Alabama Board Of Pharmacy

Apply

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

DO NOT APPLY FOR A DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE (DR) REGISTRATION. A DR works for a drug facility, not a pharmacy.

Cost: $60 application fee, $40 background check fee. All fees are non-refundable. If the applicant fails to receive approval, the fee is retained for cost of processing.

Click here to learn How to Set Up a New Gateway Profile

  1. Using the link on the ALBOP homepage, create a Gateway profile if you have not already done so. For more instructions on how to do this, please view our “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
  2. Log in to your Gateway, click the Applications tab, and select “New Pharmacy Technician” application.
    • You will need to upload your birth certificate (or US passport if not born in the United States), driver’s license, and current photo within the past 6 months.
  3. After your application is complete, you will need to submit payment within 7 days and upload all required documents within 30 days.
  4. Once your application is approved, log back in to your Gateway to print your registration.

You are subject to a criminal background check. A finding of a criminal history whether arrest, conviction or both may require a hearing in the future to determine if the application will be granted. You also have an obligation to truthfully respond to all inquiries including those about your criminal history. Not being truthful is not only grounds for the potential denial of your application but in light of the background check all criminal history will be divulged. If the applicant fails to receive approval, the fee is retained for cost of processing.

Reinstate an Expired Tech Registration

Did your registration expire, or do you have an inactive registration?

  1. Using the link on the ALBOP homepage, create a Gateway profile if you have not already done so. For more instructions on how to do this, please view our “How to Create a New Gateway Profile” video tutorial.
  2. Once logged in to your Gateway, click the orange Pharmacy Technician tile. Then, click the “Reinstatement” button on the lefthand side.
    • You will need to upload your birth certificate (or US passport if not born in the United States), driver’s license, and current photo within the past 6 months.
  3. After your application is complete, you will need to submit payment within 7 days and upload all required documents within 30 days.
  4. Once you receive the email your reinstatement has been approved, log back in to your Gateway to print your registration.

Managing your Registration in the Gateway

Once logged in to the Gateway, you will be able to do the following:

  • Update name
  • Update contact info
  • Update employment
  • Print your registration
  • Request a license verification
  • Pay fee/fine

Continuing Education

Every pharmacy technician shall, prior to reregistration, complete 6 hours of CE, with 2 of those 6 hours being live. “Live” means it can be in-person or virtual, but it cannot be a pre-recorded CE. All CE must be ACPE accredited or approved by the Board at least 30 days prior to the activity.

It is the responsibility of each pharmacy technician to maintain and compile accurate records relating to all CE or activities they have attended and completed. It shall be the responsibility of each pharmacy technician to maintain above documentation and information pertaining to each renewal cycle for a period of two (2) years.

ALBOP shall randomly audit the CE documentation or information to be maintained or submitted by each pharmacy technician as described herein to assure compliance with these rules. Failure to maintain the documentation or information set forth in these rules or the submission of false or misleading information or documentation to the Board of Pharmacy or failure to submit requested documentation or information within the time specified by the Board may subject the pharmacy technician, on the first violation to a non-disciplinary administrative penalty authorized by Code of Ala. 1975, §34-23-132 an amount not less than twenty five dollars ($25.00) or more than one hundred dollars ($100.0) as determined by the board.

Attendees of board meetings, in person or virtually, may now receive CE credit. Please see process below to submit for credit.

  • Full name must be displayed on Webex, and you must sign in individually.
  • To claim your credit, you will need to complete a SignUpGenius survey. SignUpGenius link can be found on the website under About Us → Board Meetings → Claim CE Credit.
  • The passcode will be available during executive session and CLOSE at 11:59 pm the day after the board meeting.
  • Once SignUpGenius is completed, you will receive a confirmation email with details. Please retain this email for your CE records.
  • Each meeting is worth 1 live hour. You must be present the entirety of the meeting in order to claim credit.
  • Pharmacists can receive a max of 3 live hours/year for attending a Board meeting.
  • Technicians can receive a max of 1 live hour/year for attending a Board meeting.

Technician Training Rule

Please note this is NOT CE, so do not upload CE as completion of your tech training.

