SPLE: Saudi Pharmacist Licensure Examination

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Include Saudi pharmacy rules in your SPLE study plan. The paper also covers science, drug treatment, management and safety.

Is this the right paper for you?

The SPLE is the pharmacist licensing paper. SCFHS rules give a pharmacy bachelor’s degree the pharmacist title. Check your title in Mumaris Plus before you pay DataFlow.

  • A pass in the same SCFHS specialty within 5 years can exempt you from a new assessment. High-risk specialties are excluded. Check the licence steps.

Scaled score

Format at a glance

200 questions. Time: Two 100-question sections of 120 minutes with a 30-minute break. Pass mark: 536 on a 200–800 scale.

Delivered by Prometric.

What the paper covers

ProMCQ sets these topic targets for its mock papers, using the published SCFHS blueprint as a guide. They can differ from the official weights, so check the blueprint for those. Each mock includes national-topic content, so its final question shares can differ slightly from these targets.

  • Basic Biomedical Sciences (10%): Basic biomedical sciences is 10%. Study how drugs work in the body.
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences (35%): Pharmaceutical sciences is 35%. Include drug forms, stability, pharmacokinetics and calculations.
  • Social/Behavioral/Administrative Sciences (20%): Social, behavioural and administrative sciences is 20%. Study Saudi rules, management, safety and how to talk with patients.
  • Clinical Sciences (35%): Clinical sciences is 35%. Practise drug choice, follow-up, adverse effects and dose changes.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the SCFHS / SMLE pharmacists bank. They are written to the paper's style, not taken from the live exam. Pick an answer to see the key and explanation.

  1. Which counselling point is appropriate for oral phenelzine?

    1. Choose aged cheese
    2. Prefer fermented soy
    3. Avoid cured meats
    4. Drink tap beer
    Answer

    C. Phenelzine inhibits monoamine oxidase, so tyramine-rich cured meats can trigger a dangerous hypertensive crisis and should be avoided.

  2. A 45-year-old man has taken the same oral drug daily for several weeks and now needs a higher dose to get the original effect. At his starting dose, plasma concentrations have fallen because metabolic clearance has increased. His receptor responsiveness to any given concentration is unchanged. Which term best classifies this change in drug response?

    1. Pharmacokinetic tolerance
    2. Pharmacodynamic tolerance
    3. Tachyphylaxis
    4. Physical dependence
    Answer

    A. Tolerance develops gradually over days to weeks and requires dose escalation to maintain the effect. Its mechanism can be pharmacodynamic (receptor or adaptive changes) or pharmacokinetic (increased metabolism or clearance). Falling plasma concentrations with unchanged receptor responsiveness point to pharmacokinetic tolerance.

  3. A fasting patient undergoes gastric sampling before food can buffer the gastric contents. Which pH range is physiologically expected?

    1. pH 4-5
    2. pH 1.5-5
    3. pH 1.5-3.5
    4. pH 3.5-5
    Answer

    C. Normal fasting gastric contents are strongly acidic, with pH generally below 4, often around 1.5-2. Food transiently buffers and raises this pH after a meal, though gastric pH typically remains below 4.

  4. Ten compounded capsules average 305 mg, and one capsule weighs 340 mg during a ±10% in-process bench screen. What is the most appropriate interpretation?

    1. Declare the blend content nonuniform
    2. Flag the result and investigate filling
    3. Record failure under USP <795>
    4. Complete USP <905> using weights
    Answer

    B. The 340 mg capsule exceeds the upper 10% bench limit, so it is a flag for investigation. It is not proof of content nonuniformity and is not a USP <795> test.

  5. A 56-year-old woman collects a medicine prescribed twice daily. She understands its purpose but asks the pharmacist to replace the frequency wording with explicit times of day on the label. The pharmacist retains the prescribed dose and explains that the doses should be approximately 12 hours apart. Which timing instruction should appear on the label?

