Pharmacy license renewal in Nepal: the DDA certificate and your Pharmacy Council registration

Which pharmacy license renewal do you need?

Several documents get called a pharmacy license, and different offices renew them:

Opening a new pharmacy instead? Read how to open a pharmacy in Nepal.

Looking for the pharmacy license exam?

That is the Nepal Pharmacy Council's registration exam (नाम दर्ता (लाइसेन्सिङ) परीक्षा), which graduates pass before registering. For dates and results, see the notices on the Nepal Pharmacy Council website.

How long is a pharmacy license valid in Nepal?

A pharmacy's DDA certificate is valid for three years from the date of issue (Drugs Act, 2035, section 11(1)). The change came from section 12 of the Act to Amend Some Nepal Acts, 2082, in force from 14 Shrawan 2082 (30 July 2025); DDA announced it in a notice of 18 Shrawan 2082.

Some news and law-firm pages still repeat the old rule: two years' validity, yearly renewal within 35 days of expiry, and late renewal within three months at 25% extra. Only the last part survives, as a transition for certificates that expired before the amendment.

DDA's own notice of 20 Kartik 2082 (6 November 2025) still described yearly renewal (सालवसाली) as its usual practice, so ask DDA what period your renewal will cover.

How to renew a pharmacy license with DDA

There is no national deadline: apply to DDA, with the prescribed fee, before your own certificate expires (Drugs Act, section 11(2)). DDA's citizen charter, posted on 24 Jestha 2083 (7 June 2026), lists the documents below and a service time of one working day, and says the pharmacist, pharmacy assistant or व्यवसायी named on the certificate must come in person.

1. Get the tax clearance and your local level's recommendation well before the expiry date, since DDA asks for both.
2. Pay the fee, then take the receipt and the other documents to DDA's Pharmacy Registration Section, or to a DDA renewal team visiting your province, together with the professional named on the certificate.
3. Check the new expiry date and display the certificate again: DDA's inspection procedure (2013) checks that it is valid and on display.

Where to renew

DDA registers pharmacies at its head office in Bijulibazar, Kathmandu, and branch offices in Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj, so ask the nearest which covers your district. For its renewal teams in the provinces, watch the notices on dda.gov.np.

Wholesalers: from fiscal year 2083/84, DDA's directive of 18 Asar 2083 requires certified copies of written agreements with manufacturers or importers at renewal, Ratopati reported.

How much is the pharmacy license renewal fee?

DDA's citizen charter, posted on 24 Jestha 2083, puts the renewal fee at Rs 500, Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,500, depending on the capital declared on the pharmacy's Schedule-8 application.

Renewal within 30 days after expiry costs double the fee (Drugs Act, section 11(3)). Confirm the fee with DDA before paying. Lower fees in the 2058 English translation of the Drugs Registration Rules, 2038, are out of date.

What happens if you miss the renewal date?

You get one late window: within 30 days after expiry you may still apply, giving the reason and paying double the fee (section 11(3)). After that the certificate is cancelled automatically (स्वतः रद्द), and DDA must tell the holder (section 11(5)).

DDA has applied this: on 2 Asar 2083 (16 June 2026) it announced that the certificates of 5,302 drug shops and pharmacies had been cancelled automatically for not renewing, published the list and told operators to check their status: DDA notice of 2 Asar 2083.

If yours was cancelled, stop selling medicines; Ratopati's report of the notice said such stores may no longer legally operate. The Act describes no way to reinstate a cancelled certificate, and its appeal route (section 21) covers suspension and cancellation orders under section 20, not automatic cancellation under section 11(5), so contact DDA and be prepared to register afresh.

Do not rely on the fee for restoring a lapsed certificate in DDA's 2025 citizen charter, which predates the 2082 amendment; the charter DDA posted on 24 Jestha 2083 no longer lists that service.

Running a pharmacy without a valid DDA certificate breaks Chapter 4 of the Drugs Act: up to three years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 25,000, or both (section 34(1)). See also Pharmacy laws in Nepal.

How to renew Nepal Pharmacy Council registration online

Pharmacists and pharmacy assistants can renew their registration online with the Nepal Pharmacy Council, not DDA. The Council's 'Update Name Registration (Online Renew)' service was working when we checked on 5 October 2026: open the Online Renew page.

The NPC Regulation, 2059 requires registered professionals to keep their name registration updated and to tell the Registrar in writing within one month if they leave the profession or change address. But neither it nor the NPC Act, 2057 sets a renewal period for Nepali pharmacists and pharmacy assistants. Do not rely on a period or fee quoted elsewhere: ask the Council how long an update lasts and what it costs.

Keep it current anyway: the Regulation requires the update, and DDA's citizen charter, posted on 24 Jestha 2083, asks for your Council registration certificate when a pharmacy registers you as its professional and for the renewed certificate each time that pharmacy renews.

For the Council's login, KYC updates, good-standing certificates or phone number, see its website: we could not verify those services.

How do you register with the Nepal Pharmacy Council, and what does it cost?

The Council registers people who pass its registration exam. Its notices of 25 Chaitra 2082 and 8 Asoj 2083 put the fee at Rs 1,000 for a pharmacy assistant and Rs 2,000 for a pharmacist and ask for notarised copies of:

• the application form
• your SLC and citizenship certificates
• all your academic certificates
• an equivalence certificate, if you studied under a foreign board
• internship papers, for pharmacy assistants

Nobody may practise pharmacy without registering with the Council (NPC Act, 2057, section 11).

A review should normally take at most three months (Regulation, rule 2.3). Practising unregistered can bring up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 30,000 (NPC Act, section 29(1), as amended in 2074); the English translation on the Council's website still shows an older, lower penalty.

Can one pharmacist's registration cover two pharmacies?

In practice, no. No clause literally says 'one pharmacist, one pharmacy', but Code 2080 requires at least one full-time pharmacist, pharmacy assistant or recognised व्यवसायी at every pharmacy and wholesaler (clause 6(1)). A DDA inspector in Biratnagar told Health Aawaj in Jestha 2083 that one person may not rent out a license, or work, at two places, and that DDA can suspend the license for up to six months.

The Council agrees: its notice of 3 Bhadra 2082 calls it a clear breach of Council law and its code of conduct when full-time government hospital pharmacy staff use their registration to register and run private pharmacies (complaints: ujuri@nepalpharmacycouncil.org.np). In September 2026 it also asked pharmacists not to let others use their certificate, Ratopati reported.

Please note: This guide is general information for pharmacies in Nepal, written from the laws and official notices listed under Sources as they stood on the review date. It is not legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and forms change, so confirm with the office concerned or a qualified adviser before you act.