Overview

On August 31, 2020, the Board published changes to 680-X-2-.14 The Role of Technicians in Pharmacies in Alabama. All technicians receiving their initial registration on or after January 1, 2020 shall complete a Board-approved training program within the first six months after their registration and submit evidence of completion to the board within 10 days of completion. The technician and the employing pharmacy shall keep documentation of this training for a period of two years from the completion of the training. The passage of a Board recognized pharmacy technician certification examination shall be accepted as a training program. The training program shall be the responsibility of the technician and the pharmacy employing the technician. The Board of Pharmacy may issue a fine of up to one thousand ($1,000) to the pharmacy and revocation of the registration of a technician for violation of this rule.

Board-approved Training Programs

PTCB and NHA are both considered a Board-recognized pharmacy technician certification examination.

Offered to Employees OnlyOffered to Everyone
Baptist Health Montgomery
Brindley’s Family Pharmacy
Brooklere Pharmacy
Children’s of Alabama
Cleburne Pharmacy
Clearview Cancer Institute- email pharmtechtraining@ccihsv.com
CVS Health
Dalton Pharmacy Technician Training
DCH Regional Medical Center
East Alabama Medical Center
Emerging Home Care Pharmacy
Gadsden Regional
Health Mart
Huntsville Hospital
Ider Discount Drugs
Infirmary Health
Kroger
Marshall Medical Center
Omnicare
Optum Specialty Pharmacy
Publix Pharmacy
Section Pharmacy
Sylvania Pharmacy
UAB
USA Health
Walgreens
Walmart
123CPhT
Alabama Pharmacy Association
Alabama Pharmacy Tech
Aztec
Barton Community College
Calhoun Community College
CareerStep Pharmacy Technician Program (michele.jacobs@careerstep.com)
Condensed Curriculum International
Enterprise State
Fortis College
George C. Wallace Community College- Dothan
Innovative Pharmacy Solutions
J. Easter
Jefferson State
Lawson State Community College- Credit Program
Lawson State Community College- Noncredit Program
Lurleen B Wallace Community College
Penn Foster
Pharmacy Tech Scholar
Reid State Technical College
Ross College
Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy
The Capstone Institute
Therapeutic Research Center/TRC Healthcare
Tiger Trax Medical Solutions
Ultimate Medical Academy
Wallace State Community College

Steps for Notifying the Board of Completion

  1. Log in to your Gateway profile.
  2. Click the green Pharmacy Technician tile
  3. Click the “Add Technician Training” button on the lefthand side
  4. Complete that application and upload proof of your training.
  5. Once you receive an email of your training approval, you can log back in to your Gateway to print your training certificate.

Technician Vaccination Training Rule

Overview

680-X-2-.46 Immunization Training
(1) Purpose: The Alabama State Board of Pharmacy (Board) is charged with the duty and responsibility to maintain standards of professional conduct and to regulate professional practice and is further charged to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the State of Alabama. In conformity with this purpose, this rule shall provide guidelines for administering vaccinations by Alabama licensed pharmacists and/or registered interns, externs, and technicians.

(2) In order to administer immunizations, a pharmacist, intern, or extern must be licensed and/or registered
by the Alabama Board of Pharmacy and comply with the following requirements:
(a) The pharmacist, intern, and/or extern must have and maintain a current certificate in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
(b) The intern and/or extern must be under the direct supervision of an Alabama licensed pharmacist.


(3) Technicians must be registered by the Alabama Board of Pharmacy, in good standing, acting under the direct
supervision of an Alabama licensed pharmacist and in order to administer vaccines, shall comply with the following
requirements:
(a) The registered pharmacy technician must complete a minimum two (2) hours of Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) approved practical training program to include hands-on injection technique training, the recognition and treatment of emergency reactions to vaccines and successful examination to assure sufficient knowledge of vaccines;
(b) The registered technician must have a current certificate in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation; (c) The vaccine must be ordered by an Alabama licensed pharmacist or pursuant to a valid prescription;

(d) The Alabama licensed pharmacist must be readily and immediately available to the immunizing registered pharmacy technician;
(e) The registered technician shall submit to the Board of Pharmacy documentation of the satisfactory completion
of the requirements of (3)(a) within 10 days of completion.
(f) For each submission of the documentation referenced in paragraph e. above, the Secretary of the Board shall issue to the registered technician a certificate for immunization authority, which shall be displayed in a conspicuous place.


