30 questions weighted like the real Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam, built on the outline that took effect in January 2026. Instant answers, plain explanations, and a score by domain at the end.
30
Questions
4
Domains, real weights
100%
Answers sourced
0
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How this test is weighted
Medications
35% of the PTCE
10 questions here
Federal Requirements
18.75% of the PTCE
6 questions here
Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
23.75% of the PTCE
7 questions here
Order Entry and Processing
22.5% of the PTCE
7 questions here
Click an answer to check it. Each question shows why the answer is right and the public source it comes from (FDA labels, federal law, ISMP safety lists).
Q1 · Medications
A patient hands in a prescription for Lipitor 20 mg. Which generic drug will be dispensed if generic substitution is allowed?
The answer is B. Lipitor is the brand name for atorvastatin calcium, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin). The other choices are different statins.
A patient who recently had a heart stent placed brings in a prescription for Plavix 75 mg daily. What is the generic name and drug class of Plavix?
The answer is C. Plavix is clopidogrel, a P2Y12 inhibitor that blocks platelet aggregation. The other choices name different drugs or the wrong drug class.
A patient picking up a new prescription for Percocet 5 mg/325 mg asks the technician to also ring up a bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength to take "for extra pain relief." Why should this be brought to the pharmacist?
The answer is D. Percocet is oxycodone plus acetaminophen, and Tylenol is acetaminophen. The Percocet label warns that most acetaminophen liver injury involves more than one acetaminophen-containing product and tells patients not to use more than one such product.
A prescription for sildenafil (Viagra) 50 mg arrives for a patient whose profile shows a current prescription for isosorbide mononitrate ER for angina. What is the concern?
The answer is B. The Viagra label lists use with nitric oxide donors, such as organic nitrates in any form, as a contraindication because sildenafil potentiates their blood-pressure-lowering effect. Isosorbide mononitrate is an organic nitrate, so this needs pharmacist intervention.
Which instruction is correct for a patient taking alendronate (Fosamax) tablets?
The answer is D. The label says to take Fosamax with plain water only, at least half an hour before the first food, beverage or medication of the day, and patients who cannot stay upright for 30 minutes must not take it. Food, milk, juice and calcium all reduce its absorption.
A patient who started lisinopril for high blood pressure a few weeks ago asks the technician whether her new, nagging cough could be from the medicine. Which statement is accurate (the technician should still refer her to the pharmacist)?
The answer is A. Lisinopril (Zestril) is an ACE inhibitor, and cough is listed among its common adverse reactions in hypertension. It is not a beta blocker.
Tamsulosin (Flomax) 0.4 mg capsules are FDA-approved to treat which condition?
The answer is C. Flomax is indicated for the signs and symptoms of BPH. Although it is an alpha-blocker, its label states it is not indicated for hypertension.
A technician reconstitutes a bottle of Augmentin (amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium) 250 mg/62.5 mg per 5 mL oral suspension. What storage and beyond-use instructions belong on the label?
The answer is C. The Augmentin label says reconstituted suspension must be stored under refrigeration and discarded after 10 days. Fourteen days is a tempting wrong answer because it is the limit on plain amoxicillin suspension labels (where refrigeration is preferred but not required), not on amoxicillin/clavulanate.
A patient asks how to store his nitroglycerin sublingual tablets (Nitrostat). What does the label direct?
The answer is A. Nitrostat must be kept in the original glass container and tightly capped after each use to prevent loss of tablet potency, stored at 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F). Plastic containers and loose caps let the drug lose strength.
Under the federal EPA rule for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals (40 CFR part 266, subpart P), a pharmacy counts as a healthcare facility. Which disposal practice does the rule ban?
The answer is D. Section 266.505 prohibits all healthcare facilities, including very small quantity generators, and reverse distributors from discharging hazardous waste pharmaceuticals to a sewer that passes to a publicly owned treatment works. The other choices are allowed routes.
A prescription for alprazolam (a Schedule IV controlled substance) is written with refills. Under federal law, what is the refill limit?
