Short answer
Year-roundcontinuous testing
BPS offers BCPS through continuous testing and lists BCPS registration as currently available. After approval you have 90 days from your Authorization to Test to schedule and sit (Candidate’s Guide).
Source: BPS, Upcoming Deadlines, Dates, and Fees · as of October 27, 2026
1From application to test day
Confirm you are eligible
A pharmacy degree, an active license, and within the past seven years either a PGY1 or three years of practice (BCPS Examination Specifications). The details are on BCPS eligibility requirements.
Submit a complete application
The first-time fee is $600 (BPS fees page).
Allow 30 days for a decision
BPS decides eligibility within 30 calendar days of a complete application (Candidate’s Guide).
Book inside the 90-day window
Approval brings an Authorization to Test (ATT). From then you have 90 days to schedule with Pearson VUE and sit.
Keep the booking flexible
A change 30 or more days out is free, 5 to 29 days out costs $60, and under 5 days it is not allowed (BPS fees page).
Plan the sitting itself
One session of 3 hours 45 minutes; the item breakdown is on how many questions are on the BCPS exam.
2Dates that are not BCPS exam dates
Recertification runs on its own calendar. For 2026, the recertification application was due August 17 and the recertification exam had to be taken by October 15 (BPS fees page). Those deadlines bind certificants in year 7 of their cycle, not first-time candidates; the routes are on BCPS recertification.
Some other BPS specialties still test in set windows. The dates BPS posts for those programs do not apply to BCPS, which BPS lists under continuous testing.
Online testing does not add dates either. OnVUE is approved only case by case and in advance, for eligible candidates in the United States, Australia and Canada (BPS online testing). The default is a Pearson VUE center.
3Before you book
Do BCPS date lists from past years still apply?
No. BCPS registration is listed as currently available under continuous testing (BPS dates and fees page), so an old calendar tells you nothing about when you can sit.
How soon can I test after applying?
Allow up to 30 calendar days for the eligibility decision. Once the ATT arrives, you book a slot within 90 days (Candidate’s Guide).
4References
- BPS, Candidate’s Guide. 30-day decision, 90-day scheduling window. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Online Testing. OnVUE by prior approval only. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCPS Examination Specifications (effective September 2024). Eligibility. As of October 27, 2026.
Next step
Check yourself, then check the notes
Read the note on every option, then decide where the next session goes.
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