Indiana Pharmacist license renewal and CE requirements
Indiana pharmacists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency).
Pharmacist licenses expire June 30 of even numbered years, so renewal is every two years on a common date. The agency sends a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration, by email where an email address is on file, but once that notice is sent the board has done its part and the licensee still has to renew. A license can instead be renewed to inactive status, which keeps the two year renewal and fee but drops the continuing education requirement until the licensee returns to active status.
Summary
Indiana pharmacists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency). Pharmacist licenses expire June 30 of even numbered years, so renewal is every two years on a common date. The agency sends a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration, by email where an email address is on file, but once that notice is sent the board has done its part and the licensee still has to renew. A license can instead be renewed to inactive status, which keeps the two year renewal and fee but drops the continuing education requirement until the licensee returns to active status. Hours do not carry over between cycles.
Indiana Pharmacist renewal and continuing education rules
"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 06/30 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 30 contact hours |
| Category 1 minimum | 24 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | No |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Distance education; In-company professional seminars; Programs sponsored by professional groups in public health provider services; Postgraduate coursework in pharmaceutical sciences; An internship or residency program conducted in an approved hospital; Continuing education hours earned in another state, if that state recognises Indiana hours |
Watch the dates: the continuing education window and the renewal date are offset. Renewal is due by June 30 of even numbered years, but the continuing education biennium runs from January 1 of an even numbered year through December 31 of the following odd numbered year, so the hours for the June 30, 2026 renewal are the hours earned between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. Both periods are 24 months long, which is why no separate continuing education cycle length is recorded. The 30 hours break down as at least 24 hours (four fifths) directly pharmacy related, at most 6 hours (one fifth) business, management or computer related, and at least 15 hours (one half) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The rule states the total as 'thirty (30) hours (three (3) CEUs)', which is the ACPE convention of 1 CEU to 10 contact hours; the hours figure is what is recorded here because that is the figure the board and its own page lead with. No hours carry forward from one biennium to another. There is one narrow exception that runs the other way: a pharmacist who came up short may earn the missing hours in the following biennium and apply them retroactively to the biennium they were short in, before submitting the renewal, and those hours then cannot be counted again. New licensees are prorated rather than exempt: no hours if licensed less than six months in the biennium, otherwise 1.25 hours for each month licensed. A pharmacist on inactive status owes no continuing education while inactive, but must show 30 hours from the previous two years to return to active status. Pharmacy technicians in Indiana have no continuing education requirement at all, so nothing here should be read across to that credential.
Required CE topics for Indiana pharmacists
The Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) pages and rules we read do not mandate specific subject areas for this license type. Hours may be in any approved subject.
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 4 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Continuing education counts if it is approved by the board or taken through an approved organisation and is designed to directly enhance the pharmacist's knowledge and skill in the practice of pharmacy. At least half of the 30 hours, 15 hours, must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education; the rest may come from the organisations listed in IC 25-1-4-1, which include federal, state and local government agencies, accredited colleges, national practitioner organisations and their affiliates, hospital internship or residency programs, and anything else the board approves. A program that has not yet been approved can be submitted to the board for credit on a continuing education application. Certificates are not filed with the renewal: the pharmacist signs a sworn statement on the renewal application and keeps the certificates, and the board randomly audits actively licensed pharmacists after every renewal period and requires the certificates from those selected. Failing the audit brings a notice of non compliance, a penalty fee and an order to complete the missing hours. The board points licensees to NABP's CPE Monitor as a way to track credits electronically but does not make CPE Monitor reporting a condition of renewal. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Indiana RPh/PharmD need to renew?
