How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in Nevada

Who can apply

• Full pharmaceutical technician (PT): be 18 or older and a high school graduate or the equivalent (NAC 639.240).
• Pharmaceutical technician in training (PTT): NAC 639.242 as published says 18 or older and a high school graduate. The Board's PTT application revised 07/09/2026 (citing regulation R010-26) instead asks if you are 16 or older and a high school graduate, have the equivalent, or are enrolled in a program leading to one.
• To register as a full PT you must have one of: an ASHP-accredited, Board-approved training program; 1,500 hours as a registered PTT in Nevada pharmacies; active practice in another state plus 1,500 hours there, attested by the managing pharmacist; or a military, Indian Health Service or VA technician program.
• Full PT applicants must submit fingerprints for a background check (NRS 639.1371).
• The Board may deny registration for a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, dishonesty or drugs, or a history of substance use disorder.

Step by step

1. Get a job in a Nevada-licensed pharmacy, or enroll in an ASHP-accredited technician program.
2. Mail the Pharmaceutical Technician in Training (PTT) application with the $50 fee. It needs an original signature; the Board does not accept fax or email.
3. Wait for your PTT registration before doing any technician duties, then train on the job under a pharmacist.
4. Build 1,500 hours of training and experience as a PTT (or finish your ASHP-accredited program). Your managing pharmacist certifies the hours on the Board's form.
5. Mail the Pharmaceutical Technician (PT) application with the $50 fee and your hours form or program certificate.
6. Get fingerprinted by local law enforcement and mail the card, the DPS background waiver and a $40 cashier's check or money order to the Board.
7. Renew by October 31 of each even-numbered year and complete 12 hours of in-service training every two years.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: Most applicants qualify through 1,500 hours of on-the-job training and experience as a registered PTT in Nevada pharmacies, certified by the managing pharmacist. The alternative is an ASHP-accredited program, which the Board must approve (NAC 639.256); a program outside Nevada is deemed approved if ASHP-accredited. Military, Indian Health Service and VA programs also count.

Exam: Nevada has no state technician exam, and PTCB or NHA certification is not one of the registration routes in NAC 639.240. PTCB or NHA recertification CE can be used in place of the biennial in-service training (NAC 639.254).

What it costs in Nevada

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

What other sites get wrong about Nevada

Once you're registered

Renewal: PT and PTT registrations expire October 31 of even-numbered years, and fees are not pro-rated. Renewal costs $50 and is done in the Board's online portal (for the October 31, 2026 expiration, online renewal opened September 1, 2026). Employment is not required to renew. All technicians and technicians-in-training living or practicing in Nevada must complete 1 hour of a Board-approved Nevada pharmacy law CE program before renewal; it cannot be replaced by any other program. If you work in a Nevada pharmacy you also need 12 hours of in-service training in the two years before renewal; the pharmacy keeps the record. CE completed for PTCB or NHA recertification may substitute for the other in-service hours. Late renewal adds a penalty of 50% of the renewal fee for each period of delinquency.

Good to know in Nevada

Minimum age is changing: NAC 639.242 as published requires PTT applicants to be 18. The Board's PTT application revised July 9, 2026 cites regulation R010-26 and asks only whether you are 16 or older and in, or finished with, high school or a GED. Full PT registration still requires age 18.

Dispensing technicians are different: If you will work as a dispensing technician in a dispensing practitioner's office, you use the separate Dispensing Technician applications, not the PT or PTT forms.

Report changes in 10 days: A registered technician must give the Board written notice within 10 days of changing residence or place of practice (NAC 639.225).

Fingerprint card rules: Fingerprint cards that are not completed correctly or are dated more than one year earlier are rejected, and the application will not be processed.

Transferring from another state: An active technician from another state can register as a full PT with a copy of that state's registration (if it requires one) and the Board's form, notarized and signed by the managing pharmacist, confirming 1,500 hours of technician work there (NAC 639.240).

Sources

• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - Pharmacy Technicians/Trainees
• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - Pharmaceutical Technician in Training Application (Rev 07/09/2026)
• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - Pharmaceutical Technician Application (Rev 12/17/2024)
• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - Fingerprint Submission Instructions (updated 9/17/2026)
• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - Managing Pharmacist Certification of Training Hours for PTT
• Nevada State Board of Pharmacy - License Renewal
• Nevada Administrative Code chapter 639 (NAC 639.220, 639.240-639.258)
• PTCB - Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) and PTCE fee