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Practice and exam technique

Practice: Federal Requirements

Compiled by the Sitonce editorial team from PTCB's own published outline, the federal regulations named below and US Bureau of Labor Statistics dataUpdated 3 min readFacts verified 5 September 2026
The short answer

Federal Requirements is 15 of the 80 scored questions. Every answer below is a sentence in published federal regulation, named so you can check it.

The domain where you can verify every answer for yourself, which is why it rewards precision.

Four questions

Question 1

A Schedule IV prescription was issued on 1 March with five refills authorized. The patient presents for a refill on 15 September. What may be done?

  1. Dispense, since refills remain
  2. Dispense, since it is within one year
  3. Do not dispense, because more than six months have passed since it was issued
  4. Do not dispense, because Schedule IV allows no refills
Answer: C. A Schedule III or IV prescription may not be filled or refilled more than six months after the date on which it was issued, nor refilled more than five times, at 21 CFR 1306.22. Both conditions bind and whichever arrives first ends it. Option D confuses Schedule IV with Schedule II.
Question 2

A regulated seller is asked for pseudoephedrine products. What is the federal daily limit to a single purchaser?

  1. 2.4 grams of base
  2. 3.6 grams of base
  3. 9 grams of base
  4. There is no federal daily limit
Answer: B. No more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products to a single purchaser in one day, at 21 CFR 1314.20. Note the limit is in grams of base, not grams of product, which is what a harder question would make you convert.
Question 3

A discarded medication appears on the P list. What does that indicate?

  1. It is a controlled substance
  2. It is an acutely hazardous discarded commercial chemical product
  3. It must be returned to the manufacturer
  4. It may be disposed of in ordinary waste
Answer: B. The P list at 40 CFR 261.33(e) identifies acutely hazardous discarded commercial chemical products; the U list at 261.33(f) covers the others. This is an EPA hazardous waste question, entirely separate from controlled substance destruction, which is a DEA matter under 21 CFR 1317.
Question 4

Which DEA form is used to report the theft or significant loss of controlled substances?

  1. Form 222
  2. Form 106
  3. Form 41
  4. Form 224
Answer: B. Form 106 reports theft or significant loss. Form 222 is the order form for Schedule I and II. The two are the classic pairing in this area and swapping them is the intended error, because both are forms a technician hears about in the same conversation.
The state-law trap runs through all of these

Several states impose stricter pseudoephedrine limits, require prescriptions for it, or add their own recordkeeping. A technician answering from daily practice will sometimes give the stricter state answer, which is wrong on a federal paper. When a question feels obvious from experience, check which rule you are using.

What to have learned cold

Schedule II no refills, six months and five refills for III and IV, two-year records, biennial inventory, 3.6 grams, the three recall classes, and Form 222 against Form 106.

Common questions

How many Federal Requirements questions are there?

15 of the 80 scored questions, up from 10 before January 2026.

What is the Schedule III and IV refill rule?

Not filled or refilled more than six months after issue, nor refilled more than five times, at 21 CFR 1306.22.

What is the pseudoephedrine daily limit?

3.6 grams of base to a single purchaser in one day, at 21 CFR 1314.20.

What is the P list?

Acutely hazardous discarded commercial chemical products, at 40 CFR 261.33(e).

Which form reports a theft?

DEA Form 106. Form 222 is the order form for Schedules I and II.

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