1Five BPS credentials on one table
| Credential | Outline weights (%) | Experience routes | Active holders | 2025 first-time pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCPS (pharmacotherapy) | Specialty areas 36, therapeutics 36, practice 28 (Sep 2024) | 3 years, at least 50% in scope, or a postgraduate year one (PGY1) residency | 31,580+ | 55.9% (984/1,760) |
| BCACP (ambulatory care) | Patient care 79, practice 21 (Oct 2025) | 4 years, PGY1 plus 2 years, or PGY2 in ambulatory care | 6,670+ | 61.8% (335/542) |
| BCCCP (critical care) | Critical care 23, therapeutics 57, practice 20 (Jan 2024) | 4 years, PGY1 plus 2 years, or PGY2 in critical care | 4,520+ | 64.1% (266/415) |
| BCIDP (infectious diseases) | Infections 18, therapeutics 60, practice 22 (Oct 2025) | 4 years, PGY1 plus 2 years, or PGY2 in infectious diseases | 2,380+ | 74.2% (178/240) |
| BCCP (cardiology) | Cardiovascular 16, therapeutics 57, practice 27 (Sep 1, 2026) | 4 years, PGY1 plus 2 years, or PGY2 in cardiology | 870+ | 63.8% (81/127) |
Domain names are shortened; each specification gives them in full. BCCCP’s four-domain outline is anticipated for December 2027. Holders: the “more than” counter on each BPS specialty page. Results: BPS 2025 continuous-testing release, first-time candidates.
2How many pharmacists hold each
3What stays the same and what changes
All five exams use the same frame: 150 items with 125 scored, in 3 hours 45 minutes. For BCPS, BCACP, BCCCP and BCIDP the money matches too, per BPS dates and fees as of October 27, 2026: $600 to apply, $300 to retake after a failed attempt within the past year, a $125 annual maintenance fee, and a 7-year recertification cycle, which BCPS recertification walks through.
Experience is where they part. BCPS is the only one of the five that a PGY1 opens by itself and the only one with a 3-year practice route. Each specialty asks for 4 years in its own area, a PGY1 plus 2 years in it, or a PGY2 in it. The full BCPS rule, with the 50% scope test and the 7-year window, is on BCPS eligibility requirements.
3.1Reading the outline weights
The specialty outlines spend most of their weight on therapy in one area: 57% to 60% on therapeutics and patient management for BCCCP, BCIDP and BCCP. BCPS gives the same domain 36% and spreads its patient-care share over many disease areas, which is the practical meaning of a generalist credential.
4Who each credential fits
- BCPS: practice that crosses units and disease states
- Internal medicine, transitions of care, or any role where the next patient may have a different problem. A PGY1 is enough to apply. The BCPS study guide maps its outline page by page.
- BCACP: ongoing care in clinics
- Pharmacists who manage chronic disease in ambulatory settings; 79% of the outline is patient care. BCPS vs BCACP compares the two in detail.
- BCCCP: the ICU
- Pharmacists on critical care teams, with a new four-domain outline anticipated in December 2027. See BCPS vs BCCCP.
- BCIDP: infectious diseases and stewardship
- Practice built around infection, from epidemiology to regimen. See BCPS vs BCIDP.
- BCCP: cardiology
- Cardiology practice, under an outline effective September 1, 2026. How much of that field BCPS asks for shows on the BCPS cardiology domain page.
5The other BPS specialties
BPS’s 2025 results release names the rest of the field. Each has its own specification and experience routes on bpsweb.org; this site covers BCPS only, so they appear here by name.
- Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist (BCOP)
- Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP)
- Board-Certified Pediatric Pharmacy Specialist (BCPPS)
- Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (BCGP)
- Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Pharmacist (BCEMP)
- Board-Certified Nutrition Support Pharmacist (BCNSP)
- Board-Certified Sterile Compounding Pharmacist (BCSCP)
- Board-Certified Nuclear Pharmacist (BCNP)
- Board-Certified Transplant Pharmacist (BCTXP)
- Pain management pharmacy (BCPMP), tested in an October window in 2025
- Pharmacy informatics, the newest program, added in December 2025
6Short answers on BPS credentials
How many board certifications does BPS offer?
16 specialties, with more than 63,400 active certifications at the end of 2025, per BPS’s 2025 results release (published January 28, 2026).
Is a board-certified pharmacist the same as a BCPS?
BCPS is one of the 16: Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. Board-certified pharmacist covers a holder of any of them.
Which BPS credential has the most holders?
Of the five compared here, BCPS by a wide margin: more than 31,580 on the BPS counter, against more than 6,670 for BCACP, the next largest of the five.
7References
- BPS, BCPS Examination Specifications (effective September 2024). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCACP Examination Specifications (effective October 2025). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCCCP Examination Specifications (effective January 2024). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCIDP Examination Specifications (effective October 2025). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, BCCP Examination Specifications (effective September 1, 2026). As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Pharmacotherapy (BCPS) specialty page. Holder counter. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, Cardiology Pharmacy (BCCP) specialty page. Holder counter. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, 2025 certification and recertification examination results. As of October 27, 2026.
- BPS, upcoming deadlines, dates and fees. As of October 27, 2026.
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