Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) Exam: Complete 2026 Study Guide
The Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) is a business and law test standing between you and your Class A license. It is Part 3 of the Class A examination combination, and it is not part of the Class B combination.
This is not a trade knowledge test. Nobody asks you how to frame a wall. They ask you how to price the job, write the contract, pay the crew, file the taxes and protect your lien rights. Plenty of good builders have never had to calculate a quick ratio or explain what retainage is. Read on and you will know what is on it and how to get ready.
Virginia Class A Contractor Exam Overview
Here is the format, scoring and policy information for the Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) in one place.
| Questions | 24 questions |
| Time limit | 1 hour |
| Passing score | 17 correct answers out of 24 scored questions |
| Books in the exam room | Open book |
| Exam fee | The examination fee is $40 for one portion, $72 for two portions and $85 for three portions. |
On exam day
- Candidates must present one valid, non-expired, signature-bearing photo ID matching the name used to register, from the bulletin's list of acceptable documents.
- Candidates should arrive at the examination site at least 30 minutes before their appointment.
- All examinations are open book, candidates must bring their own bound, unmarked references, and study guides, sample examinations, loose papers and unbound references are not permitted.
- References may be highlighted, underlined and indexed beforehand and tabbed with permanent tabs only, but any writing in a reference makes it inadmissible.
- Handheld calculators are prohibited items at the examination.
- Test center candidates receive an LCD writing tablet for notes that must be returned at check-out, remote candidates may not use scratch paper, and a long list of personal items including electronic devices and writing materials is prohibited.
References you may bring
- NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business Law and Project Management, Virginia (11th edition)
Scheduling, changes and retakes
- Candidates schedule the examination online at PSI's registration website or by telephone with a PSI registrar at (855) 340-3910.
- An appointment may be cancelled and rescheduled without forfeiting the fee if notice is received two days before the scheduled examination date, and voicemail or email is not an acceptable form of cancellation.
- Missing the appointment, not being checked in by the scheduled start time, arriving late or failing to present proper identification causes forfeiture of the examination fee.
- A retake cannot be scheduled on the same day as the examination taken, but unsuccessful candidates may be able to retest within two business days depending on space availability.
- After passing, the candidate applies to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, which issues the license once all requirements are verified.
Source: Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation Contractor Examination Candidate Information Bulletin, 6/5/2024. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.
Topics Covered on the Virginia Class A Advanced Exam
Nine topics, weighted very differently. Study by weight, not by chapter order.
Financial Management — 5 items (21%). The biggest block. Expect ratio math (quick ratio, working capital, profit margin), straight-line depreciation, net pay after deductions, percentage of completion earnings, the order of the accounting cycle steps, cash versus accrual timing, which journal records payroll, which financial statement a lender wants, and the disadvantages of the completed contract method. Many of these are calculations. Know the formulas cold.
Contract Management — 4 items (17%). What Virginia requires in a residential written contract, when to use a unit-price versus lump-sum versus cost-plus contract, what retainage is and why the owner holds it, how liquidated damages work and what they replace, differing site conditions, what belongs on a change order, mediation versus arbitration, and why a counteroffer is not an acceptance.
Labor Laws — 4 items (17%). Virginia New Hire Reporting deadlines, ADA employer coverage thresholds, what Virginia's Right-to-Work Law permits and prohibits, unemployment insurance rates for out-of-state contractors, child labor penalties, required workplace postings, what the FLSA does not cover, and the Form I-9 completion window.
Federal and State Taxes — 4 items (17%). Who needs an EIN and who does not, the self-employment tax threshold, federal deposit schedules for a first-year business, late deposit penalty rates, Form 1099-MISC thresholds and due dates, Virginia withholding filing frequency and which VA form goes with it, which taxes belong to an S corporation versus its shareholders, FUTA carry-forward rules, and the next-banking-day deposit trigger.
Safety — 2 items (8%). Guardrail strength requirements, stairway handrail and stairrail triggers, the reporting window for hospitalizations, flammable liquid storage room ventilation, and the permissible noise exposure formula.
Risk Management — 2 items (8%). Equipment floater policies, professional liability filling the gap left by a CGL policy, fidelity bonds, what a surety can do when a contractor defaults, and all-risk versus named peril builders' risk coverage.
Estimating and Bidding — 1 item (4%). Bid peddling versus bid shopping versus bid rigging, cost-based pricing where overhead percentages come off the total bid price rather than getting added on top of costs, the three parts of a cost code system, and which equipment costs are direct versus project overhead.
Project Management — 1 item (4%). Free float time, what the critical path method shows that bar charts do not, and just-in-time delivery.
Lien Laws — 1 item (4%). What a subcontractor must do that a general contractor does not, what a general contractor must file that a subcontractor does not, the felony penalty for forging a lien waiver, and the deadline to file suit to enforce a lien.
