We are changing to become the Royal College of Pharmacy

In March 2025, RPS members took part in a historic vote on proposed changes to our Royal Charter. The proposals included the intention to register as a charity and a move to become a royal college, the Royal College of Pharmacy. As part of the changes, a wholly owned limited subsidiary for publishing activities would be created.

With 71.1% of votes cast in favour, the outcome was a resounding mandate in support of the proposals put forward and for the transformative change this will bring.

Having sought preliminary agreement from Privy Council and the Charity Commission and OSCR, we are currently in the process of bringing about the necessary changes to our structure and governance with an ambition to secure formal approvals and to launch the new royal college in April 2026.

• Read the blog from RPS CEO Paul Bennett: Getting Royal College Ready
• Find answers to your questions about our change to a royal college.

Building the new strategy for the new royal college

We’re developing a new five-year strategy for the new royal college, based around our Commitments and which members and the wider pharmacy community will play a central role in building.

Throughout the summer and autumn we hosted a series of webinars and a survey to engage with the pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, technicians and students on our Commitments and to uncover what they feel are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing pharmacy over the next five years.

All feedback received via the webinars, online survey, annual conference event and feedback email will help us to shape the future royal college strategy. This will be reviewed during winter 2025 and early 2026, and the draft five-year strategy will then be agreed by the Board of Trustees.

Our Commitments

As the Royal College of Pharmacy, we will:

• Create greater recognition for pharmacy and the scope of its impact
• Collaboratively shape the future of pharmacy
• Advance pharmacists to provide excellence in patient care
• Support workforce transformation
• Put patients at the forefront of our work.

Read the Commitments in full

Share your views

Share your views on our Commitments and your hopes and aspirations for the new royal college, email us at [email protected]

Transitional changes to our Regulations

Following a successful Special Resolution Vote in March 2025, where members voted in favour of proposed changes to our Royal Charter and becoming the Royal College of Pharmacy, another step in this journey is making some transitional changes to our Regulations. We are inviting all RPS members to submit feedback and views on the draft interim transition Regulations.

Find out more about our Regulations and submit your views by Friday, 19 December 2025.

The changes to our Royal Charter

If you’d like line by line detail of the changes, read the current Charter, proposed Charter and tracked changes version. There is also a summary version, with a short description of the changes in each section, and a short guide, which explains the key changes and what they mean.

Read the Charter Changes

Perspectives on our change to a royal college

We gathered the personal stories and perspectives of pharmacists, students, academics, and pharmaceutical scientists from across pharmacy in Great Britain on the RPS change to a royal college - read what they said.

Board Quotes

We asked our Board and Assembly members to describe their hopes and vision for the future royal college - read what they said.

Our engagement campaign and what you told us

Throughout October and November 2024 we visited towns and cities across the country, talking to you about plans for the future of the RPS.

The Roadshow Report, available to download below, is an encapsulation of those events, broadly covering who attended, what happened and, most importantly, what people wanted to ask about and gain clarity for. We hope it will help attendees and non-attendees to understand the important reasons behind the changes being proposed.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT (PDF)