Utah State Requirements

You must hold either a Pharmacy Technician Trainee license or a full Pharmacy Technician license from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing before working as a pharmacy technician. Note that you cannot work as a pharmacy technician before this license is issued.

Utah has two tiers: Pharmacy Technician Trainee and Pharmacy Technician. The trainee license allows you to complete the education, practical training, and examination requirements needed for full licensure.

Utah’s current pharmacy technician statutes and DOPL applications do not set a separate minimum age for either license. Applicants under 18 can apply for trainee licensure; the trainee criminal-history-report requirement begins at age 18.

A high school diploma or GED is not stated as a separate licensing requirement in the current statute or application. However, applicants must complete an accepted pharmacy technician education and training program, and individual programs may establish their own admission requirements.

Trainee applicants must be enrolled in an accepted pharmacy technician training program. The training program and the required national certification examination must be completed within 2 years after the trainee license is issued.

Accepted pathways include qualifying programs accredited by ASHP or ABHES, Pharmacy Technicians University, a program conducted by a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, or certain programs previously approved by Utah. ASHP candidate status can also qualify when the program held that status on the date the applicant completed it.

The training program must include at least 180 hours of directly supervised practical experience in a licensed pharmacy. Full-license applicants submit both a certificate of program completion and an Affidavit of Practical Training.

Full pharmacy technician licensure requires current PTCB or NHA/ExCPT certification. Utah accepts the PTCE administered by PTCB and the ExCPT administered by NHA.

A pharmacy technician already licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction may qualify through endorsement. Applicants who do not meet the endorsement standard may qualify by documenting at least 1,000 hours of licensed technician practice during the previous 2 years, completing the applicable Utah requirements, and holding current PTCB or ExCPT certification.

Full pharmacy technician applicants must complete a criminal background check and submit fingerprints for Utah and FBI record searches. Trainee applicants who are 18 or older must submit an original Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification criminal-history report; an electronic copy is not accepted with a manual application.

You must disclose pending criminal actions, felonies, specified misdemeanors from the previous 10 years, and professional-license discipline. Note that a disclosed history does not automatically result in denial, but supporting records may be required.

Applications can be submitted online through Utah’s MyLicense One portal or by using the DOPL paper application. Full-license applicants upload or submit their training, practical-experience, certification, and background-check documents.

The Pharmacy Technician Trainee application fee is $50. Applicants aged 18 or older may also have to pay the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification fee for obtaining their criminal-history report.

The Pharmacy Technician application fee is $60. The current application also includes $12 for the FBI fingerprint-file search and $20 for the Utah BCI fingerprint-file search, bringing the standard state total to $92. A fingerprinting provider may charge an additional collection fee.

Full pharmacy technician licenses are renewed every 2 years and expire on September 30 of each odd-numbered year.

The current biennial renewal fee is $57.

A licensed pharmacy technician is authorized to administer vaccines and related emergency medications when the task is delegated under Utah’s Vaccine Administration Protocol. The technician must complete the required initial administration training and work under the direct, on-site supervision of the delegating pharmacist. Pharmacy technician trainees are not included in this vaccination authority.