TOEFL iBT for foreign pharmacy graduates: the FPGEC minimums
If you trained as a pharmacist outside the United States and want a US licence, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) asks for a passing TOEFL iBT before you can be accepted for the FPGEE. There is no overall score to reach: each of the four sections has its own minimum, all four in one sitting. This page sets out NABP’s rules as NABP publishes them, and what its own task force found about where candidates fall short.
On this page
The four minimums
For a TOEFL iBT taken on or after 21 January 2026, on the 1–6 scale. Every section must reach its own figure in the same test.
For a test taken before 21 January 2026, NABP lists the old section minimums instead: Reading 21, Listening 22, Writing 22 and Speaking 25. Its task-force report records how those figures moved: from 25 October 2025, Reading went from 22 to 21, Listening from 21 to 22, Speaking from 26 to 25 and Writing from 24 to 22.
Source: NABP, Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification, checked 2026-09-28.
The rules around the score
- One sitting. NABP’s page says all four sections must be completed in one testing session, and that MyBest scores are currently not accepted.
- MyBest from 1 November 2026. From that date, NABP says, MyBest scores can be submitted to meet the requirement for the 2027 FPGEE administration. The option is not open to applicants who submit their TOEFL scores for evaluation before 1 November.
- A test centre, not your home. NABP does not accept the remote-proctored, at-home TOEFL iBT. Its task-force report says the test must be taken in a secure ETS test centre, and lists centres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 10 Canadian provinces. NABP’s page also states that international test site locations are not accepted.
- Two years. The report says passing scores are accepted for two years from the test date.
- Everyone takes it. The report says every foreign pharmacy graduate must pass the TOEFL iBT, including US citizens, US residents and native English speakers, and that since 2020 it has to be passed before the FPGEE.
Source: NABP, Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification, checked 2026-09-28.
Source: NABP, Report of the Task Force to Examine the Use of the TOEFL iBT as a Requirement for FPGEC Certification, checked 2026-09-28.
OET from January 2027
The TOEFL iBT has been the only English test NABP accepts for FPGEC certification. That changes on 11 January 2027, when NABP will begin accepting Occupational English Test results; results from OET tests taken before that date will not count. The task force had recommended the OET as an alternative, noting that it is built around health-care English, while the TOEFL measures the English of academic settings. If your FPGEE plans fall before 2027, the TOEFL is still the route.
Source: NABP, Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification, checked 2026-09-28.
Speaking is where candidates fall short
NABP’s task-force report, posted in February 2026, is direct about it: the data show, and the task force agreed, that Speaking is the most difficult section for candidates to pass. Under the old standard the Speaking pass rate was approximately 36%, which NABP expects to improve under the new standard. NABP staff reported overall TOEFL iBT pass rates of 20% to 30%, and a pass rate of about 47% for candidates from English-curriculum countries against about 33% for others — a smaller gap than some task-force members expected.
The report also records a concern members raised: you answer into a microphone, not to a person, so the cues of a real conversation are missing. A pharmacist who is fluent at the counter can still lose marks to the format. That is a problem practice can fix.
Source: NABP, Report of the Task Force to Examine the Use of the TOEFL iBT as a Requirement for FPGEC Certification, checked 2026-09-28.
What the Speaking and Writing sections ask for
ETS lists Speaking as 11 items in about 8 minutes, in two task types: Listen and Repeat, where you repeat short sentences exactly as you heard them, and Take an Interview, where you answer questions about your experiences and opinions in an academic or campus setting. Writing is 12 items in about 23 minutes: Build a Sentence, Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion. None of it is about pharmacy; all of it is about producing clear English against a clock.
Source: ETS, TOEFL iBT test content, checked 2026-09-28.
How practice here helps you reach 5 and 4.5
The two sections with the highest bars for FPGEC are the two a machine cannot mark for you with an answer key, so they are the two worth rehearsing with feedback.
