California Pharmacist Online Package

California Pharmacists (RPH,APH) must complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years from ACPE-accredited providers or the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) to renew a pharmacist license with the California State Board of Pharmacy. This guide breaks down the standard CE requirements every pharmacist needs, the conditional requirements tied to specific practice authorities, first-time renewal rules, and how the Board verifies compliance.

Standard Renewal Requirements

Every California pharmacist must complete 30 hours of continuing education per two-year (biennial) renewal period. All hours must come from a ACPE-accredited provider, and within those 30 hours the Board requires two specific topics:

• Law and ethics:

  2 hours completed through the Board-provided webinars, consisting of a 1-hour law webinar and a 1-hour ethics webinar. Both must be viewed to satisfy the requirement. They are available free on the Board's website with no registration through the Board-provided law and ethics webinars.

• Cultural competency:

  1 hour of cultural competency CE is required for every pharmacist renewing after January 1, 2024. The Board does not offer this course. An approved course must focus on LGBTQ+ patient care, cover health disparities faced by Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, address intersectionality, and be approved by a Board-recognized accreditation agency.

There is no live or in-person CE minimum; all 30 hours may be completed online. Full requirements are published by the California State Board of Pharmacy and codified in Business and Professions Code section 4231 .

Conditional Renewal Requirements

Below requirements apply only to pharmacists who hold a specific license modifier or practice authority. They are layered on top of the standard 30-hour requirement and are generally tied to the Board's elective practice protocols . If a given authority does not apply to you, its requirement does not apply either.

• Advanced Pharmacist Practitioners (APP) must complete 10 additional hours, for a total of 40. This is the only requirement that is on top of the 30. BPC § 4233

• Pharmacists who prescribe Schedule II controlled substances must complete 1 hour on the risks of addiction associated with Schedule II drugs once every four years. BPC § 4232.5

• Pharmacists who administer vaccines must complete 1 hour of immunizations and vaccines CE every two years, and keep an approved immunization training program and current BLS/CPR certification on file. 16 CCR § 1746.4

• Pharmacists who furnish travel medications must complete 2 hours of travel medicine CE every two years. 16 CCR § 1746.5

• Pharmacists who provide smoking cessation therapy must complete 1 hour of smoking cessation CE . BPC § 4052.9

• Pharmacists who furnish emergency contraception must complete 1 hour of emergency contraception CE. BPC § 4052.3

• Pharmacists who furnish naloxone or other opioid antagonists must complete 1 hour of opioid antagonist CE before furnishing. 16 CCR § 1746.3

• Pharmacists who furnish self-administered hormonal contraception must complete 1 hour of Board-approved hormonal contraception training , one time only. BPC § 4052.3 , 16 CCR § 1746.1

First-Time Renewal Requirements

All new pharmacist licensees are exempt from completing continuing education during their first renewal period. CE is not required until the end of the second renewal period, and this exemption applies to every CE requirement, including the mandatory law and ethics webinars and the cultural competency hour. New Advanced Pharmacist Practitioner licensees are likewise exempt during their first renewal period. Details are provided by the California State Board of Pharmacy .

Verification and Reporting

California does not use an electronic CE tracking system for verification. The Board has no access to CPE Monitor or any CE tracking database, so it confirms compliance through random CE audits. Licensees must retain their certificates of completion for four years and produce them if selected for audit. Audit notifications are sent by mail, so keeping your address of record and email of record current with the Board is essential. See the California State Board of Pharmacy CE audit information . AchieveCE holds your certificates and automatically reports to CPE Monitor as another form of certificate storage.