Colorado State Requirements

You must obtain certification from the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy before working as a pharmacy technician. Submitting an application does not authorize you to begin work; you must wait until the Board issues your credential. Colorado offers two tiers: Provisional Pharmacy Technician Certification and full Pharmacy Technician Certification.

Applicants who have not yet obtained national certification may receive provisional certification. It is valid for up to 18 months and cannot be renewed. After obtaining national certification, the applicant must apply for full Colorado certification. The Board may grant a one-time extension of up to nine months for qualifying community-access, financial, or health hardships.

Colorado does not specify a minimum age requirement, although employers, training programs, and national certifying organizations may establish their own requirements.

Colorado does not expressly require a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent qualification. Applicants must nevertheless satisfy their national certifying organization’s eligibility requirements.

Colorado does not require a specific state-approved training program or number of training hours for initial provisional certification. The provisional pathway allows technicians to work while preparing for national certification.

National certification is required for full Colorado pharmacy technician certification. The credential must come from an organization meeting the Board’s NABP-approval or NCCA-accreditation standard. PTCB certification and NHA’s ExCPT certification satisfy this requirement.

Applicants for provisional or full certification must provide satisfactory evidence that they completed a criminal-history check through employment, an eligible course of study, or the national-certification process. A new fingerprint submission is not expressly required in every case.

Applications are submitted through the Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations’ online licensing system. Applicants must select either the provisional or full pharmacy technician certification application. The application fee for either provisional or full pharmacy technician certification is $57.

Full pharmacy technician certification is renewed biennially and expires on October 31 of odd-numbered years. Provisional certification cannot be renewed. The pharmacy technician renewal fee is $57.

Pharmacy technicians must work under pharmacist supervision. A pharmacist may generally supervise up to six technicians and interns, with no more than two interns. When three or more technicians are working, the majority must hold full certification.

Under Colorado State Board of Pharmacy Rules 19.01.10 and 19.01.20 of 3 CCR 719-1, a trained pharmacy technician may administer vaccines and immunizations under the supervision of a pharmacist certified in immunization. Technicians must complete at least four hours of ACPE-accredited immunization training and maintain qualifying CPR or basic cardiac life-support certification.

Legislation enacted in 2026 authorizes certain final-product-verification activities involving non-controlled products. These duties remain subject to forthcoming Board rules covering training, excluded medications, liability, and other safeguards.