Sample Virginia Class A Contractor Practice Questions
Four practice questions. Answers are not here on purpose — work them out, then try the free practice exam.
1. Financial Management
An hourly construction worker earns $28.00 per hour and works 40 hours during a pay period. Federal income tax withheld is $134.40, Social Security tax is $69.44, Medicare tax is $16.24, and state income tax is $33.60. What is the employee's net pay for the period?
A. $1,120.00
B. $866.32
C. $986.32
D. $1,253.68
Tests whether you can run a payroll calculation from gross pay through deductions to net pay.
2. Contract Management
You are a Class A contractor managing a large commercial project. The owner requests that you accelerate the construction schedule to finish two months ahead of the original completion date because they want early occupancy — not because of any contractor-caused delay. Under typical risk-allocation provisions, who bears the additional costs of schedule acceleration?
A. The contractor, because the contractor controls means and methods of construction
B. The architect or design professional who prepared the original schedule
C. The costs are shared equally between the owner and contractor
D. The owner, because the owner is requesting the acceleration and the delay was not caused by the contractor
Tests risk-allocation provisions for schedule acceleration.
3. Labor Laws
Which of the following workplace posters is required to be posted by all private-sector employers (excluding agricultural, railroad, and airline employers)?
A. National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Poster
B. Notice to All Employees Working on Federal or Federally Financed Construction Projects
C. Notice to Employees Working on Government Contracts
D. Equal Opportunity is the Law
Tests required postings and which ones depend on federal contract work versus applying broadly.
4. Federal and State Taxes
Sole proprietors, partners, and S corporation shareholders generally must make estimated tax payments if the expected tax owed is $______ or more when the return is filed.
A. 500
B. 750
C. 1,000
D. 1,500
Tests the estimated tax threshold and whether you can keep the individual figure separate from the corporate one.
What Types of Questions to Expect by Topic
Many of our practice questions put you on a job site or in your office, as the contractor in the scenario.
Financial Management leans hard on arithmetic. Our practice questions hand you current assets, current liabilities and inventory, or a contract amount with estimated and incurred costs, and ask for a number. The formulas are short. Write them out until you can reproduce them from memory.
Some Contract Management practice questions use "all of the following EXCEPT" wording. Three options are genuinely required items; one is a plausible-sounding thing that is not on the list. Read every option before picking.
Tax questions test thresholds and deadlines: dollar triggers, filing frequencies, form numbers and penalty percentages. These are lookup items — good open-book questions.
Our Safety practice questions are built on specific OSHA standards and expect exact figures: pounds of force, inches above the floor, air changes per hour, hours to report. The noise exposure practice question asks you to apply a formula, not just recall a number.
Some of our Lien Laws practice questions hinge on the difference between what a general contractor must do and what a subcontractor must do. Learn those two lists separately.
Many of our Risk Management practice questions ask you to match a loss to the right policy or bond. Know what each one actually covers.
A Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) practice test is the fastest way to find out which of these formats trips you up.
Study Materials for the Virginia Class A Advanced Exam
The exam is open book. Your references are your lifeline, so get them early and work in them.
- NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management - Virginia - 11th Edition — required. Chapters on bidding, contracts, risk, scheduling, employee management, financial management, tax basics, safety and lien laws, plus the Virginia appendices.
- Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (Construction Code) (2021) — required for the Class A reference set.
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Standards for the Construction Industry — optional.
- Sharpie Tank Highlighters, 12-count assorted — for highlighting your references and color-coding by subject.
- Redi-Tag Permanent Colored Tabs, 100 tabs in 5 colors — permanent adhesive index tabs for marking chapters and appendices so you can find them fast.
Registration and licensing information is at PSI's registration site, the Virginia DPOR website, and the official bulletin.
Study Tips for the Virginia Advanced Contractor Exam
Spend your time where the items are. Financial Management, Contract Management, Labor Laws and Federal and State Taxes together carry most of the scored content. Estimating, Project Management and Lien Laws carry one item each — learn them, but do not spend a week on them.
Open book does not mean easy. It means the clock is the enemy. If you have to hunt for a chapter, you lose the question. By exam day you should be able to land on any chapter in seconds.
Memorize the math. Quick ratio, working capital, straight-line depreciation, percentage of completion, net pay, cost-based bid pricing. Looking up a formula and then working it costs you time you need for other questions.
Pace yourself at about 2 minutes 30 seconds per question. Answer what you know cold first, mark the lookups, and come back. Never leave a question blank.
Take a full-length Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) practice test with your actual references open on the table, timed.
Ready to Pass?
Good Virginia Contractor Advanced Portion (Class A) exam prep comes down to three things: know where every answer lives in your book, know the formulas without looking, and practice under the clock.
Start with 10 questions free, then work the full set of 24 questions until the format stops surprising you. Start the practice exam.