PTCB pharmacy law practice test: federal requirements

Federal Requirements is 18.75% of the 2026 PTCE, up from 12.5%: about 15 of the 80 scored questions on controlled substance schedules and prescriptions, refills, partial fills and transfers, DEA forms, inventories and records, hazardous drugs and waste, the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, HIPAA, pseudoephedrine limits, REMS and recalls. The free drill below is 12 original questions.

18.75%
of the 2026 PTCE: +6.25
points of weight since 2020: 17
questions in our mock: 12
questions in the free drill

Last checked 22 October 2026 · Domain weight from ptcb.org; rules from 21 CFR, the FDA and the DEA

Free pharmacy law drill: 12 original PTCB-style questions at the real exam's pace, then every answer explained. No sign-up.

12
questions
14:40
time limit
Free
every answer explained

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 22 October 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What pharmacy law is on the PTCB exam?

Federal law only: the Controlled Substances Act and the DEA rules in 21 CFR, the FDA's rules on recalls, REMS and the DSCSA, the CMEA for pseudoephedrine, HIPAA privacy, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act and the rules for hazardous drugs and waste.

The PTCE is a national exam, so it tests federal law, not your state's. Where a state rule is stricter (a shorter prescription expiry, a technician ratio), the stricter rule applies at work, but the exam answer is the federal one. Read each question for the word "federal".

This domain grew more than any other in 2026, and it is the one where a single card of numbers wins the most points. Most questions turn on a time limit, a count or a form number.

What controlled substance rules do pharmacy technicians need to know?

The schedules and what each allows: no refills for Schedule II, up to 5 refills in 6 months for III and IV, refills as authorized for V, the 72-hour and 30-day partial fill windows, one transfer for III to V, and the DEA forms for ordering, loss and destruction.

The federal rules asked about most
Rule	Federal requirement	Source
Schedule II refills	None; a new prescription each time	21 CFR 1306.12
Schedule III and IV refills	Up to 5, within 6 months of the date written	21 CFR 1306.22
Schedule V refills	As the prescriber authorizes	21 CFR 1306.22
C-II partial fill, pharmacy short	Balance within 72 hours, or notify the prescriber	21 CFR 1306.13(a)
C-II partial fill, patient or prescriber asks	Balance within 30 days of the date written	21 CFR 1306.13(b)
Emergency oral C-II order	Written prescription to the pharmacy within 7 days	21 CFR 1306.11(d)
C-III to V transfer	Once only, unless the pharmacies share a real-time online database	21 CFR 1306.25
Ordering Schedule I and II	DEA Form 222, or CSOS electronically	21 CFR part 1305
Theft or significant loss	DEA Form 106; written notice within 1 business day of discovery	21 CFR 1301.76(b)
Destruction	DEA Form 41	21 CFR 1317
Inventory	Initial, then every 2 years; exact count for C-II	21 CFR 1304.11
Records	Kept at least 2 years	21 CFR 1304.04

Learn the schedules with examples: Schedule II includes oxycodone, hydrocodone combinations (moved from III in 2014), morphine, fentanyl, methylphenidate and amphetamine salts; Schedule III includes buprenorphine, testosterone and codeine with acetaminophen; Schedule IV includes the benzodiazepines, zolpidem, tramadol and carisoprodol; Schedule V includes pregabalin, lacosamide and low-strength codeine cough syrups. Gabapentin is not federally controlled, though some states schedule it.

PTCB-style question 1 · Refills
An alprazolam prescription was written on January 15, 2026 with 5 refills. Under federal law, what is the last date a refill may be dispensed?
1. AJanuary 15, 2027
2. BJuly 15, 2026
3. CApril 15, 2026
4. DJune 15, 2026
Worked answer
B: July 15, 2026. Alprazolam is Schedule IV. Schedule III and IV prescriptions may be refilled up to 5 times and not after 6 months from the date written: January 15 plus 6 months is July 15, 2026.
1. Schedule: alprazolam is C-IV.
2. Rule: up to 5 refills within 6 months of the date written.
3. January 15, 2026 + 6 months = July 15, 2026.
The trap: Using one year, the rule many states use for non-controlled prescriptions. Controlled III to V is 6 months.
PTCB-style question 2 · Partial fills
At 9:00 a.m. on Monday, the pharmacy can supply only 20 of 60 hydrocodone/acetaminophen tablets on a valid prescription, and the patient did not ask for a partial fill. By when must the other 40 be supplied?
1. A9:00 a.m. Wednesday
2. B9:00 a.m. Thursday
3. CWithin 30 days of the date written
4. DBy the end of next week
Show the worked answer
B: 9:00 a.m. Thursday. Hydrocodone combinations are Schedule II. When the pharmacy is short, the balance must be supplied within 72 hours; otherwise the pharmacist notifies the prescriber and no more may be dispensed on that prescription. Monday 9:00 a.m. plus 72 hours is Thursday 9:00 a.m.
1. Schedule II, and the pharmacy is short: the 72-hour rule applies.
2. Monday 9:00 a.m. + 72 hours = Thursday 9:00 a.m.
3. The 30-day window is only for partial fills the patient or prescriber asks for.
The trap: Using 30 days. That window, from CARA 2016, applies when the patient or prescriber requests the partial fill.

