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Pharmacy technician

PTCB / PTCE

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE) is the exam PTCB uses for the Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential. People often call it the PTCB exam. Passy helps you study the current 2026 outline, not an older compounding-era blueprint, then continue into focused practice.

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Practice nowStart 10 free questionsGet a rationale after every answer.Make a study planShape the time you haveBuild a practical outline you can adjust.Understand the PTCBBrowse source-backed guidesFind a direct answer to a current exam question.Scores and resultsUse official result guidanceUnderstand timing, what official reports include, and what they do not.

Exam at a glance

Know the shape of the exam.

Format90 multiple-choice items

80 scored questions plus 10 unidentified unscored questions.

Time1 hour 50 minutes

Plan about two hours including the tutorial and post-exam survey.

Passing score1,400 scaled

PTCE scores are reported on a 1,000–1,600 scale.

DeliveryIn-person Pearson VUE

Current PTCE appointments are at Pearson test centers, not online.

What you’ll practice

Cover the shape of PTCB.

Scan the official PTCB content areas and keep each study session connected to the wider exam.

01

1. Medications · 35%

  • Generic/brand names, classifications, and indications
  • Interactions, contraindications, and adverse effects
  • Strengths, doses, dosage forms, routes, and storage
02

2. Federal Requirements · 18.75%

  • Controlled-substance prescriptions and DEA schedules
  • Restricted programs such as pseudoephedrine and REMS
  • FDA recalls and Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)
03

3. Patient Safety and Quality Assurance · 23.75%

  • High-alert and look-alike/sound-alike medications
  • Error prevention, event reporting, and pharmacist intervention
  • Infection prevention and prescription-error recognition
04

4. Order Entry and Processing · 22.50%

  • Calculations, conversions, Sig codes, and days supply
  • NDC numbers, lot numbers, and expiration dates
  • Administration supplies and return / reverse-distribution procedures

Content-area names follow the official PTCE Content Outline (effective January 6, 2026).

How Passy helps with PTCB

Know what to work on next.

Passy keeps PTCB prep focused so each session leads naturally into the next.

01

Practice

Work the current technician decision.

Preview original items across medications, federal requirements, safety, order entry, and calculations—then read why the best answer wins.Start with 10 questions
02

AI Rescue

Ask about the setup that did not stick.

Get another explanation when a days-supply, NDC, schedule, or interaction distinction is still unclear.Make the method clearer
03

Fix It

Return to the domain that cost you items.

Use misses to choose the next PTCE block instead of rereading an entire outdated outline.Repair the weak domain
04

Next Step

Keep the next session proportionate.

Match study time to the current domain weights without pretending a plan can predict a scaled score.Choose the next useful move

Free PTCB resources

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10 original questions

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Answer one at a time and learn from every rationale.

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