- Indiana pharmacists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency). Watch the dates: the continuing education window and the renewal date are offset. Renewal is due by June 30 of even numbered years, but the continuing education biennium runs from January 1 of an even numbered year through December 31 of the following odd numbered year, so the hours for the June 30, 2026 renewal are the hours earned between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. Both periods are 24 months long, which is why no separate continuing education cycle length is recorded. The 30 hours break down as at least 24 hours (four fifths) directly pharmacy related, at most 6 hours (one fifth) business, management or computer related, and at least 15 hours (one half) accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The rule states the total as 'thirty (30) hours (three (3) CEUs)', which is the ACPE convention of 1 CEU to 10 contact hours; the hours figure is what is recorded here because that is the figure the board and its own page lead with. No hours carry forward from one biennium to another. There is one narrow exception that runs the other way: a pharmacist who came up short may earn the missing hours in the following biennium and apply them retroactively to the biennium they were short in, before submitting the renewal, and those hours then cannot be counted again. New licensees are prorated rather than exempt: no hours if licensed less than six months in the biennium, otherwise 1.25 hours for each month licensed. A pharmacist on inactive status owes no continuing education while inactive, but must show 30 hours from the previous two years to return to active status. Pharmacy technicians in Indiana have no continuing education requirement at all, so nothing here should be read across to that credential.
- How often does a Indiana RPh/PharmD license need to be renewed?
- Pharmacist licenses in Indiana renew every two years. Pharmacist licenses expire June 30 of even numbered years, so renewal is every two years on a common date. The agency sends a renewal notice about 90 days before expiration, by email where an email address is on file, but once that notice is sent the board has done its part and the licensee still has to renew. A license can instead be renewed to inactive status, which keeps the two year renewal and fee but drops the continuing education requirement until the licensee returns to active status.
- Does Indiana require specific CE topics for pharmacists?
- The Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) does not list mandated subject areas for RPh/PharmD renewal on the pages we verified; the 30 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do Indiana pharmacists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 4 years. Continuing education counts if it is approved by the board or taken through an approved organisation and is designed to directly enhance the pharmacist's knowledge and skill in the practice of pharmacy. At least half of the 30 hours, 15 hours, must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education; the rest may come from the organisations listed in IC 25-1-4-1, which include federal, state and local government agencies, accredited colleges, national practitioner organisations and their affiliates, hospital internship or residency programs, and anything else the board approves. A program that has not yet been approved can be submitted to the board for credit on a continuing education application. Certificates are not filed with the renewal: the pharmacist signs a sworn statement on the renewal application and keeps the certificates, and the board randomly audits actively licensed pharmacists after every renewal period and requires the certificates from those selected. Failing the audit brings a notice of non compliance, a penalty fee and an order to complete the missing hours. The board points licensees to NABP's CPE Monitor as a way to track credits electronically but does not make CPE Monitor reporting a condition of renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 11, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Pharmacy Home, Continuing Education Requirements, Indiana Professional Licensing AgencyState board page, accessed September 11, 2026
- Pharmacy Licensing Information, renewal information by license type, Indiana Professional Licensing AgencyState board page, accessed September 11, 2026
- 856 IAC 1-26-1, Continuing professional education, general requirements, definitions (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 11, 2026
The 30 hours, the June 30 even year expiration, the January to December biennium, the four fifths and one fifth and one half splits, the no carryover rule with its retroactive exception, the proration for new licensees, the sworn statement, the random audit and the CPE Monitor reference were all read on the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's own pharmacy pages. Cornell's mirror of 856 IAC 1-26-1 was used only to confirm the rule citation and the rule's own wording of the total as thirty hours or three CEUs, because Indiana publishes its Administrative Code as PDF files and the General Assembly's newer administrative code site is a JavaScript application whose data interface returns HTTP 403 without an API key, so the rule itself could not be read as HTML on an official host. Record retention needs care: the certificates paragraph on the agency's page says three years from the end of the licensing period, while the compliance audit paragraph on the same page says four years, and the rule as mirrored says four. Four is recorded, and the three year sentence is noted here rather than hidden. No mandated subject areas for pharmacists were found in the rule or on the board's pages, so mandatory_topics is empty. A commercial continuing education vendor's summary mentions a biennial tobacco cessation education obligation for pharmacists who dispense tobacco cessation products; no official source read here states it, so it is not recorded. The statutory two hour opioid prescribing and opioid abuse continuing education requirement attached to controlled substance registrations, not to the pharmacist license, and secondary sources report it expired on July 1, 2025, which was not confirmed on an official host and is not recorded either way.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Indiana Board of Pharmacy (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.