Pharmacist and Pharmacy Licensure, Registration, and Renewal
Credentials
Missouri issues a pharmacist license, a pharmacy license for each physical location, intern licenses, technician registrations, and wholesale distributor licenses. A pharmacist may not practice in an unlicensed pharmacy, and a pharmacy may not operate without a pharmacist-in-charge who is accountable for compliance.
Getting and keeping a license
Candidates pass NAPLEX and MPJE, complete internship hours, and apply through the Division of Professional Registration. Licenses renew on the Board's cycle with continuing education that includes pharmacy law hours; CE is documented and subject to audit. Report address and name changes and any disciplinary action taken in another jurisdiction. Practicing on a lapsed license is unlicensed practice - a criminal exposure, not a paperwork problem. Reinstatement may require fees, CE, and an explanation of the lapse.
Pharmacy-level changes
Notify the Board when the PIC changes and when the pharmacy relocates, closes, or changes ownership. A closing pharmacy must arrange for prescription and controlled substance records to be preserved and retrievable. Licenses and registrations must be displayed as required.
Traps: assuming a license expires at the end of the calendar year; assuming CE hours carry over between cycles; hiring a technician before registering them; swapping PICs without Board notification.
Worked example: A pharmacist lets her license lapse during the renewal month but keeps verifying prescriptions. Each verification is an act of unlicensed practice, and the pharmacy's PIC faces derivative liability for permitting it.