United States
Hong KongThe syllabus, taught
Every examinable topic written out in the order it is examined, with each rule cited to the provision it comes from. Not a summary of a textbook - the syllabus itself, covered end to end.
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)
PTCB Exam - full exam prep
800questions in the bank
5timed mock exams
4 of 4syllabus topics covered
The national certification most employers and many state boards of pharmacy require to work as a pharmacy technician.
No account needed for the diagnostic. Four minutes.
Written for this exam
All 800 questions and all 4 topics were written against the PTCB Exam syllabus. Nothing here is a general bank with this exam's name on it.
Every answer names its source
Each explanation cites the provision it rests on, so you can go and read the rule rather than take our word for it.
Weighted like the real paper
The number of questions per topic follows Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)'s own published blueprint, not our guess at it.
What is published about passing
PTCB does not publish a pass rate for the PTCE, so any figure quoted for it elsewhere has been estimated. The examination changed on 6 January 2026 in any case, which makes an older figure a poor guide to the current paper. What is published is the standard you are marked against: a scaled score of 1,400 on a 1,000 to 1,600 scale.
- Scoring
- Scaled. The awarding body publishes no pass mark.
- Format
- 90 multiple-choice questions, of which 80 are scored and 10 are unscored pilot items. Delivered in person at a Pearson VUE test centre.
- Fee
- USD 129 to PTCB, which covers the Pearson VUE seat
- Sittings
- On demand. Apply to PTCB, then schedule any open Pearson VUE appointment at one of more than 1,400 centres.
- Results
- Preliminary pass or fail on screen at the test centre; the official scaled score follows from PTCB.
- Valid for
- The CPhT credential is held for two years and is renewed on continuing education.
- Questions
- 80 multiple choice
- Time
- 110 minutes
- Languages
- English
- Register
- Registration link Register on the PTCB website.
What you get
USD 79 for 12 months. Six parts, and every one of them built against this syllabus rather than adapted from another exam.
Questions to drill
Filtered to the topic you are reading, so practice reinforces the lesson instead of testing something you have not reached yet.
Full mock papers
80 questions each, 110 minutes, scored the way the exam scores it. Their 400 questions never appear in practice, so a mock score measures you rather than your memory of practising.
Worked review notes
Every question explains itself: why the right answer is right, why each wrong answer tempts people, and the source that settles it. Three are shown in full in the mock-paper previews below.
Soft copies to print
The study guide and every mock paper as a PDF, typeset for paper, so you can sit a mock with a pen the way you will sit the real one.
A plan built round your date
Tell us when you sit and the study plan, the readiness score, the weak-topic ordering and every reminder are worked back from it.
Soft copies, yours to print
6 PDFs, typeset for paper rather than exported from a screen. Open any of them to read the opening pages before you buy.
Every topic, and how heavily it is examined All 4 covered, with each topic's share of the 80 questions on the real paper
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1
28 q
Medications
Generic names, brand names and classifications · Therapeutic duplications and drug interactions · Strengths, dosage forms, routes and duration of therapy · Side effects, adverse effects and allergies · Indications of medications · Drug stability and proper storage
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2
15 q
Federal Requirements
Storage, handling and disposal of hazardous substances and waste · Controlled substance prescriptions and DEA schedules · Receiving, ordering, recordkeeping, loss and destruction of controlled substances · Restricted drug programs, pseudoephedrine and REMS · FDA medication recalls · Product serialization and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act
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3
19 q
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
High-alert and look-alike sound-alike medications · Error prevention strategies · Issues requiring pharmacist intervention · Event reporting, MedWatch and continuous quality improvement · Types of prescription errors · Infection prevention and cleaning standards
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4
18 q
Order Entry and Processing
Pharmacy calculations, conversions and Sig codes · Equipment and supplies for drug administration · Lot numbers, expiration dates and NDC numbers · Returning dispensable, non-dispensable and expired medications
Try it before you decide
1
Ten-question diagnostic
Free, no account. Score and per-topic breakdown at the end.
Start the diagnostic
3
Then the explanations
Paid. Which ones you missed, why, and the source that settles it.
Get the courseBefore you buy
Is this everything I need, or do I still need the official material?
The whole examinable syllabus is taught here across 4 topics, and every one of the 800 questions is written against it. We are independent of Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and this is not their publication - if they require you to hold an official study guide, hold it. What this replaces is the second and third thing you would otherwise buy: a question bank, and something to explain the answers.
Where do the answers come from?
Every explanation names the provision it rests on and quotes it where quoting is allowed, so you can go and read the rule. Where we have not been able to put the underlying text in front of you, the page says so rather than implying a source it does not have.
How long will I need?
Our estimate for this paper is about 60 hours - 2 hours a day for 4 weeks. That is our figure and not Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)'s. Tell us your exam date when you start and the plan, the reminders and the readiness score are all worked back from it.
Can I see it before I pay?
Yes, and without an account: a 10-question diagnostic that scores you by topic, one full 80-question mock paper, and the opening pages of every PDF. What you pay for is the explanations, the lessons and the other 4 papers.
What happens if I fail?
Your access runs 12 months, which covers a resit; Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) charges USD 129 for one. The final-review screen orders what you got wrong by what each mistake costs on the paper, which is where a second attempt should start.
Can I get a refund?
Full refund within 7 days if no more than 20% of paid lessons and practice are used, no paid study guide is downloaded, and no more than one paid mock is started.
PTCB Exam · USD 79 for 12 months
The diagnostic is free and needs no account.