ExCPT Exam information
What it is, what's tested, and how it's scored.
ExCPT exam details
The Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT) assesses the knowledge and skills needed to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
The ExCPT is administered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), a nonprofit professional certification agency for healthcare workers in the U.S.
As an NHA-certified pharmacy technician, your vital role includes accurately processing prescriptions, preparing and managing medications, maintaining inventory, and handling billing and insurance. Anything that calls for clinical judgment — counseling a patient, for instance — goes to the pharmacist you support. These tasks are integral to ensuring efficient pharmacy operations and promoting patient safety, and your exact scope of practice is set by your state's Board of Pharmacy. The content of the ExCPT emphasizes general, on-the-job knowledge of pharmacy and medication distribution.
The ExCPT exam is hosted by NHA and costs $129 to register. Participants have 2 hours 10 minutes to answer 100 scored + 20 unscored multiple-choice questions. The passing score is 390/500.
Time
2 hours 10 minutes
Format
100 scored + 20 unscored multiple-choice questions
Exam fee
$129
Passing score
390/500
Details
The ExCPT is a computer-based exam. You'll see 120 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours 10 minutes: 100 scored questions drawn from the five domains below, plus 20 unscored pretest questions NHA mixes in to trial for future exams. The pretest questions aren't identified, so treat every question as though it counts.
Role, Responsibilities, and General Duties of the Pharmacy Technician
Laws
Drugs and Drug Therapy
Dispensing Process
Medication and Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
Remember: there are no breaks on the ExCPT, so the time above is the total time you'll have to complete the questions.
The ExCPT exam is scored on a scale of 200 to 500, and 390 is the passing score. NHA uses scaled scoring so the standard stays consistent across exam forms: the difficulty of the form you sit is factored in, so a harder form doesn't demand more correct answers to pass. Score reports for exams taken at a PSI center or by live remote proctoring are posted to your NHA account within 48 hours; institutions that administer the exam on site can give you a preliminary result as soon as you finish.
To take the ExCPT exam, candidates must first register online through the NHA website. After registering, you can sit the exam at a PSI test center, which has locations nationwide, or take it from a location of your choice through live remote proctoring. PSI's scheduling tool finds the center nearest to you.
The CPhT certification granted to those who pass the ExCPT is valid for 2 years. To renew it, you must complete 20 hours of NHA continuing education in each two-year cycle, including at least one hour of pharmacy law and at least one hour of patient safety.
In order to be eligible for the NHA's CPhT certification, you must have a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent credential, and satisfy one of 2 pathways:
- Training program: complete any one of the following within the past 5 years:A pharmacy technician training program offered by an accredited or state-approved institution or provider;An apprenticeship registered under U.S. Department of Labor guidelines;A formal pharmacy technician training program offered by any branch of the U.S. Military; orAn employer-based program, or one offered by a national pharmacy association, that is either recognized by the Board of Pharmacy of the state where you complete it or verified by your employer as adequate preparation for the duties of an entry-level pharmacy technician.
- Work experience: complete at least 1,200 hours of supervised pharmacy-related work experience during a 1-year period within the past 3 years.
ExCPT exam summary
Role, Responsibilities, and General Duties of the Pharmacy Technician
15%
15 questions
The Role, Responsibilities, and General Duties section of the ExCPT assesses your understanding of what a pharmacy technician does and where the line falls between a technician's duties and a pharmacist's. It covers pharmacy operations and workflow across practice settings, pharmacy security, supporting medication reconciliation and medication therapy management, medical terminology, and professional communication with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Day-to-day inventory duties are tested here too, including ordering, storage conditions, rotating stock, and removing expired or recalled products.
Laws
15%
15 questions
The Laws section of the ExCPT covers the federal laws and regulations that govern pharmacy practice and the legal responsibilities they place on technicians. Nine questions address laws and regulations generally — HIPAA and patient privacy, recordkeeping and retention, packaging and labeling requirements, and the handling of hazardous substances — and six address controlled substances specifically, including DEA schedules and DEA number verification, prescription and filing requirements, ordering and perpetual inventory, and prescription drug monitoring programs.
