Section 6: Examination of authorisation applications

Any creation of a new pharmacy, any transfer of a pharmacy from one location to another and any grouping of pharmacies are subject to the granting of a licence issued by the Director General of the Regional Health Agency under the conditions set out in Articles L. 5125-3, L. 5125-3-1, L. 5125-3-2, L. 5125-3-3, L. 5125-4 and L. 5125-5. In the case of a transfer or grouping of pharmacies from…

Authorisation for the creation, transfer or grouping of pharmacies does not take effect until three months have elapsed from notification of the authorisation order. At the end of the three-month period, the pharmacy whose creation, transfer or grouping with another pharmacy has been authorised must be effectively open to the public within two years of notification of the licence order. This period may be extended by the Director General of…

Subject to the provisions of Article L. 5125-4, applications for authorisation to merge have priority over applications to transfer. Applications for transfer authorisations are given priority over applications for new pharmacies. For the opening of a pharmacy in a new commune or in communes mentioned in article L. 5125-6-1, priority is given, in compliance with article L. 5125-3 and the first paragraph of this article, to applications submitted by pharmacies…

The licence may not be transferred by its holder(s) independently of the business to which it relates. A pharmacy may be transferred in the course of receivership or compulsory liquidation proceedings. The licence is considered to have lapsed as from the date of the judgment closing the business on the grounds of insufficient assets or, as the case may be, the discharge of liabilities.

In the event of the permanent cessation of activity of the pharmacy, its proprietor, or in the event of his death his heirs, shall declare this cessation to the Director General of the Regional Health Agency. If it is not declared, the cessation of activity is deemed to be definitive if no activity has been recorded for twelve consecutive months. The Director General of the Regional Health Agency shall record…