Four law drills, new numbers each time

Eight full mocks and four Federal Requirements drills, with dates, quantities and DEA numbers changed in every one.

The PTCB Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 16 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The PTCB Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the PTCB Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

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topic drills: 1
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How do you check a DEA number?

Add the 1st, 3rd and 5th digits; add the 2nd, 4th and 6th and double that sum; add the two results. The last digit of the total must match the 7th digit, and the second letter should match the prescriber's last name.

Odd places: add the 1st, 3rd and 5th digits.
Even places: add the 2nd, 4th and 6th digits, then double the sum.
Add the two results. The last digit of the total is the check digit.
Compare it with the 7th digit, and check the second letter against the prescriber's last name (or the first letter of a business name).

The check catches typos and crude forgeries; it does not prove a prescription is legitimate. A number that passes still needs the usual professional judgement, and that judgement belongs to the pharmacist.

PTCB-style question 1 · DEA numbers
Dr. Maria Lopez writes a prescription for oxycodone. Which DEA number could be hers?
1. AAL3528419
2. BAM3528417
3. CAL3528417
4. DAL3528471
Worked answer
C: AL3528417. Add the 1st, 3rd and 5th digits: 3 + 2 + 4 = 9. Add the 2nd, 4th and 6th and double: (5 + 8 + 1) × 2 = 28. 9 + 28 = 37, so the check digit is 7. The second letter must be L for Lopez, so AL3528417.
1. Odd places: 3 + 2 + 4 = 9.
2. Even places doubled: (5 + 8 + 1) × 2 = 28.
3. Total 37: the last digit, 7, must be the check digit. Second letter L for Lopez.
The trap: Checking only the arithmetic. AM3528417 passes the check digit but has M, not L, as the second letter.

What is the DSCSA on the PTCB exam?

The Drug Supply Chain Security Act, new on the 2026 outline: trading partners exchange transaction information, history and statements, buy only from authorized partners, keep records for 6 years, and quarantine and investigate suspect product, notifying the FDA within 24 hours of finding a product illegitimate.

The product identifier on each package is the NDC, a serial number, the lot number and the expiration date, usually in a 2D bar code.
Transaction information lists the product, strength, form, NDC, container size and count, lot, and the dates; the transaction statement is the seller's attestation that it followed the law.
Suspect product is quarantined and investigated. Illegitimate product is reported to the FDA (Form FDA 3911) and to trading partners within 24 hours.
Recalls: Class I can cause serious harm or death; Class II temporary or reversible harm; Class III is unlikely to cause harm. Pull the recalled lots, quarantine them and follow the notice.

What other federal laws are on the PTCB exam?

HIPAA privacy, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act limits on pseudoephedrine, REMS programs such as iPLEDGE, child-resistant packaging under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, OBRA-90 counseling, and USP <800> and EPA rules for hazardous drugs and waste.

CMEA: 3.6 g of base a day and 9 g in 30 days at retail (7.5 g in 30 days by mail order), kept behind the counter, photo ID and a logbook kept 2 years.
HIPAA: share only the minimum necessary, give the Notice of Privacy Practices, and never confirm a patient's information to someone without the right to it. Sharing for treatment between providers is allowed.
PPPA: child-resistant packaging unless the patient or prescriber asks otherwise; sublingual nitroglycerin is exempt.
REMS: FDA-required safety programs; some restrict which pharmacies may dispense, as iPLEDGE does for isotretinoin.
Hazardous drugs: the NIOSH list, USP <800> handling, and EPA rules that ban flushing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.

PTCB-style question 1 · Pseudoephedrine
A customer has bought 6 g of pseudoephedrine base at your store in the past 30 days, none of it today. What is the most more you may sell them today?
1. A3.6 g
2. B3 g
3. C1.5 g
4. DNone
Worked answer
B: 3 g. Retail sales are limited to 3.6 g of base a day and 9 g in 30 days. 9 g minus the 6 g already bought leaves 3 g, which is under the 3.6 g daily cap, so 3 g is the most.
1. 30-day limit: 9 g. Already bought: 6 g. Room left: 3 g.
2. Daily limit: 3.6 g. 3 g is under it.
3. The smaller limit wins: 3 g.
The trap: Selling the full daily 3.6 g. Both limits apply, and the 30-day limit is the one that binds here.

Practise the whole domain in the free drill above, then take the full PTCB practice test. For how much this domain matters to your score, see PTCB passing score, and for the rest of the exam, the PTCB exam guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does the PTCB test state law?

No. The PTCE tests federal law. Your state may be stricter at work, but the exam answer follows federal rules.

How many refills can a Schedule III prescription have?

Up to 5, within 6 months of the date written, under federal law.

Which DEA form is used to order Schedule II drugs?

DEA Form 222, or its electronic equivalent through CSOS.

Is gabapentin a controlled substance?

Not under federal law, though several states have scheduled it or require reporting.

Are these real PTCB questions?

No. They are original PTCB-style questions written from 21 CFR, FDA and DEA sources. LifeScore is not affiliated with PTCB.

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