Annual Renewal of Licenses, Registrations, and Permits
The renewal period for all licensees, registrants, and permit holders begins on November 1 of each year and runs through December 31.
Select the appropriate category below for FAQs pertaining to renewal of your license, registration, or permit:
All questions about renewal of licenses, registrations, and permits not found below should be directed to the Board’s Director of Licensing, Missy Betz.
Pharmacist Renewal FAQs
$135, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Board Rule .2201 requires fifteen hours of continuing pharmacy education each year as a condition of licensure renewal. Five (5) of those hours must be live. The Board accepts remote continuing education as live if it is, in fact, live and allows attendees to participate in real time (see next FAQ below). These types of CE programs are widely, and readily, available.
CE Carryover Allowance (updated September 2024):
The Board has completed an amendment to Rule .2201. Paragraph (c) of that rule states: “A pharmacist who accumulates more than the required 15 hours of continuing education in a single year may carry forward up to five surplus hours to be applied to the following year's continuing education requirements.”
The amendment is in effect. So, a pharmacist who acquired more than 15 hours of continuing education in 2023 may carry over up to five of those surplus hours to 2024 and apply them to renewal for 2025 licensure.
Rule .2201(c) provides:
(c) All continuing education shall be obtained from a provider approved by the Board. In order to receive credit, continuing education courses shall have the purpose of increasing the participant's professional competence and proficiency as a pharmacist. At least five hours of the continuing education credits must be obtained through contact programs in any calendar year. Contact programs are those programs in which there is an opportunity for live two-way communication between the presenter and attendee.
The Board notes that ACPE-approved continuing education courses that are considered “live” so indicate in the course number. For example:
The Elements Necessary to Successfully Prove a Malpractice Case Against a Pharmacist
1.0 hours of continuing education credit (0.10 CEUs)
ACPE #: 312-000-06-011-L03
The underlined “L” designation for this online program indicates that this is a live program, and the Board will accept such programs as counting toward the contact-hour requirement.
We only accept:
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ACPE accredited CE
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NCAP accredited CE (North Carolina Association of Pharmacists)
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Preceptor for an in-state pharmacy school student
Sort of. By law, a pharmacist is not engaged in the unlicensed practice of pharmacy until the 60 days after the license’s expiration on December 31. During that 60-day period you may obtain needed CE and renew without penalty.
On the renewal, you will simply attest that you’ve met the requirement and then choose the type(s) of CE that you obtained. A full list of your CE will be kept on NABP’s website, under your e-profile number on the CPE monitor.
The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) maintains the Pharmacists’ Learning Assistance Network (P.L.A.N.), which provides an easy method of searching thousands of ACPE-accredited CE offerings using a number of variables – including live, on-line programs: https://plan.acpe-accredit.org/
The North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, which Rule .2201 recognizes as a CE accrediting organization, maintains a listing of CE opportunities here: https://www.ncpharmacists.org/content.asp?contentid=158
The Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provides accredited CE programming, including live, on-line programs: https://cphs.campbell.edu/centers-programs/continuing-professional-education/
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy likewise provides accredited CE programming, including live, on-line programs: https://pharmacy.unc.edu/practice/continuing-education/
You need 3 hours every 2 years to maintain your Immunization Certification.
No. The hours can either be live or correspondence.
No. Maintenance of current, provider-level CPR certification is a stand-alone requirement under immunizing pharmacist statute.
You may update your status within the renewal by clicking Yes to the Vaccinator question. If you are updating the Board outside of renewal, then you’ll need to log in under your personal profile and click on the pharmacist tile at the bottom of the page. On the next page, under License Options, there is a tile for Vaccinator. If it’s white, then that means we don’t have you listed as a vaccinator in our database. If it’s green, then we do have you listed as a vaccinator. To change the color of the box, click on it.
If you are working in a pharmacy that dispenses controlled substances, then you must be registered or have applied to be registered with the CSRS (Controlled Substance Report System) as a condition of licensure.
