Georgia Residential Light Commercial Contractor Exam

Georgia Residential Light Commercial Contractor Exam: What You Need to Know to Pass

You've done the work. Now you need the license. The Georgia residential light commercial contractor exam is the last gate between you and your contractor's license — 90 questions, 230 minutes, and a 70% passing score standing between you and the ability to run residential and light commercial jobs legally in Georgia. This article covers exactly what's on the exam, what to bring, how to register, and how to prepare so you don't waste a trip to the test center.

Georgia Residential Light Commercial Contractor Exam: The Basics

This exam is administered by PSI on behalf of the Georgia State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors. Here's what you're walking into:

• Questions: 90 scored questions
• Time: 230 minutes (just under 4 hours)
• Passing score: 70% — that's 63 correct answers out of 90
• Format: Open book, multiple choice
• Location: PSI test centers across Georgia

Note that some questions on the exam may be experimental items being piloted for future use. These don't count toward your score, but they do count against your time — so work at a steady pace from question one.

One more thing: this is not a standalone exam. To get your Georgia residential light commercial license, you also need to pass the Business & Law Exam. Both must be passed within your 1-year eligibility period.

What's Actually on the Exam

The exam is built around nine topic areas. Here's how they break down by number of questions — start your study time here, not at the end.

General Code and Construction Knowledge (20 questions) — The heaviest topic. Covers building permits, certificates of occupancy, occupancy classifications (IBC Groups A through U), types of construction, fire-resistance requirements, allowable building heights and areas, and egress calculations. Know the IBC cold.

Carpentry (16 questions) — Wall framing, floor systems, roof framing, wood trusses (BCSI requirements), and engineered wood products like LVL, glulam, and I-joists. Truss bracing details get tested more than people expect.

Roofing (10 questions) — Rafter layout and sizing using IRC R802 span tables, hip/valley/jack rafter calculations, sheathing requirements, and minimum slopes for asphalt shingles, tile, metal, shakes, and slate.

Associated Trades (10 questions) — Drywall types, installation methods, fastening, joint treatment, finishing levels, and both interior and exterior wall coverings.

Sitework, Footings and Foundation (8 questions) — Footing depth and frost protection, soil classification and presumptive load-bearing values, foundation wall types, grading and drainage, and compaction testing.

Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement (8 questions) — Mix design, water-cement ratios, Portland cement types, admixtures, rebar grades and identification, and formwork safety.

Masonry (6 questions) — Brick, CMU, and stone; mortar types and proportions; laying methods; and wall system types including cavity, composite, and veneer walls.

OSHA Safety (7 questions) — Fall protection (Subpart M), scaffolding (Subpart L), ladders and stairways (Subpart X), PPE (Subpart E), and excavation/trenching (Subpart P).

Metals (5 questions) — Steel deck types and fastening, open web steel joist designations (K-, LH-, DLH-, CJ-Series), erection bridging, OSHA 29 CFR 1926.757 compliance, and cold-formed steel framing.

Sample Questions

Here's a taste of what you'll see on the PSI Georgia light commercial contractor exam. Work through these — answers are not provided here, but you can check yourself on our free practice exam.

Question 1 — OSHA Safety
You are framing a two-story home and your crew is working on the second-floor deck near an unprotected edge. At what minimum height above a lower level does OSHA require fall protection for employees on walking/working surfaces with unprotected sides or edges?

A) 10 feet
B) 6 feet
C) 4 feet
D) 8 feet

Tests whether you know the OSHA construction-industry fall protection threshold — a number every contractor should have down cold.

Question 2 — Roofing
What is the default minimum net free ventilating area required for an enclosed attic space, expressed as a fraction of the area of the vented space?

A) 1/250
B) 1/300
C) 1/150
D) 1/100

Tests your recall of IRC ventilation requirements — the kind of detail the code specifies exactly.

Question 3 — Sitework, Footings and Foundation
What is the presumptive vertical foundation pressure for clay, sandy clay, silty clay, clayey silt, silt, and sandy silt soils?

A) 3,000 psf
B) 2,000 psf
C) 1,500 psf
D) 4,000 psf

Tests your ability to read the IBC soil classification table quickly.

Question 4 — Sitework, Footings and Foundation
What is the minimum cover required for steel reinforcement in concrete foundation walls cast directly against the earth?

A) 1½ inches
B) ¾ inch
C) 2 inches
D) 3 inches

Tests a specific concrete cover requirement — the kind of number the exam loves to put in multiple-choice format.

Question 5 — OSHA Safety
What is the maximum peak sound pressure level to which employees may be exposed from impulsive or impact noise on a construction site?

A) 115 dB
B) 120 dB
C) 130 dB
D) 140 dB

Tests your knowledge of OSHA's noise exposure limits for construction.

Know the answers? Start with our free 10-question free practice exam to see where you stand — no account required.

