Pharmacy technician certification

What pharmacy technician certification is

Certification is a national credential, separate from the state registration or license that most states require: you earn it once by passing an exam and keep it by renewing every two years.^[1][2] Two organizations offer it. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) gives the PTCE, and the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) gives the ExCPT; both lead to a "CPhT" credential, and states such as Texas and California accept either one by name.^[3][4]

PTCB exam: format, eligibility and passing score

The PTCB exam has 90 multiple-choice questions (80 scored, 10 unscored), takes about two hours including a tutorial and survey, and is passed with a scaled score of 1,400 on a 1,000–1,600 scale.^[1]

What the PTCB exam covers

The PTCE tests four knowledge domains, and medications carry the most weight: just over a third of the exam, according to PTCB's content outline effective January 6, 2026.^[5]

PTCB does not publish an overall PTCE pass rate on its credential pages, so we do not quote one; figures you see elsewhere are not from PTCB.

ExCPT vs PTCB

The two exams lead to the same CPhT title and are both accepted in Texas and California; the practical differences are eligibility rules, fees and how employers in your area see them.^[3][4] One concrete difference: Texas accepts a current PTCB certification in place of continuing education hours at renewal.^[3] NHA's own site was not reachable for verification when we checked, so we do not print its fee or exam details; confirm them with NHA before you register.

Which states require certification

Of the ten states in our table, Texas, New York, Washington and Louisiana require national certification (PTCB or an equivalent) for the full technician credential, and Arizona requires a board-approved exam; California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Oregon do not require it.^{[4][6][3][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]}

Each state's credential, fee and renewal cycle is on pharmacy technician license.

Certified pharmacy technician salary

BLS does not report pay separately for certified and uncertified pharmacy technicians, so there is no official "certified pharmacy technician salary"; the national median for all pharmacy techs is $45,750 ($22.00 an hour).^[19][20] What certification changes is access: hospitals pay the most of the big employers (a $50,760 median), and in states that require certification you cannot hold a full technician credential without it.^[21] State-by-state pay is on pharmacy technician salary.

Keeping your certification

PTCB certification renews every two years with 20 hours of continuing education, including one hour of pharmacy law and one of patient safety, and a $55 fee; a late application adds $25, and reinstatement within a year of expiry costs $95.^[22][2][23] PTCB's Advanced CPhT (CPhT-Adv) needs an active CPhT, three years of experience and four assessment-based certificates, with no extra fee or exam.^[24] Every fee over several years is added up on pharmacy tech certification cost, and the full path into the job is on how to become a pharmacy technician.