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Pharmacy CE · United States · for providers

ACPE certificate requirements for continuing pharmacy education providers

For US pharmacists and pharmacy technicians the certificate is not the official record: credit lives in CPE Monitor, and the provider must upload it within 60 days. Here is what a statement of credit or statement of participation must show, the exact ACPE statement and disclaimer, and the records you must keep. Checked against the ACPE CPE Policies and Procedures Manual updated January 2026.

Short answer · checked 30 October 2026

An ACPE statement of credit must show the learner’s name, the activity title and date, the activity type (knowledge, application or certificate program), the P or T audience designation, the accredited provider, the official ACPE logo, the credit awarded, the Universal Activity Number and the date the CPE Administrator signed it. For US pharmacists and technicians the certificate is not proof of credit: the provider must upload the credit to CPE Monitor within 60 days, and any certificate it still sends must carry ACPE’s disclaimer. Keep records for 6 years.

Required elements
12
Issue deadline
Within 60 days
Keep records
6 years
Central reporting system
CPE Monitor

New to CE?

How continuing education works, in one line

  1. Accreditor

    Sets the rules and approves providers.

  2. Provideryou

    Runs the course and issues the certificate.

  3. Learner

    Completes the course and keeps the certificate.

  4. Board

    Renews the licence and may audit the certificate.

CPE
Continuing pharmacy education. ACPE’s name for pharmacy CE.
CPE Monitor
The national system run by ACPE and NABP. The provider uploads each learner’s credit to it, and the learner sees the credit in their NABP e-Profile. It is the official record of ACPE credit.
NABP e-Profile ID
The 5 to 7 digit number a pharmacist or technician gets from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The provider needs it, plus the learner’s month and day of birth, to upload credit.
UAN
Universal Activity Number. The ID that ACPE’s Provider Web Tool gives each CPE activity, for example 0999-0000-26-014-L01-P. It ends in P for pharmacists or T for technicians.
Statement of credit
ACPE’s name for the certificate. Since CPE Monitor, providers no longer give it to US pharmacists or technicians as proof of credit. It is still issued to non-US pharmacists and to other health professionals.
Statement of participation
A certificate a provider may still send to US pharmacists or technicians. It must carry ACPE’s disclaimer saying it is not the official record.
Contact hour
The unit of CPE credit. One contact hour is 60 minutes of organized learning and equals 0.1 CEU.

Who this applies to

Providers under ACPE, and the learners they serve

Providers

  • Organizations accredited by ACPE as providers of continuing pharmacy education (CPE)
  • Non-accredited organizations that work with an ACPE-accredited provider in joint providership; the accredited provider is responsible for the certificate
  • Jointly Accredited providers (ACCME, ACPE and ANCC together) use a different statement and are covered on their own page

248 ACPE-accredited CPE providers in the ACPE directory (2026); 442 including Jointly Accredited providers (ACPE, 2025) · ACPE program lookup: accredited CPE providers

Learners

US-licensed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who need ACPE credit for licence renewal, plus non-US pharmacists and other health professionals who attend the same activities.

The 12 elements

What the certificate must show

Each number on the sample matches one element ACPE requires. The list says where the rule is written and which Hyperstack field fills it.

  1. 1

    Accredited provider

    The ACPE-accredited provider that provides or joint-provides the activity. A joint provider’s name may appear too, but the accredited provider must be named.

    Example: Harborview Pharmacy Education Institute

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateCPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  2. 2

    Learner name

    The name of the pharmacist, technician or other professional who completed the activity.

    Example: Priya N. Raman, PharmD

    In Hyperstack: [recipient_name]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  3. 3

    Activity title

    The title of the CPE activity, as it appears on the Activity Description Form and the announcement.

    Example: Anticoagulation Management in Older Adults

    In Hyperstack: [group_title]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  4. 4

    Activity date(s)

    The date of a live activity, or the date the learner completed a home study activity. For home study the date must fall between the release date and the expiration date.

    Example: 14 October 2026

    In Hyperstack: [custom_activity_date]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  5. 5

    Type of activity

    Knowledge-based, application-based or certificate program.

