PTCB Practice Test
This is a free 15-question sampler for the PTCE, the exam the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board sets, written by the StudyPDF team. It follows the four knowledge domains in roughly the weight the exam gives them, so medications gets the largest share, followed by patient safety and quality assurance, order entry and processing, and federal requirements. The mix includes multiple choice, select all that apply and fill in the blank. Answer all 15 questions, then check your score and read the explanation for every one.
Metoprolol belongs to which drug class?
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All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1. Metoprolol belongs to which drug class?
- A. ACE inhibitor
- B. Beta blocker
- C. Calcium channel blocker
- D. Thiazide diuretic
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Beta blocker
The suffix olol marks a beta blocker, so metoprolol, atenolol and propranolol all sit in the same class. Beta blockers reduce the effect of adrenaline on the heart, which slows the rate and lowers the workload. Learning suffixes is the fastest way to handle class questions: pril is an ACE inhibitor, sartan is an angiotensin receptor blocker, dipine is a calcium channel blocker, statin lowers cholesterol and prazole is a proton pump inhibitor.
2. Which brand and generic pair is matched correctly?
- A. Zestril and lisinopril
- B. Zocor and atorvastatin
- C. Prilosec and ranitidine
- D. Glucotrol and metformin
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Zestril and lisinopril
Zestril is a brand of lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor. The other three are scrambled: Zocor is simvastatin while atorvastatin is Lipitor, Prilosec is omeprazole while ranitidine was sold as Zantac, and Glucotrol is glipizide while metformin is Glucophage. Brand and generic pairs are worth drilling because a prescription can arrive written either way and the profile has to end up with the right molecule.
3. Which of the following are recognized look alike sound alike drug name pairs?
Select all that apply.
- A. Hydralazine and hydroxyzine
- B. Aspirin and acetaminophen
- C. Clonidine and clonazepam
- D. Metformin and metronidazole
- E. Warfarin and heparin
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Hydralazine and hydroxyzine, C. Clonidine and clonazepam, D. Metformin and metronidazole
Look alike sound alike pairs are names that are easy to confuse on a written order, a spoken phone order or a shelf. Hydralazine lowers blood pressure while hydroxyzine treats itching and anxiety, clonidine lowers blood pressure while clonazepam is a benzodiazepine, and metformin treats diabetes while metronidazole is an antibiotic, so mixing any of them up gives the patient the wrong therapy entirely. Aspirin and acetaminophen and the warfarin and heparin pair get confused for what they do, not for how the names look. The usual defenses are tall man lettering, which prints the differing letters in capitals, separating the products on the shelf, and checking the indication against the drug.
4. Complete the sentence.
USP defines controlled room temperature as _____ degrees Celsius and a refrigerator as _____ degrees Celsius.
Options for blank 1: 8 to 15, 15 to 20, 20 to 25, 25 to 30
Options for blank 2: negative 25 to negative 10, 0 to 2, 2 to 8, 8 to 15
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 20 to 25, 2 to 8
These are USP storage definitions, so they are the same wherever you work: controlled room temperature is 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, a refrigerator is 2 to 8, and a freezer is negative 25 to negative 10. They matter because a product stored outside its range can lose potency without looking any different. Refrigerated items such as many vaccines and insulins also must not be allowed to freeze, which is why pharmacies log fridge temperatures rather than trusting the dial.
5. What is the difference between a manufacturer's expiration date and a beyond use date?
- A. They mean the same thing and the terms can be used interchangeably
- B. A beyond use date is always later than the expiration date
- C. An expiration date applies only to controlled substances
- D. An expiration date applies to the unopened original container, while a beyond use date applies once the product is opened, repackaged or compounded
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. An expiration date applies to the unopened original container, while a beyond use date applies once the product is opened, repackaged or compounded
The manufacturer tests the product in its own sealed container and prints an expiration date for that container. The moment a pharmacy opens it, repackages it into a vial, or compounds it into something else, that testing no longer describes what is in the new container, so the pharmacy assigns a beyond use date instead. A beyond use date is therefore never later than the expiration date, and it is often much sooner.
6. How many grams of active ingredient are in 250 mL of a 2 percent weight in volume solution?
- A. 0.5 grams
- B. 2 grams
- C. 5 grams
- D. 50 grams
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. 5 grams
Percent weight in volume always means grams per 100 mL, so 2 percent is 2 grams in every 100 mL. Set up the proportion 2 grams over 100 mL equals x over 250 mL, and x is 5 grams. Ratio strength works the same way from the other direction: 1:1000 weight in volume means 1 gram in 1000 mL, which is 1 mg per mL, or 0.1 percent. Getting comfortable converting between percent strength and ratio strength removes most of the difficulty from concentration questions.
7. Which of the following appears on the ISMP list of error prone abbreviations and should be written out in full instead?
