The PTCE® Content Outline, 2020 vs 2026, on One Page
The PTCE® has used a new content outline since January 6, 2026. Federal Requirements grew from 10 to 15 of the 80 scored questions, Medications fell from 32 to 28, three knowledge areas left and one arrived. This page puts the 2020 and 2026 outlines side by side on one printable sheet, sourced to PTCB®'s own documents.
Last reviewed November 2, 2026. Next scheduled review: February 2027, or sooner if PTCB announces a new outline.
Domain weights and scored items
PTCB states that "the updated PTCE Content Outline retains the same four domains and total test length." The weights moved.
| Domain | 2020 weight | 2026 weight | 2020 scored items | 2026 scored items | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Medications | 40.00% | 35.00% | 32 | 28 | −4 |
| 2. Federal Requirements | 12.50% | 18.75% | 10 | 15 | +5 |
| 3. Patient Safety and Quality Assurance | 26.25% | 23.75% | 21 | 19 | −2 |
| 4. Order Entry and Processing | 21.25% | 22.50% | 17 | 18 | +1 |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 80 | 80 | 0 |
Scored items are each weight multiplied by 80, the number of scored questions on the 90-question exam (the other 10 are unscored pretest items). Every weight in both outlines divides into 80 with no remainder. Federal Requirements is the largest shift: five more questions, a 50% relative increase.
Knowledge areas removed, added and reworded
| Change | Knowledge area |
|---|---|
| Removed | Nonsterile compounding: knowledge areas 1.9 and 4.1 of the 2020 outline |
| Removed | "Alligations," from the 2020 calculations area (4.2) |
| Removed | 1.8, Narrow Therapeutic Index (NTI) medications |
| Added | 2.6, FDA product serialization, tracking, tracing, handling and quarantining requirements (the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, DSCSA) |
| Reworded | 1.2, "therapeutic equivalence" became "therapeutic duplications" |
| Narrowed | 1.6 no longer says "and dietary supplements" |
| Expanded | 3.4 adds VAERS and CQI |
| Expanded | The waste-handling area now names P-list wastes |
The first four rows are PTCB's own list of notable changes. The last four are in the 2026 outline but not on that list.
Still testable under the 2026 outline
| The heading that left | What is still on the exam, and where |
|---|---|
| Alligations | Concentration and dilution math (C₁V₁ = C₂V₂), in 4.1 |
| Nonsterile compounding | Reconstitutables, oral suspensions and insulins, under drug stability (1.7) |
| The NTI knowledge area | Warfarin, digoxin, levothyroxine and phenytoin, under interactions and contraindications (1.3) and high-alert and look-alike/sound-alike medications (3.1) |
PTCB says it directly: "Information about NTI medications may still be covered in other areas, if relevant." Calculation questions are not limited to one domain either. The 2026 outline marks nine knowledge areas, across all four domains, as calculation-based.
Sources, and why the 2020 column is fragile
- 2026 column: PTCB, PTCE Content Outline, effective January 6, 2026 (archived copy). The PDF's footer reads "v1.4 - August 2024": PTCB's Certification Council approved the outline in August 2024, and it took effect January 6, 2026.
- Change list: PTCB, PTCE job analysis study.
- 2020 column: the only primary source that still prints all four 2020 weights is PTCB's older Candidate Guidebook, Appendix C (last updated February 24, 2025), which has not yet been updated to the 2026 outline. PTCB's 2018 announcement of the 2020 outline does not list the four numbers. When PTCB revises the guidebook, the 2020 column will have no live primary source; we keep a verbatim record of it.
Use the outline for content and the guidebook for policy (fees, windows, retakes). That split is why so many study materials still print the 2020 weights.
Using this table
Print it, pin it, or link to it. For what each change means for your studying, see the PTCE exam page. For a study plan built on the 2026 counts, start with the study guide. We wrote all 260 items in our practice bank against the 2026 outline; the free full-length practice test is 90 items in 110 minutes, weighted 28 / 15 / 19 / 18.