As a leader in healthcare and pharmacy staffing, Pharmaceutical Strategies strives to provide resources to clients and candidates for the betterment of their pharmacy careers. For our candidates, that means assisting them in their education and growth of their careers through additional licensing and certifications. Below you will find a summary of how to apply for and receive a license to practice pharmacy in the state of Massachusetts
Designations
Pharmacy Technician Trainee – Does not require previous experience or the passing of the PTCB/ExCPT exams.
Licensed Pharmacy Technician – Requires passing of either the PTCB or ExCPT exams.
Requirements
18 years or older
High School Diploma or equivalent or you must be currently enrolled to receive a diploma or equivalent
Have never been convicted of a drug-related felony
EITHER
Completed a board approved Pharmacy technician training program
Worked 500 hours as a pharmacy technician trainee
Passed either the ExCPT, the PTCB, or a board-approved pharmacy technician assessment that’s given by the employer
For more information regarding the requirements you can gohere!
Fees
The fee for the pharmacy technician license application is $150, which can be paid to the Professional Credential Services by either a money order, or a Master Card or Visa.
Any returned checks will be charged a handling fee of $23.
Process
If you have all of the requirements, you are eligible to apply!
To apply, you can go to the Professional Credential Services (PCS) web portalhere. Once you open the application, there are more details regarding instructions, fees, and requirements. Throughout the application, there are references made to “certified applicants” and “non-certified applicants.” A Certified Applicant is an applicant that has already passed and received either a PTCB or ExCPT certification. Non-Certified applicants have not passed those exams and by default would be applying for a Pharmacy Technician Trainee license.
If you are a Certified applicant you must provide your current registration with your application.
Keep in mind when you’re filling out the application you need to either use blue or black ink, or type the application.
Section Ais simply biographical information, name, address, phone number, etc. Make sure everything in this section is filled out.
Section Bis your academic and professional information. This is where you will provide any information regarding your past pharmacy technician licenses or registrations and when you received a high school diploma.
Section Cis only for candidates that currently have, or have had pharmacy technician licenses/registrations in other states. If you are registered in another state, either currently or in the past, you must provide a verification letter from the board you are registered with.
Section Dis a list of questions regarding your criminal or disciplinary past. If you answer yes to any of the 5 questions please submit a personal statement with an explanation. If you have ever been convicted of a crime you also have to provide a certified copy of said conviction.
Section Eis the affidavit asserting that all of the information is correct and other legal shenanigans. Make sure you read this section carefully and get the application notarized. Applications that are not signed or notarized will not be processed. This is also the section where you will need to attach a 2 inch by2 inchphoto of yourself. Think passport photo, not facebook profile picture!
The following pages of the application are the payment form, and an employer verification form for non certified applicants.
Once you have filled out the application, collected all necessary documents, and gotten the application signed in the presence of a notary public you can send your completed application to:
Professional Credential Services
Attn: Pharmacy Coordinator
P.O. Box 198788, Nashville, TN 37219-8689
You’re all set!
Additional Info
If you have any questions or want to check in on your application status you can call PCS toll free at 877-887-9727 to email techlicense@pcshq.com. Reminder that they are located in Nashville, TN so they are one hour behind local MA time.
Interested in working as a pharmacy technician? Check out our job postings here, you can search by job title or location. If you’re located in Massachusetts search “Massachusetts” in the location search bar and hit enter! For more information, you can call a recruiter at 866-352-3337.