- A. mL for milliliter
- B. mg for milligram
- C. U for units
- D. PO for by mouth
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. U for units
A handwritten U is easily read as a zero or a four, so 4U can become 40 and a tenfold error follows. Write out the word units. The same list flags QD and QOD, which get read as each other, trailing zeros such as 1.0 mg that can be read as 10 mg, and missing leading zeros such as .5 mg that can be read as 5 mg. The rule is a trailing zero never, a leading zero always.
8. Which of the following are recognized error prevention practices in the dispensing process?
Select all that apply.
- A. Relying on the color and shape of the tablet alone to confirm the right drug was pulled
- B. Scanning the barcode on the stock bottle and matching it against the prescription record
- C. Shelving look alike products next to each other so they are quicker to find
- D. A second check of the filled prescription against the original order before it leaves the pharmacy
- E. Filing new prescriptions by prescriber name rather than by patient
- F. Counseling the patient at pickup so they can say whether the medication matches what they expect
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Scanning the barcode on the stock bottle and matching it against the prescription record, D. A second check of the filled prescription against the original order before it leaves the pharmacy, F. Counseling the patient at pickup so they can say whether the medication matches what they expect
Good error prevention adds an independent check rather than a more careful look. Barcode scanning verifies the actual product instead of your reading of the label, a second check catches what the first person's eyes slid over, and the patient is the last check in the chain because they know what they were told to expect. Tablet appearance is unreliable because generics change appearance without warning, and deliberately shelving look alike products together makes the most common error easier rather than harder.
9. Complete the sentence.
USP chapter _____ sets the standards for nonsterile compounding, and USP chapter _____ sets the standards for sterile compounding.
Options for blank 1: 795, 797, 800, 825
Options for blank 2: 795, 797, 800, 825
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 795, 797
Chapter 795 covers nonsterile preparations such as creams, ointments, capsules and oral suspensions. Chapter 797 covers sterile preparations such as intravenous admixtures, injections and ophthalmics, and it is the stricter of the two because a contaminated sterile product goes straight past the body's defenses. That is why 797 adds classified air, garbing and hand hygiene requirements, environmental monitoring, and beyond use dates tied to risk level. Chapter 800 is the related one for handling hazardous drugs safely.
10. A technician notices a filled prescription contains the wrong strength and catches it before the patient picks it up. What should happen next?
- A. Quietly correct the label and say nothing, since nobody was harmed
- B. Correct the prescription and report it through the pharmacy's error reporting process
- C. Report it only if the patient later complains
- D. Discard the prescription and start over without telling the pharmacist
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Correct the prescription and report it through the pharmacy's error reporting process
An error caught before it reaches the patient is a near miss, and near misses are the most useful data a pharmacy has because they show a weak point in the process without anyone being hurt. Reporting is meant to be non punitive and to look for the cause, which is usually something in the system such as two strengths sitting side by side or an ambiguous entry screen, rather than one careless person. Fixing the label without reporting leaves the cause in place for the next prescription.
11. Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which statement describes a Schedule I substance?
- A. It has no currently accepted medical use in the United States, so it cannot be prescribed
- B. It has the lowest abuse potential of any schedule
- C. It may be refilled up to five times within six months
- D. It can be dispensed without any DEA registration
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. It has no currently accepted medical use in the United States, so it cannot be prescribed
The five schedules sort substances by abuse potential and by whether there is an accepted medical use. Schedule I has no accepted medical use in the United States and is limited to research, so nothing in it is dispensed on a prescription. Schedule II has a high abuse potential with an accepted medical use, Schedules III through V descend from there, and refill rules tighten as the schedule number falls. Federal law is only the floor: states set their own controlled substance rules, and where a state rule is stricter, the state rule is the one you follow.
12. Complete the sentence.
A pharmacy orders Schedule II controlled substances using _____, and it reports a theft or significant loss of controlled substances on _____.
Options for blank 1: DEA Form 41, DEA Form 106, DEA Form 222 or its electronic equivalent through CSOS, DEA Form 224
Options for blank 2: DEA Form 41, DEA Form 106, DEA Form 222, DEA Form 224
Show answer and explanation
Answer: DEA Form 222 or its electronic equivalent through CSOS, DEA Form 106
Schedule II drugs cannot simply be ordered on an invoice. They move on DEA Form 222, or through the Controlled Substance Ordering System, which is the paperless version of the same control. Form 106 reports theft or significant loss, Form 41 documents destruction of controlled substances, and Form 224 is the application a retail pharmacy files for its own DEA registration. Knowing which form does what is a common exam target because the numbers are easy to swap.
13. A prescription is written 1 gtt OU BID. What does that direct?
- A. One drop in both ears twice a day
- B. One tablet by mouth twice a day
- C. One drop in the right eye every other day
- D. One drop in both eyes twice a day
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. One drop in both eyes twice a day
gtt means drop, OU means both eyes, and BID means twice a day. The eye and ear abbreviations are the ones to get straight: OD is the right eye, OS is the left eye, OU is both eyes, and AD, AS and AU are the matching ear versions. Because those two sets are so easy to swap, ISMP recommends writing the site out in words, and many pharmacies now print right eye or left ear on the label rather than the abbreviation.
