Georgia State Requirements

You must register with the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy before working as a pharmacy technician. Merely submitting an application does not authorize you to begin work; you must wait until the Board has processed the application and issued a registration number. Georgia offers one pharmacy technician registration tier, although technicians may additionally be recognized as certified pharmacy technicians if they have completed national certification.

Georgia does not offer a separate trainee registration. All individuals performing pharmacy technician duties must hold the same state pharmacy technician registration. “Certified pharmacy technician” is an additional designation based on approved certification or training rather than a separate state registration tier.

You must be at least 17 years old to register as a pharmacy technician.

You must be currently enrolled in high school or hold a high school diploma, GED, or college degree.

Georgia does not require completion of a specific training program or a prescribed number of training hours for standard pharmacy technician registration. Training or certification evidence is required only when an applicant seeks recognition as a certified pharmacy technician.

National certification is not required for standard registration. The Board recognizes PTCB certification and NHA’s ExCPT certification. Certified status may also be obtained through another Board-approved certification program or an employer training and assessment program approved by the Board.

Applicants must consent to and pay for a Board-approved background check. The screening may include criminal history, driver’s-license history, and other information considered necessary by the Board. Fingerprinting is completed through the Board’s approved vendor, currently IdentoGO. The background-check cost is separate from the application fee and should be confirmed during the fingerprint-registration process.

The Board may deny or conditionally approve an application based on certain criminal convictions, guilty pleas, or pleas of nolo contendere, including felonies and specified misdemeanor or drug-related offenses. Applicants should provide all explanations and supporting documents requested in the application.

You do not need to be employed by a pharmacy when applying for registration. If you are already employed, the application requires the pharmacy’s name and address. A technician who becomes employed after registration must provide the employment information requested by the Board.

Applications are started through the Georgia Secretary of State’s Georgia Online Licensing system at gadch.mylicense.com. Applicants must also complete the Pharmacy Technician Online Application Supplement Packet and mail the required supporting documents to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Applications remain valid for one year.

The initial pharmacy technician registration fee is $100. Note that criminal-background-check and fingerprinting costs are paid separately.

Georgia does not offer pharmacy technician registration by reciprocity. A technician registered or certified in another state must complete Georgia’s standard application process and satisfy all Georgia requirements before working in the state.

Pharmacy technician registrations are renewed biennially and expire on June 30 of every odd-numbered year. If the registration is not renewed and all required fees are not paid before September 1, the registration lapses and the technician must submit a new registration application.

The biennial renewal fee is $60. The late renewal fee is $90. Note that once the late-renewal period ends, the technician must apply for a new registration rather than renew the expired credential.

Under O.C.G.A. § 26-4-52 and Georgia Board of Pharmacy Rule 480-15-.04, a qualified pharmacy technician may administer authorized vaccines to patients aged 18 or older when the supervising pharmacist delegates the task and remains readily and immediately available. The technician must complete Board-recognized vaccination training that includes hands-on injection technique and recognition and treatment of emergency reactions, and must maintain current Basic Cardiac Life Support certification. This authority was expressly established through Georgia House Bill 416 (2023).