What Types of Questions to Expect

Our question bank has 958 practice questions covering every topic on the exam. Here's what each area looks like in practice:

• Sitework, Footings and Foundation (78 questions): Identifying soil types and their load-bearing values from tables, calculating footing sizes, determining frost depth requirements, and selecting the right foundation wall type for a given condition.
• Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement (65 questions): Matching admixture types to their purpose, identifying rebar grades from bar markings, selecting the correct water-cement ratio for durability, and applying formwork safety rules.
• Metals (36 questions): Identifying steel joist series by designation, selecting the correct deck fastening method, applying OSHA erection bridging requirements, and reading cold-formed steel member callouts.
• Masonry (53 questions): Selecting the correct mortar type for an application, identifying CMU wall configurations, and applying face shell bedding and joint requirements.
• Carpentry (167 questions): Sizing headers and beams, identifying rafter and truss components, applying BCSI bracing requirements, and selecting the right engineered lumber product for a span.
• Roofing (182 questions): Calculating rafter length, reading IRC R802 span tables, determining minimum slope for a given roofing material, and applying attic ventilation requirements.
• General Code and Construction Knowledge (240 questions): Classifying occupancy groups, determining allowable building area by construction type, calculating occupant loads, and identifying egress component requirements from the IBC.
• Associated Trades (81 questions): Selecting the right drywall type for a location (fire-rated, moisture-resistant, etc.), applying fastening schedules, and identifying finishing levels for different applications.
• OSHA Safety (56 questions): Applying fall protection height thresholds, determining scaffold capacity and planking requirements, selecting the right PPE for a task, and identifying excavation protective system requirements.

Required Study Materials

This exam is open book, so you need the right books — and you need to know how to use them fast. Here's what's on the approved reference list:

• IBC 2018 — The International Building Code is the backbone of the General Code section, which carries the most weight on the exam.
• IRC 2018 — The International Residential Code covers rafter sizing, ventilation, and many foundation requirements.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1926 — OSHA Standards for the Construction Industry. Know Subparts E, L, M, P, and X.
• Carpentry and Building Construction — The reference for framing, floor systems, and engineered wood.
• BCSI: Guide to Good Practice for Handling, Installing, Restraining, and Bracing of Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses — Truss bracing requirements show up on the exam. This is where those answers live.
• The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction — Covers mix design, admixtures, and placement practices.
• Modern Masonry — Brick, block, and stone reference for the Masonry section.
• Pipe and Excavation Contracting — Covers sitework, grading, and excavation topics.
• Gypsum Construction Handbook — The go-to for drywall types, installation, and finishing levels.
• Technical Digest 9 — Handling and erection of steel joists and joist girders.
• SDI Manual of Construction with Steel Deck — Steel deck types, profiles, and fastening methods.

For organizing your books, Redi-Tag Permanent Colored Tabs let you color-code by topic so you can flip to the right section in seconds. Pair them with Sharpie Highlighters to mark critical tables and figures — the wide barrel and fluorescent ink make key data jump off the page.

Study Tips That Actually Work

Tab and highlight everything. On an open-book exam, the winners aren't the smartest people in the room — they're the fastest at finding answers. Tab every major section, highlight every table you'll need, and learn the index until you can land on any topic in seconds. That speed is what separates a pass from a fail.

Work questions in two passes. Answer what you know, skip what you don't, and flag it. Then go back. Don't burn five minutes on one question while 20 more sit unanswered. The clock is always running.

Give yourself three to six weeks. Use the official exam bulletin as your roadmap. Focus your time on finding answers fast, not memorizing everything cold. Aim for 80% or better on practice runs — setting your bar above the real 70% cut score gives you room to breathe on test day.

Practice with the clock running. Timed practice kills exam anxiety. Use our full practice exam to build your pacing so the format feels routine by test day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the exam cost?
The Residential – Light Commercial Contractor exam fee is $72. The Business & Law Exam has a separate fee of $60. You need to pass both.

How many questions are on the exam and how long do I have?
The exam has 90 scored questions and a 230-minute time limit. Some questions may be unscored experimental items that still count against your time, so keep your pace steady.

What is the passing score?
You need to answer at least 70% of questions correctly — that's a minimum of 63 correct answers out of 90.

How do I register?
First, get your application approved by the State Licensing Board. Find the board at the state licensing website. Once approved, register through the exam registration page — available 24 hours a day online — or call PSI at (855) 744-0314 (Mon–Fri 7:30 am–10:00 pm, Sat–Sun 9:00 am–5:30 pm ET).

What's the retake policy?
On your first approval, you get 2 attempts within the 1-year eligibility period. Fail both, and you must wait at least 1 year after your last attempt before testing again. On subsequent approvals, you get only 1 attempt per period.

How long is my eligibility valid?
One year from the date of your approval letter. If you don't pass within that window, you must reapply with the Board.

Is the exam open book?
Yes. You can bring approved references into the test center. Books must not be written in and may only be tabbed with permanent tabs — no sticky notes or loose papers.

Can I bring a calculator?
Yes — battery-operated, silent, non-printing, non-programmable, and no alphabetic keyboard.

What ID do I need?
One government-issued photo ID with your name, signature, and photograph. A driver's license, state ID, U.S. passport, military ID, or Alien Registration Card all work. No temporary IDs, no expired IDs.

What exams do I need to pass for the full license?
Both the Residential – Light Commercial Contractor Exam and the Business & Law Exam. Pass one and fail the other, and you only retake the failed exam — as long as you're still within your eligibility period.

Start Preparing Today

The Georgia residential light commercial license exam is challenging, but it's completely passable with the right prep. Get your books, tab them, and start running practice questions with the clock on. Begin with our free practice exam — 10 questions, no account needed, no cost. When you're ready for serious prep, upgrade to the full practice exam: 90 questions, same time limit, same topic breakdown as the real thing, with a score breakdown so you know exactly where to focus. You've got 958 practice questions available across all nine topic areas. Use them.