Start Practice Test

Alabama Concrete Contractor Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Alabama Concrete Contractor licensing exam has 60 questions and a 150-minute time limit. You need a 70% — 42 correct answers — to pass.

This practice exam gives you two options.

Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited pool. You can retake it as many times as you want. Use it to get a feel for the question style and see where you stand before committing to deeper prep.

Full practice exam (paid): 60 questions, 150-minute timer — same format as the real test. Questions are drawn from a pool of 383+ items, so each attempt gives you a different set. No duplicate exams. Every question is tied to the official exam topics provided by the licensing authority. If you're serious about passing on the first try, this is the tool to use.

Start with the free exam. If you're scoring well and the questions feel familiar, you're on track. If you're guessing, move to the full exam.

What You'll Be Tested On

The exam covers six topic areas. Here's what each one actually demands.

General Concrete — 16 questions

This is the heaviest section. Expect questions on water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm), how it affects strength and durability, and what happens when you add water at the job site. You need to know Portland cement types — Type I through Type V — and what each one is used for. Supplementary cementitious materials (fly ash, slag cement, silica fume) show up here: what they do to workability, strength gain, and heat of hydration.

Durability is tested by exposure category: freeze-thaw, sulfate attack, chloride exposure, and permeability limits. Know which w/cm ratios apply to which exposure conditions. Aggregate questions cover grading, moisture states (saturated surface dry, oven dry, absorbed moisture), and how moisture content affects the mix. Admixtures — air-entraining, water-reducing, accelerating, retarding — require you to know what they do and when to use them. Curing methods, materials, and minimum durations are tested directly. Reference Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures heavily for this section.

Layout and Excavation — 12 questions

You need to know how batter boards and string lines are set up to establish building corners and control elevation. Reading survey stakes and interpreting construction drawings — including scales and profile views — is tested here.

OSHA excavation requirements are a significant chunk. Know the three soil classifications (Type A, B, C) and what testing methods distinguish them. Know the required slopes for each type: Type A at ¾:1, Type B at 1:1, Type C at 1½:1. Protective systems — sloping, benching, shoring, shielding — are tested by application, not just definition. Questions also cover excavating near existing foundations and underground utilities, plus site grading and drainage slopes. Per 2021 International Building Code, Section 1803.5.8, geotechnical investigations for compacted fill must include site preparation specifications.

Estimating and Plan Reading — 10 questions

Expect volume calculations: slabs, walls, footings, columns. You must convert cubic feet to cubic yards and account for waste. Labor burden questions — like multiplying a base wage by a burden rate — appear in straightforward math form. Formwork cost estimation includes material quantities and form reuse factors. Reinforcing bar schedules require you to read a bar list and count quantities. Mix design questions ask about slump, air content, and w/cm ratio from a specification. Know the difference between a plan view and a profile view (Page 105, Chapter 3 introduction). Practice reading scales: if a drawing is 1/4" = 1'-0", you need to convert dimensions fast.

Formwork — 8 questions

Lateral pressure of fresh concrete on vertical forms is a core calculation topic. Pressure depends on concrete unit weight, rate of placement, temperature, and form height — faster placement and colder temperatures increase pressure. Know the minimum design values for vertical loads on slabs: dead load (weight of concrete) plus live load from workers and equipment. SP-4 Formwork for Concrete is the primary reference — review sections on slab, wall, beam, and column form design, deflection limits, and allowable stresses. Shoring and reshoring in multi-story construction involves knowing when forms can be stripped and when reshoring is required. Form removal timing ties directly to concrete strength, not just calendar days.

Reinforcing Steel — 8 questions

Bar identification markings: you need to read a deformed bar and identify the producing mill, bar size, steel type, and grade. Know ASTM designations — A615, A706, A955, A1035 — and what each covers. Concrete cover requirements vary by exposure condition and structural element; per ACI 318-11, Table 4.4.1 and Table 4.4.2, cover requirements for different exposure classes are specific values you should memorize. Development length and lap splice requirements are calculation-based. Know the three splice types: lap, mechanical, and welded. Bar support types, placement, and spacing affect concrete cover — know the chair types and where they're used.

