Once you’ve earned pharmacy technician certification, your education may not be completely over. Some certification organizations require technicians to renew their certification every two years. In many cases, this means you'll have to complete a minimum number of hours of continuing education to earn pharmacy technician recertification. Some organizations may allow you to retake and pass the certification exam or pass a new exam to earn recertification instead of meeting continuing education requirements. The exact steps you’ll have to take, however, will depend on the organization through which you seek recertification.
Before you can begin working toward pharmacy technician recertification, you’ll typically need to contact the organization that provided your certification and learn its requirements. In fact, you may do well to learn the requirements for recertification as soon as you receive initial certification. This way, you may be able to spread your preparatory steps over a longer period instead of attempting to fulfill the requirements under the pressure of a looming deadline. Many certification organizations list their recertification requirements on their websites. If you cannot find them online, you may have to call the certifying organization instead.
In most cases, you will have to complete a pharmacy technician recertification application to renew your credential. You will likely have to pay a fee as well. If the certification organization requires you to complete a minimum number of hours of continuing education, you may also have to attest that you have done so. Many certifying organizations require recertification candidates to complete 20 hours of continuing education, and they often stipulate that at least one of those hours has to cover pharmacy law. Depending on the organization that provided your initial certification, you may have to fulfill other requirements as well.
Some certification organizations may require you to provide proof that you have completed the required number of continuing education hours hours. For example, you may be required to submit transcripts, a signed statement from the instructor, or copies of any certificates you’ve received. Others may only require documentation if your application has been randomly selected to be audited.
Many certification organizations require you to send the pharmacy technician recertification application through the mail. Often, these organizations require recertification candidates to ensure that the application mailing is postmarked by midnight on the date the original certification expires. Some also offer alternative ways of submitting recertification applications. For example, you may be permitted to submit it online.