    Example: Knowledge-based

    In Hyperstack: [custom_activity_type]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  6. 6

    Target audience designation

    “P” for pharmacists or “T” for pharmacy technicians. Issue separate statements to each group. A non-pharmacist gets a “P” statement.

    Example: P (Pharmacist)

    In Hyperstack: [custom_audience]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  7. 7

    Credit awarded

    The amount of credit, in contact hours or CEUs. Full credit only: ACPE allows no partial credit.

    Example: 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEU)

    In Hyperstack: [custom_contact_hours]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  8. 8

    ACPE Universal Activity Number

    The UAN the Provider Web Tool assigned to the activity, with the P or T ending that matches this learner.

    Example: 0999-0000-26-014-L01-P

    In Hyperstack: [custom_uan]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

  9. 9

    Official ACPE logo

    The ACPE accredited provider logo, placed close to the accreditation statement. Only accredited providers may use it.

    Example: ACPE accredited provider logo

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateCPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25; Section III, Policy 2.0, p. 13

  10. 10

    Accreditation statement

    Policy 7b requires the logo; Policy 2.0 says the logo is used “in close conjunction with” the statement, and any reference to accreditation must use only this wording.

    Example: Harborview Pharmacy Education Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateCPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section III, Policy 2.0, p. 13

  11. 11

    CPE Monitor disclaimer (US pharmacists and technicians)

    Required on any paper or electronic statement of participation sent to a US-licensed pharmacist or technician. Not needed on a statement of credit for a non-US pharmacist or another health professional.

    Example: This statement contains information provided to NABP from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) via CPE Monitor®. ACPE policy states paper and/or electronic statements of credit may no longer be distributed directly to learners as proof of ACPE credit. The official record of credit may be located in the learner’s e-profile in CPE Monitor®.

    In Hyperstack: set once in the templateCPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, p. 24

  12. 12

    CPE Administrator signature and date signed

    The date the CPE Administrator signed the original statement, hand-written or electronically generated. Blank or incomplete statements must not go out.

    Example: Dana R. Whitfield, PharmD, CPE Administrator · 16 October 2026

    In Hyperstack: [issue_date]CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25

Exact wording

The statements, word for word

ACPE has 5 wordings. Use the one that fits your approval and your activity. Copy it, do not retype it.

Accredited provider

[Provider name] is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

Any reference to ACPE accreditation “shall state only the following”. Use the official ACPE accredited provider logo close to it.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section III, Policy 2.0, p. 13

Activity announcement form, one or more providers

The [name of accredited provider(s)] is/are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

The form prescribed for announcement materials. Name every accredited provider that provides or joint-provides the activity. A non-accredited joint provider is not named in this statement.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 4.0, Procedure 4a, p. 21; CPE Standards Rubric v9 (2025), Policy 4.0 item H

Accredited provider with Commendation

[Provider name] is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.

Only for providers ACPE has granted Accreditation with Commendation. Use ACPE’s Provider with Commendation logo.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section III, Policy 2.0, Procedure 2a, p. 13

Provider on probation

[Provider name] is on probation as an accredited provider of continuing pharmacy education by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Next scheduled review: [date].

A provider on probation is still accredited and may still award credit, but must use this wording.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section III, Policy 2.0, Procedure 2b, p. 13

CPE Monitor disclaimer on a statement of participation

This statement contains information provided to NABP from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) via CPE Monitor®. ACPE policy states paper and/or electronic statements of credit may no longer be distributed directly to learners as proof of ACPE credit. The official record of credit may be located in the learner’s e-profile in CPE Monitor®.

Required on any paper or electronic statement a provider still sends to a US-licensed pharmacist or technician. ACPE says the disclaimer “should read” this text.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, p. 24

How credit is counted

Minutes in, contact hours out

The unit

1 contact hour = 60 minutes

One contact hour is 60 minutes of participation in an organized learning experience and equals 0.1 CEU. Live credit is based on real time. Home study credit comes from a documented estimate, for example pilot testing. A knowledge-based activity must be at least 15 minutes (0.25 contact hour), an application-based activity at least 30 minutes, and a certificate program at least 8 contact hours.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 5.0, p. 23 and Policy 2.0, Procedures 2a–2c, p. 20; Accreditation Standards for CPE v6 (June 2024), Standard 3 guidance and Glossary

Rounding

ACPE sets no rounding step. Live credit is real time: 60 minutes is one contact hour. For home study you set the time by a documented method and must be conservative. Keep to the minimums: 15 minutes (0.25 contact hour) for a knowledge-based activity, 30 minutes for an application-based one, 8 contact hours for a certificate program. No partial credit: a learner gets the full credit or none.

