PEBC® for International Pharmacy Graduates: The 2027 Pathway and How to Prepare

1. Enrol in the NAPRA Pharmacists' Gateway Canada. PEBC requires IPGs to have a Gateway (NAPRA) ID before applying for Document Evaluation.
2. Apply for PEBC Document Evaluation ($715 CAD). PEBC checks that your degree is comparable to a Canadian-accredited pharmacy program; the minimum is a professional undergraduate degree in pharmacy. Your university sends transcripts directly to PEBC, and licensing authorities send their statements directly.
3. Apply for Qualifying Exam Part I (MCQ) ($870 CAD for 2027). Your Document Evaluation must be complete at least 2 business days before the exam application deadline.
4. Pass Part I, then apply for Part II (OSCE) ($1,950 CAD for 2027). On the new pathway you must pass Part I before you can apply for Part II, and you must pass both Parts within three years of each other.
5. Complete your province's licensing requirements, such as language proficiency, a jurisprudence exam and supervised practical training. These are set by each provincial regulator, not by PEBC.

See all 2027 sittings, results dates and pass rates on our PEBC exam dates and results page.

• How long it takes: PEBC acknowledges an application within about 6 weeks of receiving it, and evaluation of a complete file takes up to 8 weeks. Your results letter reaches the PEBC Portal within 5 business days of completion.
• Validity: an approved Document Evaluation is valid for five years. If you have not passed Part I within five years of approval, you need a Document Re-Evaluation.
• Missing documents: PEBC closes your file if documents are not received within 2 years of paying the fee.
• Plan backwards from a deadline. For the February 2027 sitting the Part I application deadline is November 19, 2026; for May 2027 it is February 18, 2027. Start Document Evaluation months earlier, because transcripts sent by foreign universities can take a long time.

Before the 2027 change, PEBC already let some IPGs go straight to the Qualifying Exam through a streamlined pathway, based on graduating from an accredited program or being educated in a country with a comparable scope of practice and regulation.

Now that every IPG with an approved Document Evaluation starts at Part I, the difference matters less. Every candidate still needs Document Evaluation; check with PEBC how your program is treated.

PEBC does not require a language test. Provincial regulators do, and most follow NAPRA's Language Proficiency Requirement Policy (February 2024). You must reach the minimum in each subtest, because the overall score is not considered, and complete all four subtests in one sitting. Scores are typically valid for two years.

• Part I (MCQ) is a 4 hour 30 minute computer-based exam of 200 questions at Prometric test centres; PEBC's application page lists Canadian and international exam centres. PEBC asks candidates who cannot comply with test-centre procedures and policies to schedule a remotely proctored exam instead.
• Part II (OSCE) is in person at sites across Canada, with 11 scored stations of 7 minutes each. There is no remote or overseas option, so plan for travel to Canada once you pass Part I.

PEBC's published pass rates for May 2024 to May 2026 show 35.6% of international graduates passing Part I on their first attempt, against 87.2% for Canadian graduates writing for the first time in their year of graduation. These are the areas where training abroad most often differs from what Part I expects:

• Canadian guidelines decide first-line choices. Hypertension Canada, Diabetes Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and NACI often differ from US, UK or Indian references. Learn the Canadian version of the high-weight topics first: hypertension, diabetes, anticoagulation and vaccines.
• Canadian drug names and products. Cases use Canadian brand names and products that may not exist where you trained.
• SI units. Creatinine in µmol/L, glucose and cholesterol in mmol/L. See our pharmacy calculations page for conversions and the PEBC reference sheet.
• Law and scope of practice. Federal drug schedules, NAPRA schedules and controlled substances rules, plus a pharmacist scope that includes prescribing and vaccinating in many provinces. Start with pharmacy law and drug schedules.
• Case-based questions. Many Part I questions belong to a patient case, typically with 2 to 4 questions about the same scenario, and test what you would do for that patient rather than recall of facts. Practise with case-based MCQs and work on pacing.

1. Weeks 1 and 2: diagnose and switch references. Read the blueprint, write a timed 50-question mixed set, and tag every miss. Replace your home-country references with Canadian guidelines for each high-weight topic.
2. Weeks 3 to 6: Clinical Care, the Canadian way. Cover cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory, infections, mental health, minor ailments and self-care, focusing on where Canadian first-line choices differ from what you learned.
3. Weeks 7 and 8: Distribution and law. Prescription review, calculations in SI units, drug schedules and controlled substances. Do a short calculation set every day from here on.
4. Weeks 9 and 10: the rest of the blueprint. Knowledge and Expertise (applying evidence and drug information), Professionalism and ethics, Communication, and Leadership.
5. Weeks 11 and 12: full-length practice. At least two timed 200-question simulations, a week apart, then revise from your error log.

PEBC certifies; provincial regulators license. Requirements differ, so read your regulator's IPG page early. Two examples:

• Ontario (Ontario College of Pharmacists): a Jurisprudence, Ethics and Professionalism exam and a practical assessment as an intern, plus a bridging program for IPGs who did not pass both Parts of the Qualifying Exam on the first attempt. OCP says the process can take about 21 months.
• Quebec (Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec): a separate equivalence process. The OPQ sets each applicant's requirements, which can include courses from the Université de Montréal qualification program and a 600-hour internship, plus a French-language requirement. PEBC exams are not required in Quebec.