The CSRS is managed by the NC Department of Health and Human Services. To access the CSRS website, visit https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/mhddsas/ncdcu/csrs or you may contact them by email at NCCSRS@dhhs.nc.gov.
CPP Renewal FAQs
Yes. Once you’ve renewed your pharmacist license, click on the CPP tile. On that page, click Renew and the system will take you to the CPP renewal application. The renewal fee is $50.
21 NCAC 46.3101(d) requires each CPP to earn 35 hours of practice-relevant CE each year.
All CPPs must, of course, earn 15 hours of qualifying continuing education to renew their license to practice pharmacy each year. Rule 21 NCAC 46.2201 states that any (or all) of those hours may count toward the CPP-specific continuing education requirement as long as they are practice-relevant.
The remaining 20 hours of CPP-specific, practice-relevant continuing education are satisfied by ACPE-accredited continuing education coursework per 21 NCAC 46.3101(a)(8). Though the CPP rule defines “continuing education” as “courses . . . approved for credit by [ACPE],” it has long been the practice to accept ACCME-accredited, practice-relevant continuing education credits for CPP credential renewal.
NOTE: ACCME-accredited continuing education does NOT satisfy the general CE requirement for pharmacist licensure renewal. Board rule specifies that three types of continuing education may be used for purposes of pharmacist license renewal: (a) CE courses approved by ACPE; (b) CE courses approved by the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists; and (c) Precepting, for at least 160 hours, a student enrolled in the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, the Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Wingate University School of Pharmacy, or the High Point University Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy as part of these schools’ academic program. 21 NCAC 46.2201(e)
No. All changes to your protocol have to be submitted via the Practice Update tile outside of renewal. Instructions are found here.
Technician Renewal FAQs
$30, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Not by the Board of Pharmacy. The certification programs (PTCB and ExCPT) require technicians to obtain CE to maintain certification. The technician should communicate with the certifying organization about those requirements.
Nationally certified pharmacy technicians may renew their registration even if not actively practicing as a technician. Non-certified pharmacy technicians must be working in a pharmacy as a technician to obtain or renew registration.
Yes. But if you practice as a technician exclusively in a free clinic, you may renew without cost.
Non-Pharmacist Dispensers Renewal FAQs
$75, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
A dispensing physician registration is valid from January 1 to December 31 each year. The window to renew a dispensing physician registration opens on November 1 each year.
The Board does not send paper mail renewal reminders. The Board does, however, send frequent reminders to the email address that the dispensing physician has provided in her Board Licensure Gateway profile. It is critical that the dispensing physician periodically ensure that the provided email address is accurate and monitored.
The renewal application (as well as the original registration application) require the dispensing physician to make certain attestations. Accordingly, the dispensing physician must file the applications (original and renewal) herself. Delegating the renewal to other staff has often been a source of confusion, failure to timely renew, and provision of inaccurate information.
No. If you need to update your practice site, please complete and submit the online Practice Update. Please allow 3-5 business days for practice sites to be reviewed and processed.
$75, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
A dispensing PA / NP registration is valid from January 1 to December 31 each year. The window to renew a dispensing PA / NP registration opens on November 1 each year.
The Board does not send paper mail renewal reminders. The Board does, however, send frequent reminders to the email address that the dispensing PA / NP has provided in her Board Licensure Gateway profile. It is critical that the dispensing PA / NP periodically ensure that the provided email address is accurate and monitored.
The renewal application (as well as the original registration application) require the dispensing PA / NP to make certain attestations. Accordingly, the dispensing PA / NP must file the applications (original and renewal) herself. Delegating the renewal to other staff has often been a source of confusion, failure to timely renew, and provision of inaccurate information.
No. If you need to update your employment, please make the changes on your personal profile by adding the new pharmacy permit and allow 3-5 business days for the update to be processed.
