Montana State Requirements

You must obtain a license from the Montana Board of Pharmacy before working as a pharmacy technician. You cannot work as pharmacy technician because your application is pending. Note that applicants without national certification must first obtain a provisional license.

Montana has two licensing tiers: Provisional Certified Pharmacy Technician and Certified Pharmacy Technician. The provisional license replaces the former technician-in-training license and is valid for 12 months while the licensee obtains national certification.

You must be at least 18 years old.

You must hold a High School diploma, GED, or equivalent.

Applicants seeking a Provisional Certified Pharmacy Technician license must be employed by a Montana pharmacy.

Montana does not require applicants to graduate from a particular school or complete a fixed number of training hours before initial licensure. The supervising pharmacist must provide initial training that includes on-the-job practical training and didactic education appropriate to the duties the technician will perform, document its completion, and maintain the training record for Board inspection.

PTCB, NHA/ExCPT, or another Board-approved certification is required for the full Certified Pharmacy Technician license. Applicants who are not yet certified may receive a provisional license, but they must earn certification and notify the Board within 12 months. The Board then converts the same license record to a full license without requiring another application.

Montana’s current Board requirements and pharmacy laws do not establish a routine fingerprint-based criminal-history background check for every pharmacy technician applicant. Applicants must answer the application’s criminal-history and disciplinary questions and may be required to provide additional documentation depending on their answers.

Applications are submitted online through the Montana Professional Licensing system (eBizMT/POL). First create an account, then select “Start a New License Application,” choose “New Health Care License,” select the Board of Pharmacy, and then choose “Certified Pharmacy Technician.” Note that the same application is used for both provisional and fully certified applicants.

The pharmacy technician application fee is $35.

Certified Pharmacy Technician licenses are renewed annually. The regular renewal period runs from May 2 through June 30, with late online renewal available for 45 days through August 14. The provisional license is a 12-month pathway for obtaining national certification and should not be treated as an indefinitely renewable trainee license.

The renewal fee is $30. Note that a separate $30 late fee applies for late renewals.

Under Montana Code Annotated § 37-7-105 and ARM 24.174.503, an immunization-certified pharmacist can delegate vaccine administration to a pharmacy technician under direct supervision. You must hold current basic cardiac life-support certification, complete an ACPE-accredited or Board-approved practical training program that includes hands-on injection technique and recognition and treatment of emergency vaccine reactions, and obtain an immunization endorsement on their Montana license.