Illinois State Requirements

You must obtain a pharmacy technician license from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). However, after submitting a completed application and paying the required fee, you may assist a pharmacist for up to 60 days while your application is processed. You must keep a copy of the application at the pharmacy, and IDFPR must provide confirmation showing the permitted start and expiration dates. Illinois has two principal technician credentials: registered pharmacy technician and registered certified pharmacy technician. A separate student pharmacist designation applies to qualifying pharmacy students and certain foreign pharmacy graduates.

Note that the 60-day allowance begins only after IDFPR receives the application and required fee. If the license has not been issued when the authorized period ends, the applicant must stop performing pharmacy technician duties until licensure is granted.

You must be at least 16 years old to become a registered pharmacy technician. You must be at least 18 years old to become a registered certified pharmacy technician.

An applicant for registered pharmacy technician licensure must be attending or have graduated from an accredited high school or comparable educational institution, or have received an Illinois High School Diploma.

Since January 1, 2024, pharmacies must ensure that new technicians complete a standardized nationally accredited education and training program or qualifying equivalent work-experience training. The work-experience pathway includes at least 500 hours of supervised experience, including at least 100 hours of didactic instruction, and must be completed by the technician’s second renewal.

A registered pharmacy technician must generally meet the certified-technician requirements within two years after initial licensure. If the technician has not reached age 18, certification is required at the next renewal after becoming eligible. Note that pharmacy technicians registered before January 1, 2008 are exempt from this conversion requirement.

To become a registered certified pharmacy technician, an applicant must pass an examination accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and approved by the Board. PTCB’s PTCE and NHA’s ExCPT meet this standard. A person who satisfies the certified-technician requirements may apply directly for that license without first obtaining standard registered technician licensure.

Illinois does not require every pharmacy technician applicant to undergo fingerprinting or a separate state and federal criminal-background check. Applicants must answer criminal-history and disciplinary questions, and IDFPR may require supporting documentation. Certified-technician applicants must also satisfy the Department’s good-moral-character requirement.

New pharmacy technician applications are submitted through IDFPR’s CORE—Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment—licensing system. Applicants access CORE by creating an account through Illinois ILogin.

Under the current fee rule, effective December 30, 2025, the application fee for a registered pharmacy technician, registered certified pharmacy technician, or student pharmacist is $50 (note that this replaced the previous $40 fee).

Pharmacy technician licenses are renewed through IDFPR. The profession has historically followed an annual March 31 renewal cycle, but applicants should verify the expiration date printed on their license because IDFPR is transitioning licensing transactions into CORE.

The annual renewal fee for a registered pharmacy technician, registered certified pharmacy technician, or student pharmacist is $35.

Under 225 ILCS 85/9.6, a registered pharmacy technician can administer FDA-authorized or approved COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines intramuscularly or intranasally under an appropriately trained pharmacist. The technician must complete an ACPE-approved practical immunization program with hands-on injection and emergency-reaction training, maintain current CPR certification, and meet the applicable immunization continuing-education requirement.

Section 9.6 also allows registered pharmacy technicians to administer qualifying FDA-authorized, approved, or licensed COVID-19 therapeutics under pharmacist supervision after completing the required practical training and maintaining current CPR certification.

A properly trained registered certified pharmacy technician may perform qualifying technology-assisted medication-verification activities when verifying a prescription prepared by another pharmacy technician. Certified status is also required for technicians working at a remote dispensing site, where the technician must generally have at least one year of pharmacy experience.