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What This Practice Exam Covers

The South Carolina Concrete licensing exam is 50 questions, 180 minutes, passing score 70% (35 correct). You have two ways to practice here.

Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, drawn from a limited pool. Retake it as many times as you want. It gives you a feel for question style and difficulty before you commit to anything.

Full practice exam: 50 questions, 180-minute timer — same format as the real thing. Questions are pulled from a pool of 263+ items, so each attempt gives you a different set. No duplicate exams. Topics match the exact breakdown provided by the official test provider. This is the tool for serious prep. Start free, then move to the full exam once you know where your gaps are.

What You'll Be Tested On

The exam covers five topic areas. Here is what each one actually demands.

Safety — 6 questions

Six items is lighter coverage, but they are straightforward if you know your OSHA basics. Expect questions on PPE for concrete work (gloves, eye protection, respirators for silica dust), fall protection on formwork and reinforcing steel, and lockout/tagout procedures for concrete equipment like mixers and batch plants. Excavation safety shows up here too — know your cave-in protection requirements and soil classification as it relates to trench safety. The hazardous materials subtopic is specific: silica dust exposure limits, cement burn risk from prolonged skin contact, and airborne contaminant controls. These are tested against OSHA 1926 CFR 29 standards.

Concrete — Earthwork — 7 questions

Seven items covering soil and excavation fundamentals. Know the difference between soil types and how bearing capacity is determined. Geotechnical investigations and soil testing appear here — what tests are used and what they tell you. Soil compaction questions require you to know both the method and the moisture relationship. Excavation near existing foundations and underpinning is tested, as is groundwater control and dewatering. For backfill, know placement and compaction requirements — lift thickness, compaction equipment selection. The SC Building Code 2021 sections on geotechnical investigation (Sections 1803.5.1, 1803.5.3, 1803.5.4, 1804.4, and 1804.6) are cited directly by this exam's question bank.

Concrete — 15 questions

The heaviest single topic. Fifteen items spread across mixture design, specifications, foundations, reinforcement placement (from the concrete side), joints, and slabs-on-ground.

Mixture design questions ask you to apply water-cementitious ratio concepts, identify admixture effects, and interpret slump and air entrainment requirements. Know what each admixture does — accelerators, retarders, water reducers. Strength testing questions come from The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction.

Specification questions distinguish between prescriptive specs (the contractor follows a recipe) and performance specs (the contractor meets an outcome). Know what each type requires of you on the job.

Foundation questions cover subgrade prep, footing design basics, and foundation walls. Reinforcement in structures is tested here from the concrete contractor's perspective — cover, support, and tolerances per the SC Building Code 2021 and ACI standards.

Joints and embedments in structural concrete appear, as do joints and reinforcement for slabs-on-ground. Know the difference between control joints, construction joints, and isolation joints — and where each goes.

Concrete — Reinforcement — 10 questions

Ten items. This topic requires you to read bar markings, know your ASTM specifications, calculate cover, and apply splice rules.

Bar identification is concrete (pun intended): given a bar's line markings, identify the grade, size, and steel type. The exam references Placing Reinforcing Bars, Chapter 7 and the Ironworker Reference, Chapter 7 for this.

ASTM specs: know A615 (carbon steel), A706 (low-alloy), A955 (stainless), and A1035 (low-carbon chromium). Wrong ASTM number = wrong answer.

Concrete cover: values change based on exposure condition and member type. The exam tests specific numbers — not approximations. Bar supports (chairs, bolsters, runners) are tested on selection and placement logic.

Splices are a significant subtopic. Lap splice length, mechanical splice requirements, and welded splice criteria are all fair game. Know the placement rules, not just the length formulas. Placing tolerances from ACI 117 — particularly for depth and spacing — appear on this exam.

Concrete — Formwork — 12 questions

The largest topic. Twelve items on formwork loads, lateral pressure calculations, materials, member design, shoring systems, and stripping.

Lateral concrete pressure on vertical forms is the math-heavy core. The ACI 347R-14 pressure equations account for rate of placement, temperature, unit weight, and admixtures. Know which formula applies to columns versus walls versus slabs.

Formwork loads require you to combine vertical dead loads (concrete, forms), live loads (workers, equipment), and lateral loads correctly. Shoring and reshoring in multi-story construction — including load distribution through multiple floors — is tested numerically, as shown in the worked example below.

