Tennessee BC Combined Residential/Commercial/Industrial Contractor

Tennessee BC Combined Residential/Commercial/Industrial Contractor Exam: Complete 2026 Study Guide

You've built things with your hands for years. Now it's time to make it official. The Tennessee BC contractor exam — formally the Tennessee BC Combined Residential/Commercial/Industrial Contractor exam — is what stands between you and a license that lets you work across residential, commercial, and industrial projects in the state. It's a serious test, but it's also open book, which changes everything about how you prepare. This guide walks you through exactly what's on the exam, what books to bring, how to study smart, and where to practice before test day.

Tennessee BC Contractor Exam: The Basics

The trade portion of the TN BC residential commercial industrial exam has 100 scored questions and a 300-minute time limit — that's five full hours. You need to answer 73 out of 100 questions correctly (73%) to pass.

The exam is administered by PSI at their testing centers. It is open book, meaning you bring your own approved references. You won't be writing anything in those books, but you can highlight, underline, and add permanent tabs — and you absolutely should before test day.

Note that Tennessee requires two separate exam portions to become licensed: the Trade Portion (covered in this guide) and the Business & Law portion. Each carries its own exam fee.

For full registration details, visit the official exam bulletin or the state licensing website.

Topics Covered on the Tennessee BC Combined Building Contractor Exam

The 100 questions are distributed across nine topic areas. Here's the breakdown, ordered by how much weight each carries on the real exam:

• General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating — 27 items (the biggest section by far)
• Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement — 15 items
• Sitework, Footings, and Foundation — 10 items
• Masonry — 10 items
• Metals — 10 items
• Associated Trades — 10 items
• Carpentry — 6 items
• Roofing — 6 items
• OSHA Safety — 6 items

General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating is the single heaviest section — 27% of your exam. Concrete and Reinforcement is next at 15 questions. These two areas alone account for 42 of your 100 questions. Don't neglect the smaller sections, but know where the most points are on the table.

Sample Questions from the Tennessee BC Practice Exam

Here's a look at the kinds of questions you'll see. These are drawn directly from the BC Combined exam content. Work through them yourself — and no peeking at the answers. You'll find out how you did when you take the free practice exam.

Question 1 — Masonry (Estimation)

How many blocks should be ordered with the printed 5% waste? (Figure MW-3)
A) 260 blocks
B) 248 blocks
C) 273 blocks
D) 303 blocks

Question 2 — Masonry (Estimation)

How many bricks should be ordered, adding the printed 5% waste? (Figure MW-5)
A) 2,120 bricks
B) 2,552 bricks
C) 2,019 bricks
D) 2,221 bricks

These two questions test your ability to read a figure, calculate material quantities, and apply a standard waste factor — a core estimation skill.

Question 3 — Carpentry (Plan Reading / Takeoff)

How many lineal feet of plate stock are needed for the exterior walls, and how many 16-ft pieces is that? (Figure WF-1)
A) 384 lin ft; 24 pieces
B) 512 lin ft; 32 pieces
C) 108 lin ft; 7 pieces
D) 384 lin ft; 26 pieces

Question 4 — Associated Trades (Drywall / Applied Knowledge)

You are a carpenter installing drywall in a large open-plan office. The architect is concerned about potential cracking due to thermal and hygrometric expansion along the long partition runs. What installation measure should you recommend to relieve stress and minimize cracking in these areas?
A) Use thicker drywall panels throughout the entire partition
B) Increase the number of fasteners at each stud location
C) Install control joints for relief in long partition runs and large ceiling areas
D) Apply additional layers of joint compound over all joints

Question 5 — Roofing (Code Application)

When secondary emergency overflow scuppers are installed in parapet walls, the scuppers must have a minimum opening height of:
A) 2 inches
B) 4 inches
C) 3 inches
D) 6 inches

Questions 4 and 5 move beyond simple lookup. They ask you to apply code knowledge and construction logic to a real scenario. Knowing where to find the answer fast matters just as much as knowing the answer itself.

What Types of Questions to Expect (By Topic)

Our full practice question bank has 766 questions across all nine topic areas. Here's what you'll face in each, along with the number of practice questions we've built for it:

• General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating (196 practice questions): Occupancy classifications, building height and area limits, construction types under the IBC, reading architectural and structural drawings, and quantity takeoffs. The largest section on both the real exam and in our practice bank.
• Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement (126 practice questions): Mix design and proportioning, admixture selection (air-entraining, water-reducing, accelerating, retarding), supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash and silica fume, and reinforcing bar placement.
• Masonry (83 practice questions): Material identification (brick, CMU, AAC, stone), mortar type selection (M, S, N, O, K), grout requirements, wall system design, and ACI/TMS 402 allowable stress vs. strength design.
• Sitework, Footings, and Foundation (75 practice questions): Soil classification, bearing capacity, excavation safety under OSHA Subpart P, footing sizing, and foundation types.
• Associated Trades (75 practice questions): Drywall types and installation levels, plumbing supply and DWV systems, HVAC equipment and duct construction, fuel gas piping, and electrical branch circuits with GFCI/AFCI requirements.
• Carpentry (60 practice questions): Wall framing components, floor framing systems, roof framing types (common, hip, valley, jack rafters, trusses), and sheathing and bracing requirements.
• Roofing (60 practice questions): Rafter layout, span tables, underlayment and ice barrier requirements, and installation methods for asphalt shingles, metal roofing, built-up systems, and elastomeric membranes.
• Metals (50 practice questions): Steel joist designations (K-Series, LH-Series, DLH-Series, joist girders), erection bridging, handling and storage requirements, column anchorage, and steel deck types (composite, roof, form, cellular).
• OSHA Safety (41 practice questions): Fall protection systems, scaffolding requirements, excavation cave-in protection, PPE selection, and hazard communication.

