MPJE and NAPLEX Tips: Pharmacy Exams Requirements by State

Part of fulfilling the requirements to become licensed as a pharmacist in the Unites states requires pharmacy graduates to complete and pass board exams. These requirements vary by state. This blog article provides a high-level overview of the examinations required by states.  

Note that pharmacy laws vary widely by state. This short article covers generic/general information and helps establish a baseline of minimum required knowledge in the topic. Always check the state board laws for complete and comprehensive details. 

At the end of this article, we present a few MPJE questions specific to this topic. 

1. NAPLEX exam: All states require this exam

2. MPJE exam: Most states require this exam

3. States that do not require the MPJE exam: Arkansas, California, Idaho, and Puerto Rico. However, these states have specific laws/other exams (s). See the board website for more details

Beyond examinations, some states and boards of pharmacy require an interview with the applicant before a license can be issued. The following states require interviews: Alabama, Guam, and Oklahoma. 

Here are some MPJE questions related to this topic: 

Assumptions for both questions: The state does not require any exam beyond the MPJE and NAPLEX 

MPJE Question 1: You are the pharmacist in charge and owner of an independent pharmacy. Sara, a licensed pharmacist in a different state, recently moved to this jurisdiction and wants to practice as a night shift pharmacist at your pharmacy. When can Sarah start? 

1. Right away

2. Right after completing the MPJE for this state

3. Right after submitting a license transfer application to the BOP

4. None of the provided answers

MPJE Question 2: You are a preceptor at a community pharmacy. You supervised all of Ankit’s pharmacy internship hours. When can Ankit start practicing independency? (Ankit graduated from an ACPE PharmD program) 

1. Right after passing the MPJE exam while still on an intern license

2. Right after passing the NAPLEX exam while still on an intern license

3. Right after becoming a licensed pharmacist by the board of this state

4. Right after becoming a licensed pharmacist by the board of this state and completing 500 hours of internship post-licensure

Answer Key: 

Q1 – (4) – None of the provided answers is correct. Sara can only practice pharmacy in the state after she receives a pharmacist license from this state. 

Q2 – (3) – Ankit can practice pharmacy independently once he becomes a licensed pharmacist in this state. 

Taking practice MPJE®/NAPLEX® exams is key to passing the board exams on the first try. Practice exams:

1.   Expose you to time constraints and help you build mental stamina

2.   Expose you to different questions (K-type, select all, etc.)

3.   Expose you to random topics with various difficulties

4.   Expose you to new answer choices

5.   Help demystify the exams and ease test anxiety

PassRXnow offers MPJE practice content for 15+ states and 600+ NAPLEX questions covering clinical, patient profile, calculations, and top 200 generics/brand name drugs. All NAPLEX and MPJE practice exams have answers, explanations, and references. 1000’s of questions, all updated frequently. 

You can avoid the impact of failing the NAPLEX / MPJE by doing more practice exams. Check out our offerings. For transparency, you can see the last update date for each course at the top of the course page in the links below. Content is updated regularly.

MPJE – click here for the latest States (if you don’t see your state MPJE reference below)

Washington MPJE   | Michigan MPJE  | Pennsylvania MPJE | Massachusetts MPJE| Florida MPJE | New York MPJE | Tennessee MPJE | Illinois MPJE | Ohio MPJE | Texas MPJE |  Georgia MPJE | Federal pharmacy law | Advanced MPJE covering USP <800>, Central fill, and more

New states are constantly added. Click here to see the latest MPJE for all states.

NAPLEX  - click here for the NAPLEX offerings

NAPLEX practice | NAPLEX & MPJE Essentials