismal certificate; or 3. Notarized statement from an authorized governmental agency; (B) Documentation of name change, if the name on the credentials supplied for evaluation purposes is different than the name appearing on the application; (C) Proof of fingerprinting as required by 20 CSR 2220-7.090; (D) A copy of the applicant’s valid FPGEC certificate; (E) Proof of U.S. citizenship or, if the applicant is not a U.S. citizen, a copy of current visa, along with a copy of a U.S. employment authorization document such as an Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-551 or Employment Authorization Card Form I-688-B, or any other document approved or issued by the U.S. government permitting employment in the U.S.; and (F) Documentation as required by the board showing proof of one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of pharmacy practice experience related to the practice of pharmacy that complies with 20 CSR 2220-7.030(1)(A)3. or proof that the applicant has maintained an active pharmacist license in another U.S. state/ territory for a period of not less than one (1) year. To be eligible for licensure, the one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of pharmacy practice experience must have been earned in a U.S. state/territory after the date the applicant obtained FPGEC certification. Applicants who have not yet completed the one thousand five hundred- (1,500-) hour experience requirement shall apply for licensure as an intern pharmacist and shall complete the required one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours before the application is approved. (5) Reciprocity/License Transfer. In addition to the requirements of this rule, graduates of a foreign school/college with a valid FPGEC certification who are currently licensed as a pharmacist in another U.S. state/territory shall also be governed by and comply with 20 CSR 2220-7.050 governing license transfer/ reciprocity. (6) Test Scheduling for Foreign Graduates Applying for Licensure by Examination. When an application has been completed, the board will notify an applicant if he/she is eligible for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and/ or Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE) examinations. The applicant shall schedule test dates for both the NAPLEX and MPJE with NABP. The applicant shall satisfy all testing and scheduling requirements established by NABP and shall complete any necessary application(s) and payment of fee(s) for scheduling/taking the examination(s). (A) To avoid forfeiture of eligibility, the applicant must take the required examination(s) within three hundred sixtyfive (365) days after having been determined eligible for examination by the board. If the applicant does not take the examination within three hundred sixty-five (365) days, the applicant must reapply to the board for examination/licensure and again pay the examination application fee. (B) A determination by the board that an applicant is eligible for examination does not guarantee that the applicant will be issued a Missouri pharmacist license. The board reserves the right to deny an applicant for licensure that has been approved to take the required examinations as authorized by Missouri law. (7) Testing. Applicants for licensure by examination shall successfully pass both the NAPLEX and the MPJE examinations. Applicants for licensure by transfer/reciprocity must successfully pass the MPJE. A minimum score of seventy-five (75) is required for each of the required examinations. Upon approval by the board and successful completion of the NAPLEX and MPJE, the board may issue a pharmacist license to the applicant. Applicants must pass the required examination(s) under this section within two (2) years of submitting their licensure application to the board. Failure to achieve passing score(s) within two (2) years will result in the license application being rejected as incomplete. The applicant may reapply for licensure and restart the examination process, except as otherwise provided by section (8) or other provisions of Missouri law. (8) Retesting. If an applicant fails to achieve a score of seventy-five (75) on both the NAPLEX and MPJE, the candidate shall retake and pass the failed examination(s) before a license can be issued. Any applicant who fails to achieve a passing score on either of the examinations shall file an application for reexamination with the board and pay the examination application fee each time. All examinations are scored independently and may be retaken independently. (A) The board shall review and approve any applicant that fails the NAPLEX or MPJE two (2) consecutive times prior to the applicant being declared eligible to retest. A candidate shall not be declared eligible to retest under this subsection until approved by the board. In lieu of disapproval, the board may establish a date after which the candidate shall be eligible to retest or may establish additional training or study requirements to be completed before authorization to retest is granted. Applicants who fail the NAPLEX five (5) times shall not be declared eligible to retake the NAPLEX. Applicants who fail the MPJE five (5) times shall not be declared eligible to retake the MPJE unless otherwise approved by the board for extenuating circumstances. (B) Application for reexamination shall be made on a form provided by the board. Fees for reexamination shall be non-refundable. (9) Upon approval by the board and successful completion of the NAPLEX and MPJE, the board shall issue a pharmacist license to the applicant. (10) A pharmacist license application pursuant to this rule shall be deemed invalid if the applicant fails to submit all information required to complete the application within six (6) months after the application is received by the board, with the exception of successful completions of the NAPLEX and/or MPJE. However, the application may remain active if the applicant has applied for licensure as a Missouri intern pharmacist to complete the required pharmacy practice experience and has completed all other preliminary application requirements, provided the application shall be deemed void if the applicant fails to complete the required pharmacy practice experience within two (2) years from the date the applicant’s pharmacist application was initially received by the board. AUTHORITY: sections 338.020, 338.040, 338.060, and 338.070, RSMo 2016, and sections 338.035 and 338.140, RSMo Supp. 2025.* Original rule filed Jan. 10, 2013, effective Aug. 30, 2013. Amended: Filed Aug. 27, 2025, effective Feb. 28, 2026. *Original authority: 338.020, RSMo 1939, amended 1947, 1949, 1981, 1990, 2014; 338.035, RSMo 1990, amended 1993, 1995, 2007, 2020; 338.040, RSMo 1939, amended 1961, 1969, 1981, 1990; 338.060, RSMo 1939, amended 1943, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1981, 1984, 1997, 1999; 338.070, RSMo 1939, amended 1947, 1953, 1961, 1969, 1981, 1985, 1997; and 338.140, RSMo 1939, amended 1981, 1989, 1997, 2011, 2019.