Safety — 6 questions

Questions pull from specific OSHA subparts. Fall protection (Subpart M): the 6-foot threshold for concrete work, guardrail specifications, personal fall arrest systems, and safety net requirements. Concrete and masonry safety (Subpart Q): formwork safety, reinforcing steel impalement guarding (caps on vertical rebar), concrete bucket operations, and post-tensioning safety. Excavation (Subpart P): cave-in protection, atmospheric testing in confined spaces, and soil classification. PPE employer payment requirements come from Subpart E. Fire protection (Subpart F) includes extinguisher ratings, flammable liquid storage limits, and fire prevention plans. Scaffolding (Subpart L) covers load capacity, platform construction, and guardrail requirements.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — General Concrete

You are preparing the subgrade for a concrete slab-on-ground floor in a below-grade application. A base course is required. What is the minimum thickness?

• A. 8 inches
• B. 6 inches
• C. 2 inches
• D. 4 inches

Correct Answer: D — 4 inches

IRC Section R506.2.2 specifies that the base course under a below-grade slab must be at least 4 inches thick. The material must be clean graded sand, gravel, crushed stone, crushed concrete, or crushed blast-furnace slag passing a 2-inch sieve. Don't confuse this with slab thickness — the question is asking about what goes under the slab. Source: International Residential Code, Section R506.2.2.

Question 2 — Layout and Excavation

A geotechnical investigation for compacted fill more than 12 inches deep under shallow foundations must include specifications for which activity?

• A. Stabilization of adjacent structures before compaction begins
• B. Installation of permanent dewatering wells beneath the fill
• C. Preparation of the site prior to placement of compacted fill material
• D. Removal of all vegetation within 50 feet of the foundation

Correct Answer: C — Site preparation prior to fill placement

IBC Section 1803.5.8, Item 1 is direct: the geotechnical report must specify how the site is prepared before compacted fill goes down. The other choices may be reasonable field practices in some situations, but none of them are what the code requires the geotechnical investigation to address. Source: 2021 International Building Code, Section 1803.5.8.

Question 3 — Estimating and Plan Reading

A worker earns $30/hr. The labor burden rate is 25%. What is the total hourly labor cost?

• A. $37.50
• B. $35.00
• C. $45.00
• D. $40.00

Correct Answer: A — $37.50

Multiply the base wage by 1 plus the burden rate: $30 × 1.25 = $37.50. The burden covers payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance, and benefits on top of the wage. Adding 25% to $30 does not give you $35 — that would be $30 + $5. Run the multiplication, not the addition.

How to Read Your Score

Passing is 70% — 42 out of 60 questions correct.

Your first practice attempt is a baseline, not a verdict. Most candidates score lower than they expect on the first try because the questions are more specific than general knowledge. That's useful information. A low first score tells you exactly which topics need work.

Use topic-by-topic results to prioritize. If you're strong on Safety but weak on Formwork, don't study Safety. Put your time into lateral pressure calculations and SP-4 form design tables.

If you're scoring in the 70–75% range on practice, you're close but not safe. Exam conditions add pressure, and a few tricky questions can knock you below the line. Aim for consistent 80%+ scores on the full practice exam before you sit for the real one.

Retake the full practice exam multiple times. With 383+ questions in the pool, you'll see fresh questions each attempt and fill gaps you didn't know you had.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Volume unit errors. Concrete is ordered in cubic yards. If you calculate in cubic feet and forget to divide by 27, your estimate is wrong by a factor of 27. This mistake shows up on Estimating questions.

Wrong soil classification. Type A, B, and C have specific slope ratios for excavation. Candidates mix them up under pressure. Know that Type C requires the flattest slope — 1½:1 — because it's the weakest soil.

Lateral pressure formula inputs. Formwork pressure depends on rate of pour and temperature. Candidates forget that lower temperature increases lateral pressure. They also confuse the minimum pressure with the calculated pressure — always use whichever is greater.

Cover requirements by exposure. ACI 318-11 Tables 4.4.1 and 4.4.2 set different cover values for different exposure classes. Candidates apply the wrong table or the wrong exposure category.

OSHA subpart confusion. Fall protection and excavation safety are in different subparts with different rules. The 6-foot fall protection threshold applies to concrete operations under Subpart M. Don't cross-apply scaffolding rules to concrete work or vice versa.

Running out of time. At 150 minutes for 60 questions, you have 2.5 minutes per question. Multi-step calculations on Estimating and Formwork eat into that budget fast. Practice working quickly on calculation questions so you have time left for code-recall questions.

Exam Quick Facts