- Stricter medicine storage: Pharmacy temperatures must not exceed 25°C, while refrigerated medicines must be stored between 2°C and 8°C. Controlled medicines must be kept in secure, sealed cabinets.
- Tighter prescription controls: Pharmacists must verify prescriptions and patient identity and can refuse prescriptions that contain errors or lack required information. Medicines and health products with less than 30 days before expiry cannot be sold or dispensed.
- New staffing and operating rules: Every pharmacy must have a licensed manager, while pharmacies employing non-Kuwaiti pharmacists must have at least one licensed Kuwaiti pharmacist. Pharmacies operating 24 hours require prior approval and at least three pharmacists in addition to the licence holder.
- Four-year licences and stronger oversight: Pharmacy licences will be valid for four years, with new rules covering delivery, advertising, staff attendance, closure and medicine disposal. Ministerial Decision No. 237 of 2025 has been cancelled, with Resolution No. 235/2026 taking effect upon issuance.
Ministry of Health has introduced sweeping new regulations for private pharmacies, requiring a minimum distance of 1,000 metres between most pharmacies, tightening medicine storage and prescription-dispensing controls, and establishing new rules for licensing, delivery, staffing and closure.
Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadhi issued Ministerial Resolution No. 235/2026, setting out regulations and procedures governing the licensing of private-sector pharmacies and the circulation of medicines and medical products.
The decision establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework covering licensing, operation, medicine storage and dispensing, delivery services, professional practice and the supervisory responsibilities of pharmacy owners, managers, pharmacists and other staff.
Pharmacies must be 1,000 metres apart
The decision sets the licensing requirements for private pharmacies operated by Kuwaiti pharmacists, cooperative societies and private hospitals. Pharmacy licences will be valid for four years, with the regulations also covering procedures for issuing and renewing licences, changing a pharmacy’s location or area, adding warehouses, temporary or permanent closure and reopening.
Under the new rules, the distance between a pharmacy applying for a licence and the nearest existing pharmacy must be at least 1,000 metres in all directions, based on the specified measurement mechanism.
Exceptions apply to pharmacies located in cooperative societies and similar central markets, commercial complexes, airports, universities, private hospitals, and buildings licensed as clinics or medical centres, subject to the requirements set out in the decision.
Existing pharmacies given status-settlement mechanism
The decision establishes a mechanism for regularising the status of existing pharmacies when their licences are renewed or their locations are transferred in relation to the new distance requirement. Priority will be determined according to the date on which the pharmacy’s first licence to operate at its current location was issued.
Pharmacies that receive an order to relocate will have three months to select an alternative location and complete the relocation procedures. This period may be renewed for a similar duration.
New medicine storage requirements
The Ministry of Health has also tightened technical and health requirements for the storage and preservation of medicines and medical products. The temperature inside pharmacies and their storage facilities must not exceed 25°C, while medicines requiring refrigeration must be kept at temperatures between 2°C and 8°C.
The regulations also require proper organisation of medicine storage and the separation of expired products. Narcotic, psychotropic and psychoactive medicines must be kept in tightly sealed cabinets in accordance with approved regulations.
Pharmacy manager responsibilities defined
The licence holder must appoint a licensed pharmacy manager, who may not manage more than one pharmacy.
The manager will be responsible for the pharmacy’s workflow, custody of medicines, invoices, prescriptions, records, technical operations and staff.
Companies, individuals, cooperative societies and private hospitals licensed to employ non-Kuwaiti pharmacists must also appoint at least one Kuwaiti pharmacist with a professional practice licence.
Stricter controls on prescription dispensing
The new regulations specify the information that must appear on a medical prescription before it can be dispensed. This includes details of the patient, doctor, medicine, dosage, treatment duration and method of use.
Pharmacists must verify the patient’s identity and ensure that the prescription contains no contraindications or medication errors.
Pharmacists are also authorised to withhold or refuse to dispense prescriptions that do not meet the required conditions or contain the necessary information.
The decision prohibits the distribution, dispensing or sale of medicines, health products, nutritional supplements, herbal preparations and special foods when less than 30 days remain before their expiry date.
For medicines used to treat chronic diseases and other therapeutic preparations, the regulations take into account extending their validity beyond the last prescribed dose for a period of no less than 30 days.
The decision also prohibits accepting or returning such products after they have been dispensed or sold to the public. Products must be displayed and sold in their original packaging approved for circulation by the competent authority at the Ministry of Health.
Medicine packages must carry patient information
Every dispensed medicine must carry an identification card on its original package containing the patient’s information, medicine name, dosage, method of use, quantity dispensed, storage instructions and other specified information.
The information must be provided in a language understandable to the patient or the person caring for them. Necessary warnings and instructions must also be added whenever required.
New rules for medicine delivery services
The decision regulates the delivery of medicines and medical products from private pharmacies. Pharmacies must obtain prior approval and meet requirements covering transportation methods, temperature control, invoices, records, service-requester information and compliance with official pricing.
The regulations prohibit the delivery of materials dispensed by prescription in accordance with the ministerial decisions governing them.
Rules introduced for pharmacy closure and stock disposal
The new regulations establish procedures for handling medicines and medical products when a pharmacy closes temporarily or permanently. These procedures include taking inventory of narcotic substances and preparations, psychotropic substances, medicines subject to ministerial decisions and other products.
The inventory may then be returned to an approved supplier, transferred to a licensed pharmacy or destroyed in accordance with the applicable controls. The decision also specifies retention periods for the relevant prescriptions.
Pharmacy signs and advertising require approval
The rules also cover external advertisements on pharmacy façades, including the trade name, logo and advertising content. Prior approval from the competent authority at the Ministry of Health is required.
Pharmacies must also display the approved pharmacy logo attached to the decision, which will serve as the identification symbol for private pharmacies in Kuwait.
Attendance and working hours to be documented
The decision regulates how the attendance and departure of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are recorded.
Pharmacies may use either a paper register or an electronic system, while a monthly statement showing practitioners’ working hours and working days must be provided.
The regulations also cover leave, departure from work and the appointment of replacements to ensure clear responsibilities and continuity of licensed staffing.
24-hour pharmacies require three pharmacists
Pharmacies seeking to operate on a night shift or 24 hours a day must obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Health and meet specified requirements. One of the key conditions is having a minimum of three pharmacists working in addition to the licence holder.
The approval will be valid for one year and may be renewed if the pharmacy continues to meet the requirements.
New framework covers entire pharmacy operation
The Ministry’s decision establishes a regulatory system covering the full lifecycle of private pharmacies, from the initial licence application through daily operations, medicine circulation, dispensing, storage and delivery to professional documentation, monitoring and the liquidation of stock following closure.
The ministry said the framework is intended to enhance medicine and patient safety, strengthen professional compliance and unify the requirements and procedures governing private pharmacies.
Previous 2025 decision cancelled
The decision stipulates that violations will be subject to the offences, penalties and administrative sanctions provided for under the relevant laws. It also cancels Ministerial Decision No. 237 of 2025.
Ministerial Resolution No. 235/2026 takes effect from the date of its issuance and will be published in the Official Gazette.
