Georgia Pharmacist CE Requirements: Hours, Renewal, and Exclusions

Georgia pharmacist CE requirements are 30 contact hours of Board-approved continuing pharmacy education every two years, due by December 31 of each even-numbered year. All 30 hours are general pharmacy CE — the Georgia Board of Pharmacy sets no mandatory subject areas, so no specific hours are required in law, drug therapy, opioids, patient safety, or any other category.¹

Hours and the Biennial Deadline

The requirement is 30 contact hours, equal to 3.0 CEUs, with one contact hour counting as 0.1 CEU. Every hour must be earned and dated within the biennium. Georgia does not permit carryover of extra hours into the next renewal cycle.¹

Licenses expire on December 31 of every even-numbered year, so the CE clock runs on the same two-year rhythm.

Prorated Hours for New Licensees

Pharmacists licensed partway through a biennium owe a reduced amount:

Licensed January 1 through June 30 of Year One: full 30 hours.
Licensed July 1 of Year One through June 30 of Year Two: 15 hours.
Licensed July 1 through December 31 of Year Two: no CE required for that biennium.

What Counts as Approved CE

All CE must come from providers approved by the Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Providers accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) have blanket approval but must send proof of their accreditation to the Board every two years. Non-ACPE providers have to seek Board approval program by program, ideally at least 60 days before the event.¹

The Board also recognizes programs it develops itself, programs from the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency (GDNA), and courses approved by other state boards of pharmacy when they meet Georgia’s standards. Medical CE without ACPE or Georgia Board approval does not count.

Acceptable formats include institutes, seminars, lectures, conferences, workshops, and ACPE-approved correspondence or online courses. The rules set no cap on the share of hours that can come from online or home-study work versus live attendance.¹ Welcoming remarks, business meeting sessions, unstructured demonstrations, and academic degree coursework do not qualify.

Attending the open session of a Georgia Board of Pharmacy meeting earns 3.0 contact hours of Board-approved credit. Those hours count toward Georgia renewal but may not be honored by other states or national certification programs.²

Renewal Fee and Late Window

Renewals go through the Georgia Online Licensing portal at gadch.mylicense.com. The pharmacist renewal fee is $200.³ Submitting on time changes the license status to “Active-Renewal Pending,” and the pharmacist may keep practicing while the application is processed.⁴

Late renewal is available through January 31 of the following year at $300, which is the $200 fee plus a 50% penalty. A license showing “Lapsed-Late Renewal” cannot be used to practice; the pharmacist must stop until the renewal is complete.⁴

Audits and Record Keeping

Pharmacists do not submit CE documentation at renewal unless they are picked for an audit. The Board audits a random share of licensees each cycle, and the GDNA is authorized to help check and verify CE certificates.¹

Keep every certificate of attendance for two years after the renewal period. If you are audited and cannot produce adequate documentation, the Board will not process the renewal until you do.

An approved provider’s completion documentation should show the pharmacist’s name and license number, the provider and program names, the hours or CEUs completed, the date of completion, and an authorized signature. Providers themselves keep attendance records for five years.

Missing the Deadline

Any license not renewed by January 31 following expiration is automatically classified as “Administratively Revoked.” Practicing under a revoked license is illegal and can lead to disciplinary action for unlicensed practice.¹

Reinstating an administratively revoked license requires a written request to the Board, a completed Board Reinstatement Application, and a reinstatement fee calculated by Board staff. Every reinstatement needs Board approval, and the Board directs applicants to its Policies 3A, 3B, and 4 for the full requirements.⁵

Inactive Status

Pharmacists who are not practicing can request inactive status in writing. The license has to be active and in good standing at the time, with CE requirements met. An inactive licensee owes no future CE but cannot practice pharmacy in any capacity. Coming back to active status takes a separate application and compliance with the Board’s current requirements.¹

Immunizations and Compounding Sit Outside the 30 Hours

Pharmacists who administer vaccines have to meet training requirements under Rule 360-34-.03, which governs vaccine protocol agreements with physicians. That means current Basic Cardiac Life Support certification, a Board-approved course in immunization administration, and a CDC-recognized basic immunology program with at least 12 hours of self-study and an assessment exam, at least 8 hours of live seminar instruction with a final exam, and a hands-on injection-technique evaluation.⁶ These are prerequisites for the protocol, not part of the 30-hour biennial CE obligation.

Compounding is similar. Georgia sets no minimum number of compounding-focused CE hours, but Rule 480-11-.03 requires pharmacists who compound, and staff who assist, to maintain competency through current awareness and training and to keep documentation of that training on file for at least five years.⁷ The rule leaves format and frequency to the pharmacist and employer.

1
Georgia Secretary of State. Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Chapter 480-3
2
Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Georgia Board of Pharmacy Newsletter, April 2025
3
Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Fee Schedule
4
Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Renew Online
5
Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Pharmacy and Pharmacist FAQs
6
Georgia Secretary of State. Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Chapter 360-34
7
Georgia Secretary of State. Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Chapter 480-11