Checked 25 September 2026. From the SPLE Applicant Guide uploaded September 2025 (the 2024 guide gives the same figures). The format changed in March 2023; check that any guide you use is dated after it.
The Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination (SPLE) is the exam SCFHS uses to assess pharmacists for practice in Saudi Arabia. It is now filed among SCFHS's "Professional Practice Licensure Exams", beside the medical, dental and nursing exams, and shares their format. This guide is built from SCFHS's September 2025 applicant guide, and corrects the outdated descriptions still common online.
Where other pages get this wrong
The SPLE is 200 questions in two parts — not 300 in six hours, and not 150 in three.
Commonly published instead: "SPLE: 300 MCQs in 3 sets over 6 hours", "150 questions in 3 hours" and "passing score usually 60–70%".
From March 2023 the SPLE has been 200 questions in two parts of 100, each 120 minutes, with a 30-minute break (applicant guide, 2024 and 2025). The pass mark is 536 "on the reporting scale of 200–800" — a scaled score, not a percentage.
SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025).
The format
| Item | SPLE (from March 2023) |
|---|---|
| Questions | 200 multiple-choice questions, four options, one best answer |
| Parts | Two parts of 100 questions, 120 minutes each |
| Break | One scheduled 30-minute break between the parts |
| Pilot items | Up to 10%, unscored and not identified |
| Question types | Recall, and scenarios testing interpretation, analysis, decision-making, reasoning and problem-solving |
| Pass score | 536 on the 200–800 reporting scale |
| Delivery | Computer-based at SCFHS-approved Prometric centres in Saudi Arabia and abroad |
| Feature | June 2022 guide | From March 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 300 (up to 30 unscored) | 200 (up to 10% unscored) |
| Sets / parts | Three sets, six hours | Two parts of 120 minutes |
| Pass score | 536 (scaled) | 536 (scaled) — unchanged |
| Blueprint | 10/35/20/35 | 10/35/20/35 — unchanged |
At 120 minutes for 100 questions you have 72 seconds a question. Prometric gives the seat time for the SPLE as 4 hours 30 minutes since 1 March 2023. Because the pilot items are not identified, treat every question as if it counts; and because the break is the only rest, practise sitting two full parts in one morning before the real thing.
The blueprint
SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025). Question counts are our arithmetic on 200 items; SCFHS says distributions "may differ up to +/-5% at each level".
| Area | Sub-areas in the guide |
|---|---|
| Basic Biomedical Sciences (10%) | Physiology; biochemistry; microbiology related to human diseases; immunology |
| Pharmaceutical Sciences (35%) | Medicinal chemistry; pharmacology and toxicology; pharmacognosy and dietary supplements; pharmaceutics/biopharmaceutics; pharmacokinetics; sterile and nonsterile compounding |
| Social/Behavioral/Administrative Sciences (20%) | Health-care delivery and public health (including KSA organisations); pharmacoepidemiology; pharmacoeconomics; practice management; pharmacy law and regulatory affairs; biostatistics and research design; ethics; communication; social and behavioural aspects; dispensing and distribution systems |
| Clinical Sciences (35%) | Drug information and evidence-based practice; clinical pharmacokinetics; clinical pharmacogenomics; disease prevention and population health; patient assessment; clinical pharmacology and therapeutic decision-making |
Two things stand out. Pharmaceutical and clinical sciences are 70% of the exam between them, split evenly. And the social, behavioural and administrative area — 20%, about 40 questions — is broader than most Indian pharmacy curricula: it includes pharmacoeconomics, pharmacoepidemiology, biostatistics, practice management and Saudi pharmacy law and regulation. It is the area candidates most often under-prepare.
The 20% most candidates under-prepare
| Sub-area | In practice |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Health-care delivery systems and public health | The Saudi health system's organisations; health promotion and prevention in a population |
| 3.2 Population-based care and pharmacoepidemiology | Data sources and study designs for drug outcomes; adverse-event monitoring; pharmacovigilance |
| 3.3 Pharmacoeconomics and humanistic outcomes | Cost-minimisation, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit analyses; quality-of-life outcomes |
| 3.4 Pharmacy practice management | Planning, organising and controlling a pharmacy; pricing and marketing of services; budgeting |
| 3.5 Pharmacy law and regulatory affairs | Dispensing and controlled-drug rules; administrative, civil and criminal liability |
| 3.6 Biostatistics and research design | Choosing tests, reading study results and drug literature |
| 3.7–3.9 Ethics, communication, social and behavioural aspects | Ethical decisions, counselling and patient communication, behaviour and adherence |
| 3.10 Medication dispensing and distribution systems | How medicines move through hospital and community systems safely |
Sub-area names from the SPLE applicant guide; the "in practice" column is our summary of the guide's objectives. At about 40 questions, this area is worth as much as a fifth of the exam — more than basic biomedical sciences twice over.
Using the blueprint to plan
The weights translate directly into preparation time. Roughly 70 questions each come from pharmaceutical and clinical sciences, 40 from the social and administrative area and 20 from basic biomedical sciences. A candidate strong in pharmaceutics from an Indian B.Pharm but weak in therapeutics and pharmacoeconomics should spend most of their hours on the second and third — the two areas that together make up more than half the paper. Our blueprint-weighted study plan for the SPLE sets this out week by week.
