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Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE)
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) is PTCB's computer-based exam that candidates must pass to earn the Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential, administered in person at Pearson VUE test centers.
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Questions90 multiple-choice questions: 80 scored and 10 unscored
Testing time1 hour 50 minutes of exam time (2-hour appointment including a 5-minute tutorial and 5-minute post-exam survey)
ScoringPassing scaled score of 1,400
Exam feeUSD 129 (covers the CPhT certification application and one PTCE attempt)
Prep options
Study resources for PTCE
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- PTCB
- Category
- Pharmacy Technician Certification
- Current version
- PTCE Content Outline effective January 6, 2026 (outline v1.4, August 2024)
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- 1,000–1,600 (scaled)
- Testing provider
- Pearson VUE
- Format
- Computer-based, multiple-choice only; administered in person at a Pearson test center under live proctoring (no online delivery for the PTCE)
- Availability
- Year-round by appointment at Pearson VUE test centers; after application approval, the authorization-to-schedule period is 90 days
- Results
- Unofficial result shown on screen immediately after the post-exam survey; official results posted to the PTCB Account within three weeks
- Credential validity
- Not applicable as a score-validity window; the CPhT credential earned by passing must be renewed every 2 years
- Remote testing
- Not available
Exam structure
90 multiple-choice items (80 scored, 10 unscored and unidentified) across four knowledge domains: Medications (35%), Federal Requirements (18.75%), Patient Safety and Quality Assurance (23.75%), and Order Entry and Processing (22.5%)
Where rules vary
U.S. national certification exam: administered at Pearson test centers 'nationwide' and eligibility includes U.S. residency; the CPhT Program is nationally accredited by NCCA
Eligibility
Completion of a PTCB-Recognized Education/Training Program (or completion within 60 days of applying) OR equivalent work experience as a pharmacy technician (minimum 500 hours); full disclosure of criminal and State Board of Pharmacy actions; compliance with PTCB policies
Retake policy
Must wait for the official score report before reapplying (fee per attempt); no waiting period for the 2nd and 3rd attempts; 6-month wait before the 4th attempt; after four attempts, documented preparation activities are required and subject to PTCB approval before further attempts