For materials, know allowable stresses and deflection limits for lumber, plywood, and proprietary systems. Design questions use span tables and allowable stress design. Stripping criteria require minimum strength thresholds before forms come down.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Multi-Story Shoring Load (Concrete topic)

Stem: You are designing a shoring/reshoring system using the simplified method with loads as a proportion of slab dead load D. Construction live load = 50 lb/ft², slab dead load (D) = 100 lb/ft², form and shore dead load = 10 lb/ft², reshore dead load = 5 lb/ft². What is the total load transmitted to the ground through shores when the first fresh slab is placed?

• A. 1.60D
• B. 1.50D
• C. 1.15D
• D. 1.10D

Correct answer: A — 1.60D

A freshly placed slab has zero structural capacity. It cannot carry any load. Everything goes to the ground through the shores. Add the three loads: slab dead load (1.00D) + construction live load (50/100 = 0.50D) + form and shore dead load (10/100 = 0.10D) = 1.60D. The reshore dead load does not apply here because reshores are not yet installed at this stage. At D = 100 lb/ft², that is 160 lb/ft² on the ground.

Source: SP-4 Formwork for Concrete, Page 6-9 (Example 6.2, Step 1-A)

Question 2 — Stripping Architectural Concrete (Concrete — Formwork topic)

Stem: When stripping vertical forms from architectural concrete, what minimum compressive strength does research indicate is needed to prevent surface scaling and corner spalling?

• A. 300 psi
• B. 150 psi
• C. 500 psi
• D. 750 psi

Correct answer: A — 300 psi

Research cited in SP-4 puts the threshold at approximately 300 psi (based on cube compressive strength) to prevent mechanical surface damage during stripping. In practice, stripping typically happens at higher strengths (after 24–48 hours) to protect sharp corners and textured surfaces — but the code-cited minimum for damage prevention is 300 psi. The other options are either too low to be meaningful or higher than the cited threshold.

Source: SP-4 Formwork for Concrete, Page 14-24 (Section 14.5)

Question 3 — ASTM Specification for Low-Alloy Bars (Concrete — Reinforcement topic)

Stem: Which ASTM specification covers low-alloy steel deformed and plain bars for concrete reinforcement?

• A. A615
• B. A1035
• C. A955
• D. A706

Correct answer: D — A706

ASTM A706 is the specification for low-alloy steel deformed and plain bars. The other three are real specs but cover different materials: A615 is carbon steel (the most common), A955 is stainless steel, and A1035 is low-carbon chromium steel. The exam tests whether you know which ASTM number goes with which material type — not just that you recognize the numbers.

Source: CRSI Placing Reinforcing Bars, Chapter 7 (Table 7-2)

How to Read Your Score

Passing requires 35 out of 50 correct — 70%. If your first practice attempt lands in the 50s or low 60s, that is normal. Treat it as a diagnostic, not a verdict.

Look at your results by topic. If you miss 4 out of 12 Formwork questions, that is where your study time goes — not into Safety, where you may already be solid. A topic-by-topic breakdown tells you exactly where points are leaking.

Scoring 70–74% on practice is not comfortable margin. The real exam will have questions you haven't seen before. Aim for 80%+ on the full practice exam before you schedule your test date. That buffer accounts for question variation and test-day pressure.

Retaking the full practice exam is worth it. With a pool of 263+ questions, you will see new items each attempt. Improvement across multiple attempts — not just one good day — is the sign you're ready.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Formwork lateral pressure calculations. Candidates use the wrong formula — columns and walls have different ACI 347R-14 equations, and the variables (rate of placement, temperature, unit weight) all shift the result. One wrong plug-in costs you the question.

ASTM bar specifications. Mixing up A615, A706, A955, and A1035 is a consistent mistake. The differences are material type, not just a number to memorize.

Multi-story shoring load problems. The simplified method requires you to know which loads apply at each construction stage. Candidates add reshore loads before reshores exist, or forget that a fresh slab carries nothing.

Cover requirements. The right cover value depends on exposure condition and member type. Generic answers ("1.5 inches") are often wrong. The exam gives you a specific scenario — use the specific value.

SC-specific code citations. The exam pulls from the South Carolina Building Code 2021 and the South Carolina 811 Excavator Manual, not just national standards. If you only studied ACI and OSHA, you may miss earthwork and code-application questions.

Time management on Concrete and Formwork. Those two topics combine for 27 of 50 questions and include the calculation-heavy items. Candidates who spend too long on one lateral pressure problem run short at the end.

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