Pharmacy License from Alabama to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Illinois accept an Alabama pharmacist license?
A pharmacist license transfers from Alabama to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — State Board of Pharmacy, verify your Alabama license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. NAPLEX is not retaken; license history transfers via the NABP eLTP. Illinois requires the Illinois-specific MPJE; alternatively, a transferring pharmacist may satisfy the Illinois jurisprudence requirement by completing the Illinois Pharmacist Readiness and Orientation Program (ILPRO) in lieu of the IL MPJE. Illinois has not adopted the Uniform MPJE.
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Your Alabama license transfers into Illinois through the NABP Electronic Licensure Transfer Program — NABP forwards your license and NAPLEX history to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — State Board of Pharmacy — but Illinois gates the license behind its own pharmacy-law exam. Coming from Alabama neither speeds this up nor slows it down; the eLTP is origin-neutral, so the timeline below is Illinois's standard out-of-state queue. Open the e-Profile transfer and book the law exam as early as Illinois allows.
What's different between Alabama and Illinois
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Illinois. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Alabama to Illinois (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Illinois to Alabama (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Alabama matter?
Coming from Alabama does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Illinois.
- Application fee
Illinois lists $200 for an out-of-state applicant and Alabama lists $425 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Illinois and Alabama carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Illinois (this move): NAPLEX is not retaken; license history transfers via the NABP eLTP. Illinois requires the Illinois-specific MPJE; alternatively, a transferring pharmacist may satisfy the Illinois jurisprudence requirement by completing the Illinois Pharmacist Readiness and Orientation Program (ILPRO) in lieu of the IL MPJE. Illinois has not adopted the Uniform MPJE.
- Alabama (the reverse move): NAPLEX is not retaken; license history transfers via the NABP eLTP. Alabama requires passing the Alabama MPJE (the state-specific Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination, applied for separately through NABP) before a license is issued; Alabama has not adopted the Uniform MPJE as of 2026-07-21.
What changes, Alabama → Illinois
| Alabama (current) | Illinois (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $425 (ALBOP fees for every new pharmacist license, including reciprocity applicants: $125 license fee + $300 statutory exam fee = $425 (Board pharmacist page, fee amounts updated June 30, 2026; Admin Code 680-X-2-.34, effective June 14, 2026). An optional initial controlled substance permit costs $100 more. NABP charges its own eLTP and Alabama MPJE fees separately; they are not included here.) | $200 (Illinois endorsement fee $200 for a pharmacist licensed in another state/territory (Ill. Admin. Code tit. 68 sec. 1330.20(b)(3), effective 6/2/2023); separate NABP eLTP fees ($300 + $100 per jurisdiction) and the MPJE exam fee apply) |
| Processing time | Board does not publish a processing-time figure; reciprocity requires a virtual Board interview held once per month on Board-meeting days, so timing tracks the Board's monthly meeting cycle plus NABP eLTP/MPJE completion | IDFPR does not publish a fixed processing-time estimate for pharmacist endorsement; NABP eLTP review is 3-5 business days |
| Licensing authority | Alabama State Board of Pharmacy | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — State Board of Pharmacy |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Illinois sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Illinois's current requirements on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — State Board of Pharmacy website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — State Board of Pharmacy (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Submit the license transfer through the NABP eLTP and file the Illinois endorsement application via IDFPR Online Services.
- Provide verification of licensure from every state where you have ever held a pharmacist license.
- Pass the Illinois MPJE, or complete ILPRO in lieu of the IL MPJE.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Do I retake the NAPLEX moving from Alabama to Illinois?
No — the NAPLEX is a one-time national exam that transfers with your record.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified Alabama 2026-10-29, Illinois 2026-07-21.
- IDFPR — Pharmacy (application forms; ILPRO as MPJE alternative) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Illinois Administrative Code tit. 68 sec. 1330.20 — Fees (endorsement $200) (via Cornell LII) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NABP — Electronic Licensure Transfer Program (eLTP) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Alabama Administrative Code Rule 680-X-2-.17 — Reciprocity (fee $300.00) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Alabama Administrative Code Rule 680-X-2-.34 — Fees for Applicants for Pharmacist License ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Alabama Board of Pharmacy — Pharmacist how-to-apply (reciprocity steps: eLTP + AL MPJE) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Alabama Board of Pharmacy — Policy 24-001 Pharmacist Licensure by Reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Alabama Board of Pharmacy — Policy Statements (24-001 Pharmacist Licensure by Reciprocity, current) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Alabama State Board of Pharmacy newsletter, Feb 2025 (Policy 24-001 replaced the earlier requirement to maintain the home-state license) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 680-X-2 (official PDF, revised 7/13/26; rules .17 and .34) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NABP — General Requirements for Licensure Transfer (Alabama row; last updated 8/26/2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources Alabama 2026-10-29, Illinois 2026-07-21
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