Choosing a career as a pharmacy technician seems to be becoming a more popular choice every year. The ease with which one can become a pharmacy tech is makes an attractive career choice that brings with it prestige and recognition.

In order to be a nationally certified pharmacy technician, one must first pass the national test that is given by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. It is a test that contains 100 questions and is allotted 2 hours to complete. It is a test that a candidate must register to take and pay a fee to sit for. While it is not necessary in many states to be nationally certified to have a job in this field, having the certification certainly gives a potential employee more creditability and knowledge of what the demands of the job would be.

There is a background check that must be able to be passed to be able to sit for the examination itself. A candidate cannot have a felony record of any kind. Additionally, the candidate cannot ever have had a conviction for any sort of drug crime even if it is a misdemenor. That is one that will never allow a candidate to be a certified pharmacy technician. The last requirement is that a person must not be currently under any restrictions from any State Board of Pharmacy. If a candidate is found to have any of these in their background, their designation of certified pharmacy technician or CPhT will be revoked immediately and that candidate must immediately stop working as a pharmacy technician.

Once the national certification is passed and the designation of CPhT has been awarded, it is important to remember that there are states that require their own set of background checks. They may have additional requirements as well as require fingerprinting for their files.

Remember that there are many paths a person can take as a certified pharmacy technician. It is a growing field. A person looking into it as a career choice should feel comfortable in knowing that there are standards that everybody must pass in order to have the designation. It helps to know that your fellow co-workers have also lived a life free of any crime that would prevent them from obtaining the stature that this certification brings with it.