Worked example

90 minutes ÷ 60 = 1.5 contact hours; 1.5 × 0.1 = 0.15 CEU

90 minutes → 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEU)

1 h 30 min
1.50contact hours

90 ÷ 60, rounded down to the nearest 0.25. ACPE sets no rounding step: credit is real time, decided conservatively, and not below the minimum for the activity type. Full credit only, no partial credit.

Timeline

From the last slide to the audit file

  1. Activity

    Day 0

    The learner completes the activity and meets every requirement for credit. The learner gives you their NABP e-Profile ID and month and day of birth within 60 days.

  2. Certificate

    Within 60 days

    A statement of credit for a non-US pharmacist or another health professional must go out within 60 days of participation. A statement of participation for a US pharmacist or technician has no deadline, but must carry the disclaimer.

  3. Report

    Within 60 days

    Upload each learner’s e-Profile ID, month and day of birth, UAN and date of participation to CPE Monitor within 60 days. After that you need ACPE’s permission, and a fee from the fourth request.

  4. Records

    6 years

    Keep records adequate to serve learners, state boards and ACPE for six years.

Reporting

Who reports what to CPE Monitor

System

CPE Monitor

Who reports
The ACPE-accredited provider uploads credit for every US-licensed pharmacist and pharmacy technician. Learners cannot enter their own credit.
Deadline
Within 60 days of the date the learner completed the activity. For a home study activity completed on its expiration date, 60 days after expiration.

CPE Monitor is required for every ACPE-accredited provider. A provider that does not upload is placed on Administrative Warning and can lose accreditation.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0 and Procedures 7a–7d, pp. 24–26; ACPE CPE Activity and Credit Submission Process (2025)
  1. Provider

    Submits an Activity Description Form in the Provider Web Tool before the activity is released. The tool generates the UAN.

  2. Learner

    Gives the provider their NABP e-Profile ID (5 to 7 digits) and month and day of birth (MMDD) within 60 days of completing the activity.

  3. Provider

    Uploads each learner’s e-Profile ID, date of birth, UAN and date of participation to CPE Monitor within the same 60-day window.

  4. CPE Monitor

    Validates the record and sends the credit to the learner’s NABP e-Profile. A record with a wrong ID or date of birth is rejected and no credit is awarded until the provider corrects and resends it.

  5. Learner

    Views the credit in their NABP e-Profile and can print a transcript or an official statement of credit from there. NABP says to allow up to 35 days, then contact the provider.

Right and wrong

The same certificate, two ways

The lines on the left are the mistakes auditors find most. The lines on the right are the fix.

Fails an audit

Harborview Pharmacy Education Institute

Priya N. Raman, PharmD

  • Certificate of Credit — this certifies that Priya N. Raman has completed…
  • Accredited by ACPE
  • UAN: 0999-0000-26-014-L01
  • Credit: 0.75 contact hours (attended 45 of 60 minutes)
  • Credit: 1.5 CEUs
  • This certificate is your proof of ACPE credit. Keep it for your board.

Passes an audit

Harborview Pharmacy Education Institute

Priya N. Raman, PharmD

  • Statement of Credit — Priya N. Raman successfully completed…
  • Harborview Pharmacy Education Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
  • UAN: 0999-0000-26-014-L01-P
  • Credit: 1.0 contact hour (0.1 CEU)
  • Credit: 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEU)
  • This statement contains information provided to NABP from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) via CPE Monitor®. ACPE policy states paper and/or electronic statements of credit may no longer be distributed directly to learners as proof of ACPE credit. The official record of credit may be located in the learner’s e-profile in CPE Monitor®.
  • 1. ACPE tells providers not to use “certify” or “certification” on statements of credit, to avoid confusion with board certification.
  • 2. Any reference to accreditation must use only the prescribed wording, with the ACPE logo close to it.
  • 3. The UAN must end in the audience designation, P for pharmacists or T for technicians. Each audience gets its own statement.
  • 4. ACPE allows no partial credit. The learner either meets every requirement and gets full credit, or gets none.
  • 5. 1 contact hour is 0.1 CEU, not 1 CEU. Mixing the units overstates the credit tenfold.
  • 6. For US pharmacists and technicians the official record is CPE Monitor. A statement of participation must carry ACPE’s disclaimer.