    1. Morning and midday
    2. Midday and evening
    3. Evening and bedtime
    4. Morning and evening
    Answer

    D. Explicit twice-daily instructions can specify a morning dose followed by an evening dose, separated by approximately 12 hours.

  6. A US Medicare Part D plan asks its network pharmacy to enrol patients into a medication therapy management programme. Capacity is limited, so the pharmacist must prioritise the patients whom the eligibility criteria target. Four patients on the pharmacy's list have similar annual drug spending. Which patient best fits the MTM targeting criteria?

    1. One acute infection, one antibiotic
    2. Three chronic diseases, nine medicines
    3. One chronic disease, one medicine
    4. No chronic disease, occasional OTC use
    Answer

    B. MTM eligibility targets patients with multiple chronic diseases, patients on multiple medications and patients whose drug spending exceeds a threshold set by the HHS Secretary. With spending equal across the four patients, the one with three chronic diseases on nine medicines meets the other two criteria.

  7. A hospital pharmacy quality team applies hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) to its parenteral nutrition compounding flow, mapping every step from order receipt through mixing, labelling and delivery. Before scoring hazards, the team must agree which steps meet the definition of a critical control point. Which criterion should the team apply to designate a step as a critical control point?

    1. It carries the highest risk priority number
    2. It is where finished product is released
    3. It is where process errors are documented
    4. Control there is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level
    Answer

    D. In HACCP, a critical control point is a step where control is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. HACCP establishes critical limits, monitoring and corrective actions at these points; it does not require FMEA-style occurrence, detection and severity scoring.

  8. A formulary committee reviews two studies of the same anticoagulant for stroke prevention. A large observational cohort, adjusted for age, renal function and diabetes, and a randomized controlled trial both report fewer strokes with the drug. The committee gives greater weight to the randomized trial. Which property of randomization justifies this weighting?

    1. Hides upcoming assignments
    2. Keeps assessors unaware
    3. Balances unmeasured confounders
    4. Guarantees adequate power
    Answer

    C. The cohort adjusted only for the confounders it measured (age, renal function, diabetes). Random assignment balances measured and unmeasured confounders on average. That balance lets a trial attribute the difference in outcomes to the treatment.

Full papers in the real format

10 timed mock papers of 200 questions each, built to the weights above. No question repeats across papers.

How to prepare

  • Practise doses, strengths, dilutions and infusion rates. The 35% shares cover whole domains; they do not give a separate weight for calculations.
  • Study Saudi pharmacy rules alongside general pharmacy law.
  • The reading list includes an APhA review, Goodman and Gilman, Ansel, DiPiro and Lexicomp. These books are study aids.
  • Use the feedback report from your result to choose topics for a retake.
  • The SPLE guide gives no way to turn mock marks into scaled scores. Use mocks to find weak topics.

Licensing steps

  1. Check your title and documents: Check which title fits you. Finish DataFlow, then send your file through Mumaris Plus. Read the guide
  2. Check fees and book: Book the paper on your permit. Choose a date within the period printed on it. Read the guide
  3. Check results and register: Find your score and next step. Check your attempts before you book again. Read the guide

Frequently asked questions

What is the SPLE passing score?

536 on a 200 to 800 scale. (SPLE guide).

How many questions are in the SPLE?

200 in 2 parts of 100. Each part lasts 120 minutes, with a 30-minute break. Up to 10% may be pilot questions. (SPLE guide).

What does the SPLE cover?

There are 4 domains. Use the weights in the syllabus to plan your study time. Include Saudi rules, safety and drug treatment.

How much does DataFlow cost for a pharmacist?

The nurse and pharmacist package is SAR 500. Check its contents and extra charges in the fees guide.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. Membership Regulations Criteria (Arabic), Saudi Commission for Health Specialties
  2. SPLE Applicant Guide (September 2025), Saudi Commission for Health Specialties
  3. SPLE Applicant Guide 2024, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties