NOC 31120 job description: pharmacist duties and responsibilities
- Check prescriptions for proper dosage
- Compound prescribed pharmaceutical products by calculating, measuring and mixing the quantities of drugs and other ingredients required and filling appropriate containers with correct quantity
- Dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals to customers or to other health care professionals and advise them on indications, contra-indications, adverse effects, drug interactions and dosage
- Maintain medication profiles of customers including registry of poisons and narcotic and controlled drugs
- Ensure proper preparation, packaging, distribution and storage of vaccines, serums, biologicals and other drugs and pharmaceuticals
- Order and maintain stock of pharmaceutical supplies
- Advise customers on selection and use of non-prescription medication
- Renew existing prescriptions in limited circumstances
- May adapt the formulation, regimen, duration or route of administration of medication
- May supervise and coordinate the activities of other pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, pharmacy technicians and other staff.
- Participate in research for the development of new drugs
- Formulate new drug products developed by medical researchers
- Test new drug products for stability and to determine absorption and elimination patterns
- Coordinate clinical investigations of new drugs
- Control the quality of drug products during production to ensure that they meet standards of potency, purity, uniformity, stability and safety
- Develop information materials concerning the uses, properties and risks of particular drugs
- Evaluate labelling, packaging and advertising of drug products
- Promote pharmaceutical products to health professionals.
Job titles under NOC 31120
See every job title and its code in the A–Z job title index, or all TEER 1 jobs.
Is NOC 31120 eligible for Express Entry?
By TEER, yes. TEER 1 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.
| Program | TEER check | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker | TEER qualifies | TEER 1 is within TEER 0 to 3 |
| Canadian Experience Class | TEER qualifies | TEER 1 is within TEER 0 to 3 |
| Federal Skilled Trades | Not a listed trade | Only certain trade groups qualify. Check IRCC |
| Spouse's open work permit | Qualifies | All TEER 1 jobs qualify. SOWP rules |
Category-based draws: NOC 31120 is on IRCC's Healthcare and social services list (checked 2026-10-16). Under NOC 2016, TEER 1 was skill level A ("NOC A").
Category-based Express Entry draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists. Check the current lists on IRCC's Express Entry page and provincial nominee page.
NOC 31120: common questions
What is NOC 31120?
NOC 31120 is the code for pharmacists in Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021). Its first digit, 3, is the broad category and its second digit, 1, is the TEER level. Immigration forms, job offers and LMIA applications use this five-digit code.
What TEER is NOC 31120?
NOC 31120 is TEER 1. Occupations that usually need a university degree. Under the older NOC 2016 system, TEER 1 lines up with skill level A.
Is NOC 31120 eligible for Express Entry and PR?
By TEER, yes. TEER 1 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.
Is NOC 31120 in a category-based Express Entry draw?
Yes. As of IRCC's list dated 2026-10-16, NOC 31120 is in the healthcare and social services category. Category-based draws invite candidates with at least 6 months of continuous work experience in one of the listed occupations, and IRCC updates the lists from time to time.
Is NOC 31120 eligible for a spousal open work permit (SOWP)?
Yes. All TEER 1 jobs qualify, so a worker in this job can support a spouse's open work permit, as long as their own work permit has at least 16 months left when the spouse applies (IRCC page modified 2026-06-12).
What is the NOC code for a pharmacist?
Pharmacist is listed under NOC 31120, pharmacists. The job title alone does not decide your code: your duties should match the main duties of NOC 31120.
How do I know if NOC 31120 is my NOC code?
Compare what you actually do with the main duties listed for NOC 31120, not just your job title. IRCC expects your duties to match the lead statement and most of the main duties of the code you choose. If they fit another code better, use that one. You can paste your duties into nocfinder to see how they line up, duty by duty.
Source: ESDC NOC 2021 · IRCC program pages. Not legal advice.