PSI Ireland: Registration, Exams and Fees

• Register of Pharmacists: every pharmacist practising in Ireland, including community, hospital and industry pharmacists.
• Register of Pharmacies: retail pharmacy businesses, each with a superintendent pharmacist and a supervising pharmacist.
• Superintendent and supervising pharmacist roles are recorded against pharmacies; the PSI sets the requirements for each role.

• A pharmacist qualification obtained in a non-EU/EEA country, with the full education and training needed to practise as a pharmacist in that country.
• Eligibility to practise pharmacy in the country where you qualified, confirmed in writing by its competent authority. You do not have to be currently registered or practising there.
• A QQI NARIC Ireland statement of comparability for your primary qualification and any postgraduate qualifications.
• Your academic transcript, programme syllabus and internship certification sent directly to the PSI by your university or competent authority. The PSI does not accept these from you or any other third party.
• Certificates of current professional status sent directly by each competent authority where you are qualified or have practised, valid for three months from issue.
• A Regulatory Data Form (TCQR4) completed and emailed to the PSI by the competent authority in the country where you qualified, from an official email address.
• A statutory declaration (TCQR2) witnessed in Ireland by a solicitor, peace commissioner or commissioner for oaths, or by a consular official at an Irish embassy or consulate.
• UK-qualified applicants who started training after 31 December 2020 use a separate GB and NI form and must be registered, or eligible to register, with the GPhC or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.
• At the registration stage: English evidence at CEFR C1, or one of the PSI's two other language criteria.

Check your route with the route finder

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   1. Read the TCQR information guide and gather forms

   Download the TCQR1 application form, TCQR2 statutory declaration, TCQR3 certificate of identity and TCQR4 regulatory data form. The statutory declaration is invalid unless witnessed in Ireland or at an Irish embassy or consulate, which is the step overseas applicants most often get wrong. Have the certificate of identity witnessed by a health or legal professional.
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   2. Ask third parties to send documents directly

   Ask your university to send your transcript, syllabus and internship certificate to [email protected], and your competent authorities to send certificates of professional status and the TCQR4 form. The PSI holds documents that arrive early for six months and destroys them if your application has not arrived by then. Certificates of professional status are valid for only three months.
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   3. Submit your application and pay the Stage 1 fee

   Scan your documents and email them to [email protected] with your name and 'TCQR application' in the subject line. The PSI then sends a payment link for the €500 Stage 1 fee. You have six months to complete your file, or it is closed.
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   4. Stage 1: validity and completeness check

   The PSI checks that you meet the eligibility criteria and that every mandatory document has arrived. Optional evidence of CPD and post-qualification work experience is not mandatory for this stage, but include it now: the holistic assessment is based only on what you submitted, and the PSI says planning to add material later is not grounds for an appeal.
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   5. Stage 2: holistic assessment

   External assessors compare your qualification and practical training, and the regulatory system where you trained, with the Irish standard. If they find gaps, they look at your postgraduate education, experience and CPD. The fee is €1,000, and you can appeal the outcome for €300.
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   6. Stage 3: certificate or exam

   On Path A you receive a certificate that your qualification is appropriate for practice. On Path B you sit the TCQR exam with RCSI in Dublin: the MCQ, the OSCE or both, depending on your assessment. Each component must be passed on its own, with no compensation between them, and places at each sitting are limited.
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   7. Prove your English

   Before you apply for registration, meet one of the PSI's three language criteria. If you take a test, it must be taken at a test centre (home-based tests are not accepted), all components must be attempted in one sitting, and results are valid for two years. One-skill retakes are not accepted.
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   8. Apply for registration through the PSI portal

   Once your qualification is recognised, apply for first registration on the PSI registration portal and pay the €698 application fee (from 1 May 2026). The portal has instructions and videos. You then renew each year with the continued registration fee.

• TCQR exam, Part 1: multiple choice (MCQ)

  Two parts, each of which must be passed on its own: Part A on pharmaceutical calculations and Part B on applied pharmacy practice. It is delivered in person in Dublin by RCSI, which the PSI appointed in 2026. The exam is aligned to the PSI Core Competency Framework for Pharmacists.

• TCQR exam, Part 2: OSCE

  An objective structured clinical examination that assesses clinical and professional skills through structured, practice-based scenarios. Also delivered in person in Dublin by RCSI. Candidates get a dedicated RCSI portal with guidance, sample questions and OSCE scenarios, preparation resources and briefing sessions.

• Exam dates and results

  The PSI lists sittings on 29 and 30 July 2026, 18 and 19 September 2026 and 16 and 17 February 2027, with further 2027 dates to be confirmed. Eligible applicants are sent an expression of interest before each sitting, and the PSI warns you may not get a place at your first choice. Results are issued about four to six weeks after the exam.

• Holistic assessment (not an exam)

  Stage 2 is a documentary assessment that decides whether you need an exam at all. Strong evidence of postgraduate education, work experience and CPD can reduce or remove the exam requirement.

• IELTS Academic: overall 7, with 7 in speaking, reading and listening and 6.5 in writing.
• OET Pharmacy: grade B (350) in listening, reading and speaking, and 300 in writing.
• TOEFL iBT: total 95, with speaking 25, writing 21, reading 24 and listening 22.
• Cambridge C1 Advanced: 180 overall and in each component.
• Super-scoring: the PSI allows two sittings of the same test within six months to be combined if each meets its base scores. Otherwise all components must be attempted in one sitting, and one-skill retakes are not accepted.
• Home-based tests are not accepted, and results are valid for two years from the test date.
• Exemptions: training in a country where English or Irish is the native and first language, or three of the last five years in whole-time practice as a registered pharmacist in such a country. The PSI says English being an official language is not enough, and from 1 June 2026 it no longer accepts university letters about the language of teaching.

Estimate your total cost

• The PSI's information guide (July 2026) gives approximate processing times of four to six months for Stage 1.
• Stage 2 holistic assessment: about six months, according to the PSI.
• Stage 3B exam: up to twelve months, with limited places at each sitting and high demand expected.
• You have six months to complete your TCQR file, and documents sent early are held for six months.
• Exam results take about four to six weeks; English test results are valid for two years.

1. 1PSI: Pharmacists, registration
2. 2PSI: First time registration
3. 3PSI: Qualification obtained outside the EU
4. 4PSI: TCQR information guide (July 2026)
5. 5PSI: TCQR frequently asked questions
6. 6PSI: Language requirements
7. 7PSI: Registration fees
8. 8PSI: Core Competency Framework