TOEFL® requirements for the FPGEE and FPGEC certification in 2026
The TOEFL iBT section minimums for FPGEC certification, on the old scale and the 2026 bands, plus MyBest, the test center rule, the 9103 code and how long scores last.
Updated November 12, 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer
For a TOEFL® iBT taken on or after January 21, 2026, FPGEC certification needs at least Reading 4, Listening 5, Speaking 5 and Writing 4.5. For a test taken before that date, the minimums are Reading 21, Listening 22, Speaking 25 and Writing 22. There is no overall score requirement: every section has to reach its own minimum, or the score report is not accepted. The test must be taken at an ETS test center in the US or in one of ten Canadian provinces, not in the Home Edition. ETS sends the score straight to the FPGEC, code 9103, and a passing score counts for 2 years from the test date. From November 1, 2026, MyBest scores are accepted too.
These are the figures in the October 2026 edition of the FPGEC Candidate Application Bulletin, checked on November 9, 2026.
Where the TOEFL fits in FPGEC certification
FPGEC certification comes before a pharmacy license for anyone who is a foreign pharmacy graduate: you need it before you can take the NAPLEX and the MPJE. "Foreign pharmacy graduate" depends on your school, not on your passport. If your primary pharmacy degree is from a recognized school that is not accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), you are one, US citizen or not.
Certification has two parts: an accepted application, with documents and a passing English language score, and a pass on the FPGEE. The English requirement applies to every foreign pharmacy graduate, including US citizens, US residents and native speakers of English, with no exceptions or waivers.
The order matters for your planning. You need the passing TOEFL score before you apply, and NABP does not begin evaluating your application until the official score report has arrived from ETS. Only accepted applicants can register for the FPGEE, which runs once a year in the fall. The next one is on October 7, 2027, and the deadline to purchase it is September 20, 2027. So a TOEFL that has to be retaken in the summer can push you back by a full year.
The minimum section scores
| Section | Tests before January 21, 2026 (0–30) | Tests on or after January 21, 2026 (1–6) |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 21 | 4 |
| Listening | 22 | 5 |
| Speaking | 25 | 5 |
| Writing | 22 | 4.5 |
The 0–30 minimums apply to FPGEC applications accepted on or after October 25, 2025, when NABP put new passing scores in place after a standard-setting study. You will still see the earlier figures quoted (Reading 22, Listening 21, Speaking 26, Writing 24); they now apply only to applications submitted before January 1, 2020.
All four scores must appear on one official score report from a single test date, unless you submit MyBest scores (see below). One section below its minimum, and the report is rejected, however strong the other three are.
How the 2026 bands line up with the old minimums
The 2026 band minimums are the bands that contain the old minimums in the official concordance table:
| Section | Old minimum | Band range on the old scale | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 21 | 18–21 | 4 |
| Listening | 22 | 22–25 | 5 |
| Speaking | 25 | 25–26 | 5 |
| Writing | 22 | 21–23 | 4.5 |
Two things follow from that.
- Listening and Speaking are the hard ones. A 5 is CEFR C1. The old Listening 22 and Speaking 25 sat at the very bottom of the band 5 range, so on the 2026 scale they become a full C1 requirement. Reading, at 4, is a B2 requirement.
- The overall band does not help. A report with an overall 5 and a Writing 4 fails, because Writing needs 4.5. A report with an overall 4.5 can pass, if the sections are 4, 5, 5 and 4.5.
The comparable 0–120 total that 2026 score reports print next to the bands is no use here either, because the FPGEC sets no total. If you have an old score and want to see where each section lands, the score converter converts section by section, and our guide to the band scale has the full table.
Single sitting or MyBest
Until November 1, 2026, all four sections had to come from one testing session. From that date, MyBest scores can be submitted to meet the requirement for the 2027 FPGEE. MyBest combines your highest score in each section from all valid TOEFL iBT tests within a rolling 2-year period, so a Listening 5 from one test and a Speaking 5 from another can now count together.
A few details:
- A score submitted before November 1, 2026 cannot be replaced by MyBest after the fact.