The answer is B. Under 21 CFR 1306.22, a Schedule III or IV prescription may not be refilled more than five times or filled more than six months after the date it was issued. The 11-refill, one-year pattern does not apply to Schedule III or IV drugs under federal law.
A pharmacy discovers that a bottle of oxycodone tablets has been stolen. Under federal DEA rules, what must the pharmacy do?
The answer is A. 21 CFR 1301.76(b) requires written notice to the local DEA Field Division Office within one business day of discovering a theft or significant loss, then a complete DEA Form 106 within 45 days. Neither Form 41 nor Form 222 is the theft and loss report, and there is no 100-unit threshold for a theft.
Under the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, what is the most pseudoephedrine base a pharmacy may sell to one customer in a single day at retail?
The answer is C. Federal law caps retail sales at 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base per purchaser per day, no matter how many transactions. 7.5 grams is the 30-day limit for mail-order sales, and 9 grams is the 30-day purchase limit.
Source: 21 U.S.C. 830 (Cornell LII), 21 U.S.C. 830(d)(1) (3.6 g/day) and 830(e)(2)(B) (7.5 g mail order); 21 U.S.C. 844(a) (9 g per 30 days)
Q15 · Federal Requirements
The FDA classifies a drug recall as Class I. What does that classification mean?
The answer is D. Under 21 CFR 7.3(m), Class I is the most serious recall class: a reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death. Choice B describes Class II, choice A describes Class III, and choice C is a market withdrawal.
After investigating a suspect product, a pharmacy (a dispenser under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act) determines that a bottle is counterfeit. Under DSCSA, what must the pharmacy do?
The answer is B. DSCSA requires dispensers to notify the FDA, using Form FDA 3911, and all appropriate immediate trading partners within 24 hours of determining a product is illegitimate. A suspect product is quarantined while it is investigated, and an illegitimate one is never returned to stock.
A community pharmacy flags drugs on ISMP's List of High-Alert Medications in Community/Ambulatory Healthcare with an extra check. Which of these new prescriptions should receive that flag?
The answer is B. ISMP's community/ambulatory high-alert list names methotrexate for non-oncologic use (such as rheumatoid arthritis), because an error such as taking the weekly dose every day can cause serious harm. Lisinopril, amoxicillin and omeprazole are not on the list.
A technician is setting up shelf labels for look-alike/sound-alike drugs. Which pair of drug names appears on ISMP's List of Confused Drug Names?
The answer is D. ISMP lists hydrOXYzine and hydrALAZINE as a confused pair and recommends tall man letters for both names. The other pairs are not on the list.
Source: ISMP's List of Confused Drug Names, Entries "hydrALAZINE / hydrOXYzine" and "hydrOXYzine / hydrALAZINE"; also on the FDA and ISMP Tall Man Letters list (https://www.ismp.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2017-11/tallmanletters.pdf)
Q19 · Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
A technician is typing two doses onto medication labels: one-half milligram and two milligrams. Which pair is written the safe way?
The answer is A. Always put a zero before a decimal point (".5 mg" can be misread as 5 mg) and never put a trailing zero after a whole number ("2.0 mg" can be misread as 20 mg). Both rules are on The Joint Commission's "Do Not Use" list.
During order entry, the pharmacy system shows a drug-allergy alert: the new prescription is in the same drug class as an allergy on the patient's profile. What should the technician do?
The answer is C. Drug-allergy interactions are one of the problems screened in prospective drug utilization review (DUR), which pharmacists carry out before a prescription is filled. A technician should never override the alert or change the allergy record on their own.
Source: 42 CFR 456.705 Prospective drug review (eCFR), (b)(6): review before each prescription is filled must screen for "Drug-allergy interactions"; (a) refers to "prospective DUR activities by the pharmacists"
Q21 · Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Twenty minutes after getting a flu shot at the pharmacy, a patient develops hives on both arms. The pharmacist handles the patient's care. Where should this adverse event be reported?