- Speaking, on the clock. Each full mock test records every Speaking response against the real timing, transcribes it and scores it out of five with the reasons, so you hear where a repeat broke down or an interview answer ran short.
- Writing, task by task. Build a Sentence is marked item by item; the email and the academic discussion are scored out of five on the scale of ETS’s published scoring guides, with corrections.
- A band per section. The report shows each section on the 1–6 scale, so you can see whether Speaking is at 5 and Writing at 4.5 before you pay for a test centre. That band is our estimate, not an ETS score.
The TOEFL bank has 10 full mock tests and 40 single-section practice tests, in the January 2026 format.
Questions
What TOEFL score does NABP require for FPGEC certification?
For tests taken on or after 21 January 2026, NABP's FPGEC page sets section minimums of Reading 4, Listening 5, Writing 4.5 and Speaking 5 on the 1–6 scale. For tests taken before that date the minimums are Reading 21, Listening 22, Writing 22 and Speaking 25 on the old 0–30 section scale. NABP sets no overall score: each section has to reach its own minimum.
Can I combine my best section scores from different TOEFL tests?
Not yet. NABP's page says all four sections must be completed in one testing session and that MyBest scores are currently not accepted. It also says that beginning 1 November 2026, MyBest scores can be submitted to meet the requirement for the 2027 FPGEE administration — but not by applicants who submit their TOEFL scores for evaluation before 1 November.
Can I take the TOEFL iBT Home Edition for FPGEC?
No. NABP's page states that the remote-proctored, at-home TOEFL iBT is not accepted by the FPGEC, and NABP's task-force report says the test must be completed in a secure ETS test centre. The report lists test centres in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 10 Canadian provinces. NABP's page also says international test site locations are not accepted.
Will NABP accept the OET instead of the TOEFL?
From 11 January 2027. NABP's page says it will begin accepting Occupational English Test results for FPGEC certification on that date, and that OET results from tests taken before 11 January will not be accepted. Until then, the TOEFL iBT is the only English test NABP accepts for FPGEC certification.
How long is a passing TOEFL score valid for FPGEC?
NABP's task-force report says passing TOEFL iBT scores are accepted as valid for the FPGEC programme for two years from the test administration date.
Which TOEFL section do pharmacy graduates find hardest?
Speaking. NABP's task-force report says the data show, and the task force agreed, that Speaking is the most difficult section for candidates to pass, with a pass rate of approximately 36% under the old standard. NABP staff also reported overall TOEFL iBT pass rates of 20% to 30%.
Is an ExamStep band an official TOEFL score?
No. Our practice tests report a band for each section so you can see how far you are from NABP's minimums, but that band is our estimate, not an ETS score. Only ETS issues TOEFL scores, and only a real TOEFL iBT taken at a test centre counts for FPGEC.
Sources
- NABP, Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certification — TOEFL iBT minimums on both scales, one sitting, MyBest from 1 November 2026, at-home test not accepted, OET from 11 January 2027 (checked 2026-09-28).
- NABP, Report of the Task Force to Examine the Use of the TOEFL iBT as a Requirement for FPGEC Certification — pass rates, the Speaking finding, test-centre rule, two-year validity, recommendations (checked 2026-09-28).
- ETS, TOEFL iBT test content — the four sections, their task types, item counts and times (checked 2026-09-28).
- ETS, TOEFL iBT Speaking section — Listen and Repeat, Take an Interview (checked 2026-09-28).
- ETS, TOEFL iBT Writing section — Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Write for an Academic Discussion (checked 2026-09-28).
Also for Canada: TOEFL requirements of Canadian universities and licensing bodies are on TOEFL in Canada.
ExamStep is an independent practice site. It is not affiliated with ETS or with any body named on this page, and the requirements above belong to those bodies: they can change them at any time, so confirm on their page before you book.
More on the test: the 2026 format · the 1–6 score scale · Speaking · Writing · registration and fees