Business and Professions Code section 4112
(a)
Any pharmacy located outside this state that is involved in the preparation, dispensing, shipping, mailing, or delivery, in any manner, of controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or dangerous devices into this state shall be considered a nonresident pharmacy.(b)
A person shall not act as a nonresident pharmacy unless the person has obtained a license from the board. The board may register a nonresident pharmacy that is organized as a limited liability company in the state in which it is licensed.(c)
A nonresident pharmacy shall disclose to the board the location, names, and titles of (1) its agent for service of process in this state, (2) all principal corporate officers, if any, (3) all general partners, if any, and (4) all pharmacists who are dispensing controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or dangerous devices to residents of this state. The report shall be made on an annual basis and within 30 days after any change of office, corporate officer, partner, or pharmacist.(d)
All nonresident pharmacies shall comply with all lawful directions and requests for information from the regulatory or licensing agency of the state in which it is licensed as well as with all requests for information made by the board pursuant to this section. The nonresident pharmacy shall maintain, at all times, a valid unexpired license, permit, or registration to conduct the pharmacy in compliance with the laws of the state in which it is a resident. As a prerequisite to registering with the board and ongoing licensure, the nonresident pharmacy shall identify a California-licensed pharmacist employed and working at the nonresident pharmacy to be proposed to serve as the pharmacist-in-charge, and submit a copy of the most recent inspection report resulting from an inspection conducted by the regulatory or licensing agency of the state in which it is located.(e)
All nonresident pharmacies shall maintain records of controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or dangerous devices dispensed to patients in this state so that the records are readily retrievable from the records of other drugs dispensed.(f)
Any pharmacy subject to this section shall, during its regular hours of operation, but not less than six days per week, and for a minimum of 40 hours per week, provide a toll-free telephone service to facilitate communication between patients in this state and a pharmacist at the pharmacy who has access to the patient’s records. This toll-free telephone number shall be disclosed on a label affixed to each container of drugs dispensed to patients in this state.(g)
A nonresident pharmacy shall not permit a pharmacist to manufacture, compound, furnish, sell, dispense, or initiate the prescription of a dangerous drug or dangerous device, or to provide any pharmacy-related service, to California patients under either of the following conditions:(1)
The pharmacist’s license has been revoked by the jurisdiction and has not been subsequently reinstated.(2)
The pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy is not licensed in California.(h)
The board shall adopt regulations that apply the same requirements or standards for oral consultation to a nonresident pharmacy that operates pursuant to this section and ships, mails, or delivers any controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or dangerous devices to residents of this state, as are applied to an in-state pharmacy that operates pursuant to Section 4037 when the pharmacy ships, mails, or delivers any controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or dangerous devices to residents of this state. The board shall not adopt any regulations that require face-to-face consultation for a prescription that is shipped, mailed, or delivered to the patient. The regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall not result in any unnecessary delay in patients receiving their medication.(i)
The registration fee shall be the fee specified in subdivision (a) of Section 4400.(j)
The registration requirements of this section shall apply only to a nonresident pharmacy that ships, mails, or delivers controlled substances, dangerous drugs, and dangerous devices into this state pursuant to a prescription.(k)
The board may inspect a nonresident pharmacy licensed pursuant to this section. In addition to paying the fees established in Section 4400, the nonresident pharmacy shall deposit, when notified by the board, a reasonable amount, as determined by the board, necessary to cover the board’s estimated reasonable costs of performing the inspection. If the required deposit is not received or if the actual costs of the inspection exceed the amount deposited, the board shall issue an invoice for the remaining amount and shall not take action on the renewal application until the full amount has been paid to the board. If the amount deposited exceeds the amount of actual and necessary costs incurred, the board shall remit the difference to the applicant.(l)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the dispensing of contact lenses by nonresident pharmacists except as provided by Section 4124.(m)
This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026.
Source:
Section 4112, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=4112. (updated Jan. 1, 2026; accessed Dec. 15, 2025).
