Technician Certification

Pharmacy technicians who meet all eligibility requirements and who pass a national certification exam are considered Certified Pharmacy Technicians and can use the initials CPhT after their name.  The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Examination is the only competency-based exam that is valid nationwide and is endorsed by the major national pharmacy organizations, including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

The exam is given by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and is offered continuously throughout the year.  Not all states require pharmacy technicians to be certified, but many states and employers do require technicians to pass the certification exam.  Many employers will pay for you to take the exam.

PTCB certification is not a substitute for registration or licensure by your state board of pharmacy.  Recently, the NABP recommended that boards of pharmacy in every state require pharmacy technicians be certified by 2015.

Recently, the NABP Task Force on Standardized Pharmacy Technician Education and Training has issued a recommendation that was approved by the Executive Committee of the NABP that all boards of pharmacy require pharmacy technicians to be certified by 2015.