Digital

Electronic certificates and badges

Electronic certificates

ACPE allows statements of participation “either paper or electronically”, as long as the disclaimer is on them. For a statement of credit, the CPE Administrator’s signature and date may be “electronically generated”. Incomplete or blank statements must not be distributed.

Digital badges

ACPE’s January 2024 guidance says a digital badge is “a verifiable, digital representation in an easily shareable format of a physical credential” and that badges “are a representation of a credential and not a credential unto themselves”. A badge for an ACPE-accredited activity may refer to that completion in its metadata, but “should not be described as a credential”. A badge never awards ACPE credit: only the CPE Monitor upload does.

A Hyperstack certificate and badge carry the same data and the same verification page, so a badge can show the UAN, the credit and the disclaimer. CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0 and Procedure 7b, pp. 24–25; ACPE Digital Badging Guidance, 25 January 2024

Records and other rules

What else ACPE checks

The certificate is not the official record

For US-licensed pharmacists and technicians, credit counts only once you upload it to CPE Monitor. ACPE says statements of credit “may no longer be distributed directly to learners as proof of ACPE credit”. If you still send a statement of participation, paper or electronic, it must carry the disclaimer word for word. A learner who wants a paper statement prints the official one from their NABP e-Profile.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, p. 24

Upload within 60 days, or pay

You have 60 days from the learner’s participation date to upload the e-Profile ID, month and day of birth, UAN and date of participation. After 60 days it is your choice whether to award credit. ACPE can open CPE Monitor for late credit if the activity was in the last 6 months; the first three requests are waived, from the fourth there is a fee.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0 and Procedure 7d, pp. 24–26

Keep records for 6 years

Keep records “adequate to serve the needs of the learners and others requiring such information for a period of six years”, with backups. State boards may use your records and ACPE’s to verify a pharmacist’s participation. Hyperstack keeps every issued certificate, its verification page and its audit log for the life of your account and after you cancel.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 6.0, p. 24

No partial credit; one UAN per unit of credit

A learner gets full credit for an activity or none. If a conference has several sessions, give each session, or each package of sessions, its own UAN so credit can be awarded in full. The UAN also fixes the activity type and topic designator.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 5.0, Procedure 5c, p. 23

Pharmacists and technicians get separate statements

An activity for both audiences has two UANs that differ only in the last letter: -P and -T. Issue a separate statement for each. A non-pharmacist who attends gets a “P” statement. Statements of credit are only for non-US pharmacists and other health professionals; US pharmacists and technicians get credit through CPE Monitor.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25; Policy 9.0, Procedure 9d, p. 29

Joint providership

When you work with a non-accredited partner, you, the accredited provider, are responsible for compliance and for the statement. The UAN carries 9999 as its second block. The accreditation statement names the accredited provider(s) only; a non-accredited joint provider may be listed separately. Jointly Accredited providers (ACCME, ACPE and ANCC) use the Joint Accreditation statement instead.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 3.0, pp. 20–21; Policy 9.0, Procedure 9d, pp. 27–28

Home study: the date is the completion date

For a home study (enduring) activity the date of participation is the day the learner completed it, and it must fall between the release date and the expiration date. If the learner finishes on the expiration date, you have 60 days after expiration to upload.

CPE Monitor: Information for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians (ACPE/NABP), “Timeline for ACPE credit submission”

Do not say “certify”

ACPE instructs providers not to use the term “certify” or “certification” on statements of credit, to prevent confusion with certification. Call it a statement of credit or statement of participation, not a certificate of certification. The same goes for badges: a badge “should not be described as a credential”.

CPE Policies and Procedures Manual (Jan 2026), Section V, Policy 7.0, Procedure 7b, p. 25; ACPE Digital Badging Guidance, 25 January 2024

Before you send

The audit checklist, to tick or print

ACPE certificate checklist0/12

How to do it in Hyperstack

Three steps to a compliant certificate

  1. 1

    Open the ACPE template

    The template has a place for every element on this page. Add your logo and your 4 fixed elements once.

