Colorado pharmacies

Colorado is two rules in one. RxShift checks both, every shift.

A headcount cap on techs and interns together, and a separate certification-composition requirement that kicks in once your crew gets to 3 technicians. RxShift tracks intern status and certification level and flags either rule the moment a shift would break it.

The rules

How Colorado’s ratio and certification rules work.

6 technicians and interns combined per pharmacist, no more than 2 of whom may be interns

Once 3 or more technicians are on duty a majority of them must be fully certified

Every technician on duty at that point must hold at least a provisional certification — no exceptions

Pharmacy interns and technicians share one combined headcount cap in Colorado, but they’re not interchangeable — no more than two of that six may be interns, and interns don’t count toward the certification rule at all. That rule only looks at technicians: once three or more are on duty, a majority must be fully certified, and Colorado has no legal category for a working technician holding neither full nor at least provisional certification.

RxShift tracks each person’s role — technician, intern, or trainee — and their certification level, and checks both the headcount cap and the certification requirement for every shift before you publish, on every location.

Read the official regulation

Last verified 2026-07-18

Current · Enforced

C.R.S. 12-280-122

View the source ↗

Always verify against the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy’s current language before relying on it.

Managing a Colorado pharmacy?

See how RxShift tracks certification level and intern status and applies both of Colorado's rules on every shift. About 20 minutes.