Pharmacy Permit Renewal FAQs
$200, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
The renewal season starts on November 1st of every year and ends on December 31st of every year. All permits expire on December 31, but state law provides that a facility is not engaged in unlicensed practice until 60 days after expiration. Pharmacy permits may renew without penalty during this 60-day period. For the next 30 days, a pharmacy permit may renew, but with a late penalty. The late renewal fee is $400.
On the Licensure Gateway page, choose the FACILITY MANAGEMENT tab, choose Pharmacy under the Permit Type drop-down, enter in the 5-digit permit number, and the 4-digit PIN number. The question mark icon tells what the PIN number is. Once logged in, click on the RENEWAL tile.
On the payment page of the renewal, an email address is required, the receipt will be emailed to the email address listed there. Additionally, a copy of the receipt is always available by logging in through the Gateway.
After the payment has gone through, you’ll receive a CONFIRMATION PAGE. To navigate back to the permit main menu, scroll to the bottom of the Confirmation page and click EXIT. On the permit main menu, click the tile for PRINT ANNUAL CERTIFICATE.
No. Please submit a PM change request prior to renewing the permit by using the UPDATE MANAGER tile on the main menu of the permit. Please allow 3-5 business days for the update to be processed. Once the update has been processed, then the permit may be renewed.
No. To update your staff, please use the VIEW/UPDATE STAFF tile on the main menu of the permit.
No. To update an owner or officer, please use the UPDATE NON-CONTROLLING OWNERS/OFFICERS tile on the main menu of the permit. Please allow 3-5 business days for the update to be processed. Once the update has been processed, then the permit may be renewed.
No. A Transfer of Ownership Application is required. Please return to the permit main menu and click on the TRANSFER OWNERSHIP tile to complete that application.
No. A Re-Registration Application is required. Please return to the permit main menu and click on the RE-REGISTRATION tile to complete that application.
On the permit main menu, please use the CLOSE FACILITY tile to submit a closure notice.
DME Permit Renewal FAQs
$200, payable online by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
The renewal season starts on November 1st of every year and ends on December 31st of every year. All permits expire on December 31, but state law provides that a facility is not engaged in unlicensed practice until 60 days after expiration. DME permits may renew without penalty during this 60-day period. For the next 30 days, a DME permit may renew, but with a late penalty. The late renewal fee is $400.
On the Licensure Gateway page, choose the FACILITY MANAGEMENT tab, choose DME under the Permit Type drop-down, enter in the 5-digit permit number, and the 4-digit PIN number. The question mark icon tells what the PIN number is. Once logged in, click on the RENEWAL tile.
On the payment page of the renewal, an email address is required, the receipt will be emailed to the email address listed there. Additionally, a copy of the receipt is always available by logging in through the Gateway.
After the payment has gone through, you’ll receive a CONFIRMATION PAGE. To navigate back to the permit main menu, scroll to the bottom of the Confirmation page and click EXIT. On the permit main menu, click the tile for PRINT ANNUAL CERTIFICATE.
No. Please submit a PIC change request prior to renewing the permit by using the UPDATE MANAGER tile on the main menu of the permit. Please allow 3-5 business days for the update to be processed. Once the update has been processed, then the permit may be renewed.
No. To update your staff, please use the VIEW/UPDATE STAFF tile on the main menu of the permit.
No. To update an owner or officer, please use the UPDATE NON-CONTROLLING OWNERS/OFFICERS tile on the main menu of the permit. Please allow 3-5 business days for the update to be processed. Once the update has been processed, then the permit may be renewed.
No. A Transfer of Ownership Application is required. Please return to the permit main menu and click on the TRANSFER OWNERSHIP tile to complete that application.
No. A Re-Registration Application is required. Please return to the permit main menu and click on the RE-REGISTRATION tile to complete that application.
On the permit main menu, please use the CLOSE FACILITY tile to submit a closure notice.