    • Accredited provider
    • Official ACPE logo
    • Accreditation statement
    • CPE Monitor disclaimer (US pharmacists and technicians)
  2. 2

    Map your columns

    Upload a spreadsheet or connect your LMS. Each column fills one element for every learner.

    • [recipient_name]
    • [group_title]
    • [custom_activity_date]
    • [custom_activity_type]
    • [custom_audience]
    • [custom_contact_hours]
    • [custom_uan]
    • [issue_date]
  3. 3

    Issue and keep the record

    Every learner gets an email, a verification page and a QR code. The record stays for as long as the rules need it.

    • Verification page
    • QR code
    • Audit log
    • Kept 6 years and beyond

Free template

An ACPE-ready certificate, with all 12 elements in place

Set your provider details once. Names, dates and contact hours fill in for every learner. Each certificate gets a verification page and QR code.

Use the ACPE template

FAQ

ACPE certificates, answered

Not as proof of credit. Since CPE Monitor, the official record is the learner’s NABP e-Profile, and ACPE says statements of credit may no longer be given directly to US pharmacists and technicians as proof. You may still send a statement of participation, paper or electronic, if it carries ACPE’s disclaimer. Many providers do, because learners like a copy.

Sources

Read from Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education documents on 30 October 2026. This page is a guide, not legal advice. Your accreditation manual and your licensing board have the final word. Something out of date? Tell us.

Changes to this page

  1. 2026-10-30Page written from the ACPE CPE Policies and Procedures Manual updated January 2026, the CPE Standards v6 and the 2024 digital badging guidance.
  2. 2026-10-30Fact check: dropped the "quarter hours are common practice" rounding advice; ACPE sets no rounding step, only real time, a conservative estimate, the activity-type minimums and no partial credit (Manual Policy 5.0, p. 23; Policy 2.0, p. 20).
  1. 1ACPE CPE Policies and Procedures Manual, updated January 2026Accreditation statement and logo (Section III, Policy 2.0, p. 13); joint providership (Policy 3.0, pp. 20–21); announcement statement (Policy 4.0, p. 21); credit and partial credit (Policy 5.0, p. 23); record keeping (Policy 6.0, p. 24); CPE Monitor, disclaimer and statement of credit elements (Policy 7.0 and 7b–7d, pp. 24–26); UAN structure (Policy 9.0, 9d, pp. 27–29).
  2. 2ACPE Accreditation Standards for Continuing Pharmacy Education, version 6, June 2024Minimum credit per activity type (Standard 3 guidance); contact hour and CEU definitions (Glossary).
  3. 3ACPE CPE Standards Rubric v9, effective 1 August 2025Policy 4.0 announcement items G to J: credit in contact hours or CEUs, logo with statement, UAN with P or T, e-PID and date of birth for CPE Monitor.
  4. 4ACPE Digital Badging Guidance, 25 January 2024Definition of a digital badge, badge metadata, badges as a representation of a credential and not a credential.
  5. 5ACPE: Continuing Education Provider Accreditation – CPE MonitorCPE Monitor is required; 60-day upload; statements of credit should not be given directly; the official record is CPE Monitor; links to the technical documents.
  6. 6ACPE/NABP: CPE Monitor, Information for Pharmacists and Pharmacy TechniciansData uploaded by the provider (e-PID, DOB MMDD, UAN, date of participation); 60 days for live and home study; paper statements of credit not valid.
  7. 7ACPE CPE Activity and Credit Submission Process, 2025Activity Description Form, UAN generation, the learner’s 60 days to give e-PID and DOB, rejection of bad records.
  8. 8NABP: Why can I not see my activities in my CPE Monitor account?Allow up to 35 days, then contact the provider; wrong e-Profile ID or date of birth.
  9. 9ACPE State Boards Update, 2025442 accredited CPE providers nationwide (Joint Accreditation and ACPE); 68,500 activities in 2025.
  10. 10ACPE program lookup: accredited CPE providers248 results for ACPE CPE providers, read 30 October 2026.

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