The answer is B. VAERS, run jointly by CDC and FDA, collects reports of adverse events after vaccination. MedWatch covers drugs and devices, and FDA directs vaccine reports to VAERS instead; DEA Form 106 is for theft or loss of controlled substances.
Source: VAERS: About (CDC and FDA), VAERS is a national early warning system for possible safety problems in U.S.-licensed vaccines, co-managed by CDC and FDA; FDA's MedWatch page routes vaccine reports to VAERS (https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program)
Q22 · Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
A prescription for an otic (ear) solution reads "instill 3 drops into the left ear twice daily." The correct product was filled for the correct patient, but the label printed "instill 3 drops into the left eye twice daily." What type of error is this?
The answer is D. The drug, patient and number of drops are all correct; only the place the medicine is given (eye instead of ear) is wrong. That is a wrong-route error in the NCC MERP medication error taxonomy.
A technician spills cough syrup and her hands are visibly sticky and soiled. According to CDC hand hygiene guidance for healthcare personnel, how should she clean her hands?
The answer is A. CDC says to use soap and water when hands are visibly soiled. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is preferred in most other clinical situations, but not when hands are visibly dirty.
A prescription reads: "Take 2 tablets by mouth every morning and 1 tablet at bedtime." The quantity written is 120 tablets. What is the days supply?
The answer is C. The patient takes 2 + 1 = 3 tablets a day. 120 tablets / 3 tablets per day = 40 days.
Source: Worked calculation, days supply = quantity dispensed / units taken per day (checked in code)
Q25 · Order Entry and Processing
A child weighs 44 lb. The prescriber orders ibuprofen 10 mg/kg per dose. The pharmacy stocks ibuprofen oral suspension 100 mg/5 mL. How many mL should be given per dose? (Use 1 kg = 2.2 lb.)
The answer is B. 44 lb / 2.2 = 20 kg, and 20 kg x 10 mg/kg = 200 mg. The suspension has 100 mg in 5 mL (20 mg/mL), so 200 mg / 20 mg/mL = 10 mL.
A pharmacy is stocking supplies for an adult woman who weighs 140 lb and will get an intramuscular vaccine in the deltoid. Following CDC guidance, which needle should be pulled?
The answer is A. CDC recommends a 22- to 25-gauge needle for adult IM vaccines, with length based on sex and weight. For men and women weighing 130-152 lb (60-70 kg), the recommended length is 1 inch.
Two stock bottles from the same company carry NDC 51234-567-10 and NDC 51234-567-50. Only the last segment is different. What does that tell the technician?
The answer is C. An NDC has three segments: labeler code, product code and package code. The first two segments match, so the labeler and product are the same; the third segment (package code) identifies the package size and type.
During a monthly expiration check, a technician finds a stock bottle labeled "EXP 06/2027" with no day shown. Through what date is the product in date?
The answer is D. When an expiration date shows only a month and year, the product expires on the last day of that month. EXP 06/2027 means the product is good through June 30, 2027.
Source: United States Pharmacopeia, General Notices 10.40.100, a month-and-year expiration date means the end of the last day of that month
Q30 · Order Entry and Processing
Under EPA's hazardous waste pharmaceuticals rule, a reverse distributor accepts prescription items that are "potentially creditable" for manufacturer credit. Which item fits that definition?
The answer is A. Potentially creditable items must be in original manufacturer packaging, undispensed, and unexpired or less than one year past expiration. Free samples and container residues are listed as non-creditable, and a dispensed item fails the undispensed test.
Source: 40 CFR 266.500 Definitions (eCFR), "Potentially creditable hazardous waste pharmaceutical" = in original manufacturer packaging, undispensed, and unexpired or less than one year past expiration; "Non-creditable" includes free samples and residues remaining in empty containers
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New outline since January 2026. Federal requirements grew from 12.5% to 18.75% of the exam and now include the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. Nonsterile compounding, alligations and the separate narrow-therapeutic-index topic were removed.
From PTCB's official PTCE content outline. CertOutlook is not affiliated with PTCB. Practice questions are original and are not taken from the exam.