What is Saudi-specific
| Where | What the guide asks |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Health-care delivery | Know the role of the organisations involved in health-care delivery in the Kingdom; social, political and economic factors in Saudi health care |
| 3.5 Pharmacy law and regulatory affairs | Legal and regulatory principles in dispensing, professional services and drug-use control; liability; how the authority and regulators govern practice |
| References | The SFDA drug search, SFDA procedures for narcotics and psychotropics (Arabic), the MOH list of required immunisations, an SFDA document on anti-drugs |
From the SPLE Applicant Guide. A general review book will not cover these; read the SFDA and MOH sources the guide names.
How 536 works
The pass score is 536 on a 200–800 reporting scale, recommended by the Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination Council and approved by SCFHS's Central Assessment Committee. It is not a percentage: the scale starts at 200, and SCFHS publishes no raw-score equivalent, so a score from a coaching mock is only a rough guide to it. You receive two reports within 2–6 weeks of the end of the testing window: a statement of results and a feedback report comparing your performance with other candidates. A score above 536 is worth having if you plan to apply for Saudi residency training, which is why SCFHS allows improvement attempts after a pass.
Where other pages get this wrong
536 is not "67%".
Commonly published instead: "536 of 800 = 67%" and "you need about 60–70% correct".
Dividing 536 by 800 is meaningless because the scale starts at 200, and SCFHS publishes no raw-score or percentage equivalent. (A December 2022 guide printed 542; the June 2022, 2024 and September 2025 guides all say 536.)
The reference list
| Area | References (Sep 2025 guide) |
|---|---|
| Whole syllabus | APhA Complete Review for Pharmacy; Comprehensive Pharmacy Review (Shargel et al.) |
| Basic sciences | Fundamental Immunology; Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry |
| Pharmaceutical sciences | Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology; Goodman & Gilman's; Applied Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics; Pharmaceutical Calculations; Aulton's Pharmaceutics; Principles of Toxicology |
| Social / administrative | Essentials of Pharmacoeconomics; Textbook of Pharmacoepidemiology; Pharmacy Management, Leadership, Marketing, and Finance; Social and Behavioral Aspects of Pharmaceutical Care; research design and biostatistics texts |
| Clinical | Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach; Applied Therapeutics; Patient Assessment in Pharmacy Practice; Clinical Skills for Pharmacists; Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs; Lexicomp |
| Saudi sources | SFDA drug search; SFDA narcotics and psychotropics procedures; MOH immunisation list; an SFDA document on anti-drugs |
Grouped by area by us; the titles are SCFHS's. SCFHS says the list is a study aid, implies no endorsement, and that questions are not necessarily taken from these sources.
On the day
Rules from the applicant guide
- Arrive by the time on your admission ticket. SCFHS test centres open at 7:30 a.m.; more than 30 minutes late for your ticket time, or absent, and you are not admitted — it counts as an attempt unless SCFHS accepts a documented reason.
- Bring the scheduling permit and ID. The permit (on paper or phone) plus unexpired ID — a passport, or a national or residence ID in Saudi Arabia — with names matching exactly. Without them you are not admitted and must pay to reschedule.
- Scheduling may not open more than three months in advance.
- Practice test: SCFHS offers an SPLE practice test you can apply for on its website; the guide gives no fee or further details.
SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025).
Practise it, don't just read it
Pharmaceutical and clinical sciences are 70% of the SPLE. Topic quizzes are a quick way to find your weakest area in each.
The ProSyllabus SCFHS pharmacist library has topic quizzes for Pharmacology and Mechanisms of Action, Pharmaceutics and Dosage Forms, Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics, Therapeutics: Cardiovascular and Endocrine, Therapeutics: Infectious Disease and Antimicrobials, Pharmacy Practice, Dispensing and Patient Counseling, Drug Interactions, Adverse Effects and Toxicology and Pharmacy Law, Ethics and Saudi (SCFHS) Regulations. Each question comes with an explanation.
How many questions are in the SPLE?
200 four-option multiple-choice questions in two parts of 100, each 120 minutes, with a 30-minute break. Up to 10% are unscored pilot questions.
What is the SPLE passing score?
536 on the 200–800 reporting scale, a scaled score approved by SCFHS's Central Assessment Committee. It is not a percentage.
What is the SPLE blueprint?
Basic biomedical sciences 10%, pharmaceutical sciences 35%, social/behavioural/administrative sciences 20% and clinical sciences 35%, each allowed to vary by up to 5%.
Is the SPLE still 300 questions?
No. The 300-question, six-hour format ended in March 2023. The current exam is 200 questions in two 120-minute parts.
Which books are recommended for the SPLE?
SCFHS lists the APhA Complete Review for Pharmacy and Comprehensive Pharmacy Review as whole-syllabus reviews, plus Goodman & Gilman's, DiPiro's Pharmacotherapy, Applied Therapeutics and others, and Saudi SFDA and MOH sources.
Who can sit the SPLE?
The guide allows holders of a recognised pharmacy degree, those who have started their internship year, and students one year away from graduation. Classification as a practitioner afterwards has its own rules, including 12 months' experience for non-Saudis.
How long is the SPLE?
Two 120-minute parts with a 30-minute break. Prometric gives the seat time as 4 hours 30 minutes since 1 March 2023.
Is there negative marking in the SPLE?
The SPLE applicant guide does not mention negative marking.
Sources
- official — SCFHS — SPLE Applicant Guide (Sep 2025)
- official — SCFHS — SPLE Applicant Guide 2024
- official — SCFHS — SPLE guide, Dec 2022 (300-question format and change note)
- official — SCFHS — Professional Practice Licensure Exams: 2026 periods and attempts
- official — Prometric — SCFHS
- official — SCFHS — Membership Regulation criteria (Aug 2025, Arabic)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
