Tennessee State Requirements

You must register with the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy to work as a pharmacy technician. Note: an employer may classify a new technician as a probationary employee and allow them to work without registration for up to 90 days from the employment date. You must become registered before this exemption ends.

Students completing experiential rotations through a formal pharmacy technician training program are exempt from registration during those rotations. Note that the student must wear a school-issued identification badge.

Tennessee has one state pharmacy technician registration. A certified pharmacy technician is a registered technician who also holds certification through a national or state certification program recognized by the Board. Certification permits certain expanded duties but does not create a separate registration tier.

There is no minimum age requirement, though employers and training providers may set their own requirements.

There is no minimum education requirement, though employers and training providers may set their own requirements.

You are not required to have completed either a training program or a minimum number of training hours for registration. The pharmacist-in-charge is responsible for ensuring that you are appropriately trained and supervised before completing pharmacy technician duties.

PTCB or ExCPT certification is not required for standard registration or renewal. National certification is separate from Tennessee registration, so a nationally certified technician must still register with the Board. Certification is required for certain expanded duties.

Certified pharmacy technician may receive new or transferred oral prescription orders, transfer oral prescriptions between pharmacies, and verify certain unit-dose carts or automated dispensing systems when the required additional verification is completed.

You must complete a fingerprint-based criminal-history check through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and FBI. The results must be transmitted directly to the Board by its approved vendor.

The current fingerprint processing fee is $37.15. This is paid separately from the registration fee.

Registration applications require an affidavit signed by the applicant and employer confirming that the applicant has read and understands Tennessee’s laws and rules governing pharmacy technicians and pharmacy practice. A copy must remain at the place of employment.

Applications are submitted online through the Tennessee Department of Health’s Licensure and Regulatory System (LARS). Applicants must create an online account before beginning a new application.

The current registration fee is $55.

Pharmacy technician registrations operate on a two-year cycle beginning on the date of initial registration. Renewal must be completed by the final day of the month in which the registration expires.

The biennial renewal fee is $75.

The usual ratio may not exceed six pharmacy technicians to one pharmacist. Additional technicians beyond the 6:1 ratio must be certified pharmacy technicians unless the pharmacist-in-charge receives a Board-approved modification.

A pharmacist may delegate vaccine administration to a certified pharmacy technician. Pharmacy technicians may administer an FDA-authorized or FDA-licensed vaccine pursuant to a valid medical or prescription order after completing the required practical training, maintaining current CPR certification, and satisfying the immunization CE requirement. The supervising pharmacist must be readily and immediately available.

Certified pharmacy technician can administer FDA-cleared home-use tests and CLIA-waived tests under pharmacist supervision. Note that you must complete an ACPE- or Board-approved practical program covering oral, nasal and throat swabs and finger-stick specimen collection.