(4) The pharmacist, in his or her capacity and as part of their supervision of intern, extern, and/or technician shall report any adverse event required by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), including but not limited to:
(a) Any adverse event listed in the VAERS table of Reporting Events Following Vaccination within the listed
specified time period.
(b) Any adverse event listed by the vaccine manufacturer as a contraindication to further doses of the
vaccine.

(5) The pharmacist is further responsible to ensure, the following:
(a) The vaccine must be FDA-authorized or FDA-licensed;
(b) In the case of a designated emergency vaccine, the vaccine must be ordered and administered according to the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) vaccine recommendation(s);
(c) A childhood vaccine must be ordered and administered according to ACIP’s standard immunization schedule;
(d) Storage, use and administration of any sterile product used in the administration of immunizations meets the
United States Pharmacopeia (USP) requirements, as well as those of the Centers for Disease Control and any applicable provision of the Alabama Pharmacy Practice Act and/or any rules of the Board now in effect or which may become effective in the future;
(e) The pharmacy must have available an epinephrine kit (epinephrine in lmg/ml aqueous solution) or an epinephrine
autoinjector;
(f) Compliance with blood borne pathogen requirements, including, but not limited to medical waste disposal, and FDA-cleared sharps disposal containers;
(g) Compliance with all record keeping and reporting requirements, which are now in effect or may become required in the future.


(6) The licensed pharmacist must complete a minimum of two hours of Board approved, immunization-related continuing pharmacy education each renewal cycle.
(7) The supervising pharmacist shall ensure any pharmacists, interns, externs, and registered technicians prior
to providing immunizations completion of the immunization training set out above and is acting in compliance with all requirements of the rule.
(8) Any pharmacist, intern, extern, or technician performing immunizations without complying with this rule shall
be subject to discipline by the Board.

      Author: Donna C. Yeatman, R.Ph. Executive Secretary

      Statutory Authority:  Code of Ala. 1975, §§34-23-92.

      History:  New Rule: Published August 31, 2021; effective October 15, 2021

Steps for Notifying the Board of Completion

  1. Log in to your Gateway profile.
  2. Click the green Pharmacy Technician tile
  3. Click the “Add Vaccination Training” button on the lefthand side
  4. Complete that application and upload proof of your training.
  5. Once you receive an email of your training approval, you can log back in to your Gateway to print your vaccination certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is a pharmacy technician?

An individual, other than an intern, extern, or an assistant pharmacist, who performs pharmacy functions under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist.
Code of Ala. §34-23-130

2. What is the role of the pharmacy technician?

A pharmacy technician shall not perform pharmacy functions or be present in the prescription department of a pharmacy unless he or she is under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist. A pharmacy technician shall not perform pharmacy functions or be present in the prescription department of a pharmacy unless he or she is registered by the board.

When supervision is required, a licensed pharmacist shall be jointly responsible and liable for the actions of a pharmacy technician.
Ala. Admin. Rule 680-X-2-.14

3. Are there continuing education requirements for a pharmacy technician?

Pharmacy Technicians shall complete six (6) hours of continuing education within the renewal period, with two (2) of those hours being “live” presentation.
Code of Ala. §34-23-131(d)

4. If a technician chooses not to practice as a pharmacy technician any longer, are they required to keep their license current?

No. However, if that person wants to re-enter the pharmacy technician field in the future, they will have to pay back fees plus penalties (maximum of 5 years of penalties and fees) to get their lapsed license current. The person is not able to re-enter the technician profession using a new technician application.
Ala. Admin. Code 680-X-2-.14(10)

5. If a technician registers for the first time any time in the calendar year, are they required to obtain the full three (3) hours of continuing education the first year?

No. They will be required to obtain the full three (3) hours the first full year of registration.

6. When does a technician need to submit for a renewal registration?

Technician renewals are biennial on odd years. Registration starts October 1st and is null and void on December 31st of the expiring registration year.
Code of Ala. §34-23-131

Forms & Resources

Technician Training Verification Form

Technician Vaccination Training Completion Attestation Form


Technician Manual: Per Rule 680-X-2(5), written control procedures and guidelines for supervision of technicians by a licensed pharmacist and for performance of tasks by technicians shall be established and made available for review by the Board of Pharmacy.