Drugs and Drug Therapy
13%
13 questions
The Drugs and Drug Therapy section of the ExCPT tests your understanding of key qualities of different medications. Eight questions cover drug classification, where you'll match products with their therapeutic classes, dosage forms, routes of administration, and indications across prescription, over-the-counter, and behind-the-counter products. The remaining five cover frequently prescribed medications: brand and generic names of the most-dispensed drugs, therapeutic equivalence, the difference between side effects and adverse drug reactions, contraindications and drug interactions, and common vaccines and immunization schedules.
Dispensing Process
43%
43 questions
The Dispensing Process section of the ExCPT tests your comprehension of medication administration and dispersal, and at 43 questions it is by far the most heavily weighted part of the exam. It breaks down into prescription and medication order intake and entry (13 questions), preparing and dispensing prescriptions (13 questions), pharmacy calculations such as dosages, days' supply, concentrations, and measurement conversions (7 questions), and sterile and non-sterile products, compounding, unit dose, and repackaging (10 questions).
Medication and Patient Safety and Quality Assurance
14%
14 questions
The Medication and Patient Safety and Quality Assurance section of the ExCPT assesses your knowledge of the best practices that prevent medication errors and the procedures that follow one. It covers look-alike/sound-alike drugs, error-prone abbreviations, high-alert and high-risk medications, black box warnings, safe dosage ranges, and the ISMP and NIOSH guidance on handling error-prone and hazardous drugs. You'll also be tested on taking corrective action after a near miss, documenting and reporting errors through MedWatch, FAERS, and VAERS, performing quality assurance checks on inventory, and keeping the dispensing area clean.
Achievable ExCPT content outline
1
Pharmacy Law and Regulations
Provides an overview of federal pharmacy laws, controlled substance schedules, DEA regulations, prescription requirements, recordkeeping standards, and legal responsibilities of pharmacy technicians.
2
Medication Safety
Covers strategies to prevent medication errors, including error-prone abbreviations, medications with similar names, high-alert drugs, safe dispensing practices, and proper documentation of incidents.
3
Sterile and Non-Sterile Compounding
Explains USP 795 and 797 requirements, aseptic technique, beyond-use dating, infection control, equipment use, measurement accuracy, compounding procedures, and quality assurance checks.
4
Medication Order Entry and Fill Process
Focuses on processing prescriptions and medication orders, interpreting provider instructions, selecting the correct drug and dosage forms, labeling, packaging, and preparing medications for dispensing.
5
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Introduces major drug classes, mechanisms of action, indications, common side effects, contraindications, and drug interactions. Includes basic physiology relevant to pharmacotherapy.
6
Pharmacy Inventory Management
Reviews procurement, storage requirements, handling of hazardous medications, expiration management, recalls, controlled substance inventory procedures, and cost-efficient ordering systems.
7
Billing and Reimbursement
Covers insurance plan types, coordination of benefits, claim processing, prior authorizations, rejection troubleshooting, Medicare and Medicaid basics, and pharmacy financial documentation.
8
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Discusses continuous quality improvement programs, workflow optimization, standard operating procedures, regulatory compliance, and methods to ensure accuracy and safety in pharmacy operations.
9
Professional Practice, Communication, and Ethics
Addresses technician-pharmacist teamwork, HIPAA compliance, patient privacy, professional conduct, cultural sensitivity, conflict resolution, and effective communication with patients and healthcare providers.
Frequently asked questions
- What is on the ExCPT exam?
- The ExCPT exam has 100 scored + 20 unscored multiple-choice questions, and candidates have 2 hours 10 minutes to complete it. The content outline on this page lists every tested topic with the number of questions and the percentage of the exam it accounts for.
- How long is the ExCPT exam?
- Candidates have 2 hours 10 minutes for the ExCPT exam, covering 100 scored + 20 unscored multiple-choice questions.
- What score do you need to pass the ExCPT exam?
- The passing score for the ExCPT exam is 390/500.
- How much does the ExCPT exam cost?
- Registering for the ExCPT exam costs $129, paid to NHA. Prep materials are a separate cost.
- Who administers the ExCPT exam?
- The ExCPT exam is administered by NHA, which sets the official content outline and scoring.