14. An order reads 10 mL of an oral solution by mouth twice a day, and the pharmacy dispenses a 300 mL bottle. What is the days supply?
- A. 10 days
- B. 15 days
- C. 20 days
- D. 30 days
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 15 days
Work out the amount used per day first: 10 mL twice a day is 20 mL a day. Then divide the quantity dispensed by that daily amount, so 300 divided by 20 is 15 days. Days supply matters beyond the arithmetic because it drives refill timing and insurance adjudication, and an entry that is wrong here is one of the more common reasons a claim rejects as too soon or fills a patient short.
15. Which statements about a formulary and a therapeutic interchange are correct?
Select all that apply.
- A. A formulary is the list of drugs a health plan or a hospital agrees to cover or keep in stock
- B. A therapeutic interchange and a generic substitution mean the same thing
- C. A drug that is not on the formulary can never be dispensed under any circumstances
- D. A therapeutic interchange swaps in a different drug from the same class that is expected to work similarly
- E. A therapeutic interchange needs an approved protocol or prescriber authorization, because the molecule itself changes
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. A formulary is the list of drugs a health plan or a hospital agrees to cover or keep in stock, D. A therapeutic interchange swaps in a different drug from the same class that is expected to work similarly, E. A therapeutic interchange needs an approved protocol or prescriber authorization, because the molecule itself changes
A generic substitution swaps a brand for the same molecule, which is why it is routine and usually allowed by default. A therapeutic interchange swaps in a different molecule from the same class, so it is a clinical decision and needs either a prescriber's approval or a protocol the pharmacy and prescribers have agreed in advance. A formulary is just the covered or stocked list, and a nonformulary drug is normally still obtainable through a prior authorization or an exception process rather than being flatly forbidden.
What the PTCE actually covers
The exam most people mean when they say PTCB is the PTCE, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board writes it, sets who is eligible to sit it, and awards the CPhT credential to people who pass. The content is organized into four knowledge domains: medications, federal requirements, patient safety and quality assurance, and order entry and processing. Medications is by a clear margin the largest, and patient safety and quality assurance is the next biggest, which tells you where your study hours should go.
Deliberately missing from this page: how many questions the exam has, how long you get, what it costs, and what score passes. Those are set by PTCB and they get revised. The candidate handbook on the board's own site is the only version worth trusting, and the content outline there is the map you should study against. The same goes for eligibility. PTCB has changed its pathways more than once, so check the current rules rather than something a forum post said two years ago.
One more thing that trips people up. National certification and state authority are different things. Whether you can work as a technician, whether you must register or be licensed, what tasks you are allowed to do, and how much of that requires certification are all set by your state board of pharmacy, not by PTCB. Two technicians with the same credential can have quite different job descriptions in two different states. Look up your own state board alongside the PTCB handbook.
How to use this sampler
The 15 questions below lean on the reasoning rather than the recall. They ask why a beyond use date is not an expiration date, what percent strength is actually measuring, which abbreviation gets misread and why, and what separates a therapeutic interchange from a generic substitution. That is the part that transfers, because a fact you understand survives a reworded question and a memorized one often does not.
Take all 15 in one sitting, with paper and a pen for the calculations and nothing else. Then read the explanation for every question, including the ones you got right, because guessing correctly and knowing are different and only the explanation tells you which happened. Treat a miss as a topic rather than a fact. If you dropped the storage question and the beyond use date question, the fix is an hour on storage and stability as one subject, not two flashcards.
Calculations deserve a note of their own. Most technicians who struggle with them are not bad at arithmetic, they are skipping the setup. Write the units next to every number, cancel them, and check that what is left is the unit the question asked for. Percent weight in volume always means grams per 100 mL, ratio strength always means one part in so many parts, days supply is always total quantity divided by the amount used per day, and alligation is just a shortcut for mixing a strong stock with a weaker one. Learn the four setups and you can do most of what the exam asks.
An honest note on what this is. The StudyPDF team wrote every question and explanation from the publicly published content outline. None of them are real exam items, none were taken from a commercial question bank, and StudyPDF is not affiliated with PTCB. This is exam practice, not medical guidance, and nothing here should be used to make a decision about a real patient.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your own materials
Fifteen questions can show you which domain is shaky. They cannot get you ready on their own, and a generic bank tends to drift away from the emphasis of the prep book or the training program you are actually working through.
StudyPDF works from your material instead. Upload your PTCB prep book, your training program handouts, your pharmacy calculations workbook or the top 200 drug list your instructor gave you, and Bo, the study agent, builds full length practice tests from those exact pages. Every question is grounded in your material, and every explanation cites where the answer came from, so you can go straight to the source when a choice looks arguable. You can regenerate fresh tests as often as you like, aim them at one domain such as pharmacy calculations or controlled substances, and track which concepts you keep missing.
You do not need a document to start. If you have nothing to upload, name a topic instead, for example sig codes and abbreviations or days supply calculations, and Bo writes a practice test from that. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated 2026-08-19.