- If your application, with a passing TOEFL score, was still under review on November 2, 2026, you do not need to send a new score.
- NABP's own example is an application submitted in December 2026 with MyBest scores from tests taken in November 2025 and October 2026, which is accepted. That mixes a test on the old scale with one on the new.
What NABP has not published is how it compares an old section score, converted to a band in your MyBest, against the band minimums. If your MyBest mixes the two scales and a section sits near the line, ask NABP before you rely on it (FP@nabp.pharmacy). Our guide to TOEFL score validity explains how MyBest is built and how old scores appear in it.
Where you can take the test
Read this before you book. The TOEFL iBT must be taken in a secure testing environment at an ETS test center located in an NABP member or associate member jurisdiction:
- the 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands;
- ten Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
The at-home, remotely proctored TOEFL iBT is not accepted. A score from the Home Edition, or from a test center anywhere else, will not meet the requirement, however high it is. Check where you are booking before you pay.
ETS offers FPGEC candidates a 15% discount on the TOEFL iBT: enter the code NABPTOEFL when you pay.
Sending the score to the FPGEC
ETS must send the score report directly to the FPGEC; a copy you upload yourself is not accepted. Use the FPGEC identification number 9103, and make sure the email address in your ETS account matches the one NABP has on file. The report must carry all four sections from one test session, or your MyBest scores from November 1, 2026.
You can name the FPGEC as one of your four free score recipients before the test. The catch: once a score has been sent to any institution, you cannot request a review of your Speaking or Writing score. Speaking and Writing are the two sections a review covers, and they are also two of your hardest minimums. If you expect to clear both with room to spare, name the FPGEC and save the fee. If either one is close, keep the review open and order the report after you see your scores.
How long the score lasts
Passing TOEFL iBT scores are accepted for the FPGEC program for 2 years from the test date. That runs alongside the program's own clocks, as things stand:
- an application expires if you do not complete all its requirements within 2 years of submitting it;
- an accepted application expires if you do not pass the FPGEE within 2 years of acceptance;
- you have at most 5 attempts at the FPGEE.
If your TOEFL is more than about 18 months old when you apply, ask NABP whether it will still be accepted when your application is evaluated, before you count on it.
The OET from January 11, 2027
From January 11, 2027, the Occupational English Test (OET) for pharmacy is accepted as an alternative to the TOEFL iBT. You need to pass only one of the two. OET results from tests taken before that date are not accepted, the OET must also be taken at an approved test center in an NABP jurisdiction, and its minimum scores had not been published when we checked. Until they are, the TOEFL is the only route with known minimums.
What score do you need for the FPGEE in 2026?
Reading 4, Listening 5, Speaking 5 and Writing 4.5, for a TOEFL iBT taken at a test center in the US or Canada on or after January 21, 2026. There is no overall minimum.
Does NABP accept the TOEFL Home Edition?
No. The at-home, remotely proctored TOEFL iBT is not accepted for FPGEC certification. Only a test center in an NABP jurisdiction counts.
What is the TOEFL code for the FPGEC?
- ETS has to send the report directly; uploads are not accepted.
What does Listening 5 and Speaking 5 take on the 2026 test?
Both are C1. In Listening, every recording plays once, and the second part of the section gets harder if your first part goes well. In Speaking, there are only two task types: Listen and Repeat, seven sentences to repeat word for word, and Take an Interview, four questions answered on the spot. Our guides to the Listening section and the Speaking section show what each task asks for.
Know your section bands before you book a center
The FPGEC reads four numbers, not one, and a single section half a band short sends you back to a test center in the US or Canada for another full fee, with the once-a-year FPGEE waiting on the result. A Skorway mock is the full 2026 test, all four sections with the real timers, and it gives you a band for every section within minutes of finishing, so you can hold Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing against 4, 5, 5 and 4.5 one by one. Every Speaking and Writing answer comes back marked up and rewritten one band higher, so a missing half band becomes a list of things to fix. One mock is US$4.99. To see every task first, the free Test Tour is the whole TOEFL test at your own pace.
Correct for the TOEFL iBT as it runs on November 12, 2026.