1. (a) General. Effective June 1, 2004, all persons employed as pharmacy technicians must be either registered pharmacy technicians or pharmacy technician trainees as follows.

   1. (1) All persons who have passed the required pharmacy technician certification examination must be registered with the board under the provisions of this section.
   2. (2) All persons who have not taken and passed the required pharmacy certification examination shall be designated pharmacy technician trainees under the provisions of §297.5 of this title (relating to Pharmacy Technician Trainees).

2. (b) Initial registration.

   1. (1) Each applicant for registration shall:

      1. (A) have a high school or equivalent diploma, e.g., GED, or be currently enrolled in a program which awards such a diploma; and

      2. (B) either have:

         1. (i) taken and passed the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board's National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination or other examination approved by the board and have a current certification certificate; or
         2. (ii) been granted an exemption from certification by the board as specified in §297.7 of this title (relating to Exemption from Pharmacy Technician Certification Requirements); and
      3. (C) complete the Texas application for registration. Any fraudulent statement made in the application is grounds for denial of the application; if such application is granted, any fraudulent statement is grounds for suspension or revocation of any registration granted by the board; and
      4. (D) pay the registration fee specified in §297.4 of this title (relating to Fees).
   2. (2) New pharmacy technician registrations shall be assigned an expiration date and the fee shall be prorated based on the assigned expiration date.
   3. (3) Once an applicant has successfully completed all requirements of registration, and the board has determined there are no grounds to refuse registration, the applicant will be notified of registration as a pharmacy technician and of his or her pharmacy technician registration number.

3. (c) Renewal.

   1. (1) All applicants for renewal shall:

      1. (A) complete the Texas application for registration. Any fraudulent statement made in the application is ground for suspension or revocation of any registration renewed by the board;
      2. (B) pay the renewal fee specified in §297.4 of this title; and
      3. (C) complete 20 contact hours of continuing education per renewal period in as specified in §297.8 of this title (relating to Continuing Education).
   2. (2) A pharmacy technician registration expires on the last day of the assigned expiration month.
   3. (3) If the completed application and renewal fee is not received in the board's office on or before the last day of the assigned expiration month, the person's pharmacy technician registration shall expire. A person shall not practice as a pharmacy technician with an expired registration.
   4. (4) If a pharmacy technician registration has expired, the person may renew the registration by paying to the board the renewal fee and a delinquent fee that is equal to the renewal fee as specified in §297.4 of this title.
   5. (5) If a pharmacy technician registration has expired for more than one year, the pharmacy technician may not renew the registration and must complete the requirements for initial registration as specified in subsection (b) of this section.
   6. (6) After review, the board may determine that paragraph (5) of this subsection does not apply if the registrant is the subject of a pending investigation or disciplinary action.

Source Note:The provisions of this §297.3 adopted to be effective December 23, 2003, 28 TexReg 11264.