Pharmacy technician applying to be a pharmacy student

If you are currently a pharmacy technician who is enrolled in a pharmacy program at a Canadian university that is accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) or an American university that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), you are eligible to apply to the pharmacy student register. Once you are on the pharmacy student register, you may practise as a pharmacy student under the direct supervision of a pharmacist. 

Follow these steps to register as a pharmacy student:  

1. Prepare your supporting documentation. All documents must be in PDF format.
   • A letter from your university confirming enrollment in a pharmacy degree program.  
   • Enhanced Police Information Check must be current within the past six months.
   • Registration statutory declaration.
     • The statutory declaration must be declared before a notary public or a commissioner for oaths within the past six months. Out of province declarants must use a notary public.
   • Evidence of your name change (if applicable)
     • If the name on any document is different from your legal name, you must submit a copy of either your name change or marriage certificate to confirm that you legally changed your name. This document DOES NOT need to be notarized.

2. Complete and submit your application.
   • Once you are ready to apply complete the following steps:
     • Access the application by a pharmacy technician to the pharmacy student register (in myACP). All applications can be found in New applications.
     • The application will require you to upload the supporting documentation you prepared in step 1. Your application is not complete until all supporting documentation has been uploaded and you have submitted the application.

3. Application decision.
   • Complete applications are reviewed in the order in which they are submitted and may take up to 15 business days to assess and process. Incomplete applications will result in further delays. ACP will notify you via email once a decision has been made or if we have any questions regarding your application.

4. Provide your payment.
   • If approved, you will be required to provide payment online. The college’s fees are outlined in the ACP fee schedule. Only the following payment methods will be accepted:
     • Visa,
     • Visa Debit,
     • Mastercard, or
     • Debit Mastercard.
   • Payment must be provided within 30 days of your approval or your application will expire, and you will be required to apply again.

5. Access your practice permit.
   • Once your payment has been processed, your practice permit can be accessed from your myACP profile.
   • The term of a student practice permit is typically four years and commences when the practice permit is issued.
   • You must not practise as a pharmacy student until you receive notification that your practice permit is issued.

Once you have successfully graduated from the pharmacy program, you are then eligible to complete the application to the provisional pharmacist register by a CCAPP grad. You must be on the provisional pharmacist register to complete ACP’s Structured Practical Training (SPT) program, one of the entry-to-practice requirements to become a pharmacist in Alberta.

Once you become a provisional pharmacist, you may no longer hold dual registration with ACP. You are required to cancel your registration as a pharmacy technician. As a provisional pharmacist, you are expected to practise within the scope of practice of pharmacists under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.