Examination FAQs

BPS holds specialty certification and recertification examinations both windowed testing format and continuous testing format examinations. For specialties with windowed test administration, candidates may only apply and sit for the test during established dates. For examinations offered in the continuous testing format, a candidate has the opportunity to register throughout the year and take a certification or recertification examination at any point in the year.

All BPS Examinations will consist of 150 items. Among the 150 items, the examination includes 25 unscored pretest items that are embedded within the test and represent new items that are being trialed before use as a scored item in subsequent forms of the examination.

BPS examinations are in forward-only format, meaning that all items must be answered in the order they are presented, and a candidate is not able to skip items. Once a candidate confirms an answer choice and moves to the next item, the candidate will not be able to go back and change the response. There is no penalty for guessing and it is in the best interest of the candidate to answer every question. The forward-only exam navigation serves as a security measure for BPS Examinations and aligns with the best practices of several pharmacy examinations.

• Candidates testing in a test center will be provided a dry-erase board or paper and writing utensil.
• Candidates testing through online testing will have access to virtual scratch paper. Any answers or work recorded on the virtual paper will not be scored.

More details on BPS testing policies can be found here.

BPS uses Pearson to administer our exams. Pearson has more than 5,500 test centers in 180+ countries and territories. To search for available test locations please visit the Pearson Website.

All exams are computer-based.

If an examinee fails to achieve a passing score on the examination, retaking the examination is permitted.

Examinees who fail their first examination attempt may apply for a retake and pay the discounted fee of $300 USD. Examinees are allowed up to two retake examinations (three attempts total). Following each attempt, there is a 90-day washout period, after which candidates have a maximum of ninety (90) calendar days to schedule and complete their next attempt.

If a passing score is not achieved after the third attempt, the examinee must wait twelve (12) months from the date of their final attempt before submitting a new application, paying the $600 USD application fee, and beginning the process again.

For information on certification exams, please review the Candidate’s Guide.

Examinees who fail their first examination attempt may apply for a retake and pay the discounted fee of $200 USD. Examinees are allowed up to two retake examinations (three attempts total). Following each attempt, there is a 90-day washout period, after which candidates have a maximum of 90 calendar days to schedule their next attempt.

If a passing score is not achieved after the third attempt, the examinee must wait 12 months from the date of their final attempt before submitting a new application, paying the $600 USD application fee, and beginning the process again.

For information on recertification exams, please review the Recertification Guide.

Applicants may only have one active application open at any given time. You must complete the examination for the specialty you have applied for before submitting a new application for a different specialty.

Additionally, it would be difficult for a pharmacist to hold more than a few certifications because of the requirement to have practiced for at least 3 to 4 years in that specialty. We do have pharmacists that hold more than one certification.

All BPS specialty certification examinations reflect current, best practice guidelines and standards. Examinations are assembled months prior to the administration date, so they may not always reflect all the changes that may have occurred in pharmacy practice during that time. Furthermore, great care is taken to exclude from the examination any content associated with rapidly evolving or emerging practice changes. When in doubt, refer to pharmacy practice guidelines as they were about 6 to 12 months prior to the examination administration date.

In MyBPS, a candidate’s profile will remain in the ‘exam eligible’ status until their examination score report is uploaded. Once the score report is uploaded to their profile, the status will change to reflect if they received a passing score or not.