Required Study Materials for the Tennessee BC Exam

Because the exam is open book, your references are literally your tools in the test room. You need to own them, know them, and have them tabbed before exam day.

Here's the full list of approved books you'll want to bring:

• IBC 2021 — International Building Code: The backbone of the General Code section. 27 questions touch this material.
• IRC 2021 — International Residential Code: Essential for residential framing, energy, and mechanical sections.
• OSHA 29 CFR Part 1926: Your reference for all OSHA safety questions and excavation requirements.
• Carpentry and Building Construction: Covers framing systems, structural methods, and sheathing.
• Roofing Construction and Estimating: Rafter layout, roof systems, and material installation.
• Modern Masonry — Brick, Block, Stone (9th ed.): Mortar types, wall systems, and masonry design.
• Pipe and Excavation Contracting (Revised): Sitework, utilities, and excavation safety.
• Gypsum Construction Handbook (7th ed.): Drywall types, framing, fastening, and finishing levels.
• Technical Digest No. 9 — Steel Joists and Joist Girders (4th ed.): Joist designations, erection bridging, and handling requirements.
• SDI Manual of Construction with Steel Deck: Deck types, profiles, and installation details.
• Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures (16th ed.): Mix design, admixtures, and supplementary cementitious materials.

Get all of these before you start studying. You can't practice finding answers in a book you don't own yet.

Study Tips for the Tennessee BC Combined Contractor Exam

Speed is your real skill on an open-book exam. The winners aren't the people with the most experience — they're the ones who can land on the right page in seconds. Highlight your books, add permanent tabs, and memorize the index and table of contents until flipping to any topic feels automatic.

Work through every question once, then come back. Answer what you know, mark what you're unsure about, and keep moving. Don't let any single question eat five minutes when 99 others are waiting. This is how you protect your time without guessing blind.

Give yourself three to six weeks minimum. Use the official exam bulletin as your roadmap — it tells you exactly what topics and subtopics are tested. Spend your study time on finding it fast, not on memorizing everything cold.

Set your practice bar above 73%. Aim to hit 80% or higher on timed practice attempts before you schedule the real thing. Three clean passes at that level gives you a comfortable margin on exam day.

Practice under the clock. Five hours feels like a lot until you're in the room. Timed practice sessions build pacing, reduce anxiety, and help you learn when to move on. By test day, the format should feel routine — not stressful.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the Tennessee BC Combined Residential/Commercial/Industrial Contractor exam cost?
The exam has two separate portions — Trade and Business & Law — each costing $57, for a total of $114. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Don't pay until you're ready to schedule.

How many questions are on the trade exam, and how long do I have?
The BC trade exam has 100 questions with a 300-minute (5-hour) time limit.

What is the passing score?
You need 73 correct answers out of 100 (73%) to pass.

How do I register?
Register online at the exam registration page or call PSI at (855) 868-1882. Phone registration is available Monday–Friday 6:30 AM to 9:00 PM, and Saturday–Sunday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (Central Time).

Is the exam open book?
Yes. You bring your own approved references. Books may be highlighted, underlined, and tabbed with permanent tabs, but may not have anything written in them.

What references are allowed?
Approved materials include the IBC 2021, IRC 2021, OSHA 29 CFR 1926, Carpentry and Building Construction, Roofing Construction and Estimating, Modern Masonry, Pipe and Excavation Contracting, Gypsum Construction Handbook, Technical Digest No. 9, SDI Manual of Construction with Steel Deck, Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, along with several additional ACI and precast references. A silent non-programmable calculator and a construction calculator are also permitted.

What ID do I need?
One valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that includes your signature — a driver's license, U.S. passport, military ID, or similar. Temporary or paper versions are not accepted.

What if I fail — how soon can I retest?
You can't reschedule on the same day you tested. Fail on a Monday, and you can call Tuesday and test as soon as Wednesday, subject to available space.

Will I lose my fee if I wait too long to test?
Yes. If you don't test within one year of PSI receiving your fee, the fee is forfeited. Schedule and sit the exam within that window.

Start Preparing Today

The Tennessee BC contractor exam is challenging, but it's not a mystery. The topic list is published, the books are the same every time, and every question has an answer that's somewhere in your references. Your job is to get fast enough to find them all in five hours.

Start by taking our free practice exam — 10 questions, no account needed, and a solid introduction to the format and style. When you're ready to go deeper, upgrade to the full practice exam: 100 questions, same time limit as the real thing, and a detailed topic-by-topic score breakdown so you know exactly where to focus before test day.

You've done the hard work on the job site for years. Now put in the time at the desk, and go get licensed.