Hawaii State Requirements

Beginning January 1, 2026, you must obtain a pharmacy technician certificate of registration from the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy before performing pharmacy technician duties. You cannot perform covered technician duties while the application is pending; the pharmacist-in-charge must verify that the Board has issued your registration before permitting you to begin.

Hawaii offers one pharmacy technician registration tier: Registered Pharmacy Technician. Qualified registrants may separately apply for vaccine-administration approval, but this is an additional practice privilege rather than a separate registration tier.

Hawaii separately recognizes auxiliary pharmacy personnel, who may perform limited retrieval, clerical, accounting, inventory-control, and custodial tasks without pharmacy technician registration. They may not perform filling, packaging, manipulative, or other pharmacy technician duties reserved for registered technicians.

You must be at least 16 years old to register as a pharmacy technician. A technician applying for vaccine-administration approval must be at least 18.

Applicants must be United States citizens, United States nationals, or aliens authorized to work in the United States. A Social Security number must be provided for the application to be processed.

Hawaii does not expressly require a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent qualification for standard pharmacy technician registration. Note that employers and national certification organizations may establish their own education requirements.

Hawaii does not require completion of a specified pharmacy technician training program or number of training hours for standard registration. Registered technicians may perform filling, packaging, manipulative, repetitive, and other nondiscretionary duties permitted by law while assisting a registered pharmacist.

PTCB or NHA certification is not required for standard pharmacy technician registration. However, current PTCB or NHA Certified Pharmacy Technician certification is required to obtain Hawaii’s separate vaccine-administration privilege.

Hawaii does not require every pharmacy technician applicant to undergo routine fingerprinting or a criminal-background check. The application asks about criminal convictions and disciplinary history. An applicant reporting a non-expunged or non-annulled conviction must provide supporting documents and current criminal-history record checks from the state where the conviction occurred and the applicant’s current state of residence, if different.

Pharmacy technician registration applications must currently be mailed or hand-delivered to the DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. The Board does not accept these applications through the online MyPVL portal. Applicants may use the MyPVL Public License Search to check the status of a pending application and verify an issued registration.

The registration fee depends on the year in which the registration becomes effective. The fee is $130 for a registration taking effect in an even-numbered year and $80 for one taking effect in an odd-numbered year. The total includes the application, registration, and Compliance Resolution Fund charges.

An incomplete application is considered abandoned if the applicant does not complete the process within one year. The applicant must then reapply and satisfy the requirements in effect at that time.

Pharmacy technician registrations remain valid through December 31 of every odd-numbered year. Note that Hawaii does not provide a conventional renewal process for this credential; the registration lapses at the end of the period and the technician must apply for a new registration. A technician may not continue performing technician duties after the registration lapses.

Hawaii does not list a separate pharmacy technician renewal fee because a new registration application is required after each registration period. The applicable new-registration fee is based on the year in which the replacement registration takes effect—normally $130 when the new registration begins in an even-numbered year.

Under HRS § 461-11.4, as amended by Act 93 of 2025 (House Bill 72), an approved registered pharmacy technician may administer FDA-authorized or approved vaccines to individuals aged 3 or older under the direct supervision and order of a Hawaii-registered pharmacist. The technician must be at least 18, hold current PTCB or NHA certification, complete an ACPE-approved practical training program that includes hands-on injection technique, maintain current basic CPR certification, and obtain separate approval from the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy.

A technician may apply for vaccine-administration approval after obtaining registration or submit both applications together. The vaccine-administration application fee is $10. The technician cannot administer vaccines until the Board issues a Notice of Approval.