Start Practice Test

Tennessee BC-B, C – Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

This practice exam targets the Tennessee BC-B, C Combined Commercial/Industrial Contractor license. The real exam is 100 questions, 300 minutes, passing score 73%.

Two options are available here:

Free practice exam — 10 questions per attempt, drawn from a limited pool. You can retake it as many times as you want. Good for getting a feel for the format and question style before you commit to serious prep.

Full practice exam — 100 questions, 300-minute timer, mirrors the real exam exactly. Drawn from a pool of 748+ questions, so every attempt gives you a different set. No duplicate exams. Questions are built directly from the topic breakdown provided by the official test provider. This is the tool for serious preparation — one attempt is a diagnostic, multiple attempts build the pattern recognition you need on test day.

Start with the free exam. If the questions feel unfamiliar, that tells you what you need to know.

What You'll Be Tested On

General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating — 27 items
This is the heaviest section. More than a quarter of your exam score comes from here. You need to read construction documents accurately, classify occupancies, apply building height and area limitations, and identify fire-resistance ratings by construction type. Fire and smoke protection features — fire walls, fire barriers, exterior walls — show up as code lookup problems. Estimating questions require multi-step math: change orders with markup, material takeoffs, and quantity calculations. Get comfortable with 2021 IBC definitions (Section 202), load documentation requirements (Section 1603.1), and fire wall provisions (Section 706.5, 706.6, and 706.8).

Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement — 15 items
Second-largest section. Questions pull from mix design, exposure categories, formwork, batching, and reinforcement requirements. You need to know water-cement ratios for specific exposure conditions (ACI 318-11, Table 4.4.1 and 4.4.2), minimum cover requirements (ACI 318-11, Page 93, Section 7.7.1), and formwork removal criteria. Concrete durability under freezing, sulfate exposure, and corrosion is a tested category. Precast lifting hardware also appears — know the four-times-maximum-load rule for lifting anchors.

Sitework, Footings, and Foundation — 10 items
Soil classification, excavation safety, compaction testing, and foundation requirements. Know the four OSHA-recognized protective systems for trenching: sloping, benching, shoring, and trench boxes. Geotechnical investigation requirements under compacted fill deeper than 12 inches are specifically tested (2021 IBC, Section 1803.5.8). Lateral soil pressure, foundation depth, and allowable bearing capacity from IBC Table 1806.2 appear here.

Metals — 10 items
Steel joist designations (K-, LH-, DLH-, CJ-Series, and joist girders), erection bridging requirements, and hoisting cable release criteria. Joists cannot be released from the hoisting cable until bridging is properly installed — know the SJI rules on this. Steel deck profiles, fastening methods, column anchorage, and OSHA Subpart R fall protection during steel erection are all tested.

Masonry — 10 items
Mortar types under ASTM C270 (M, S, N, O, K) — know proportions and appropriate applications. Wall system types: solid, hollow, cavity, composite, reinforced, veneer. Structural design methods (allowable stress, strength, empirical) from TMS 402/ACI 530. Reinforcement placement, anchor and tie spacing, and grouting requirements. IBC 2021 Sections 2103 and 2107–2109 are frequently cited.

Associated Trades — 10 items
Gypsum board types, fire-rated assemblies, drywall fastener spacing, finish levels (Level 1 through Level 5), and suspended acoustical ceiling systems. Know the difference between single-layer and double-layer application. Conventional plaster multi-coat systems and bases appear here too. The Gypsum Construction Handbook is the primary reference — screw usage, finish level definitions, and system ratings are all tested.

Carpentry — 6 items
Lumber grading, span tables, wall framing requirements, floor joists, rafters, ceiling joists, and wall bracing. Know braced wall panel methods and wood structural panel sheathing requirements for roof, floor, and wall applications. The 2021 IBC Sections 2308.2 through 2308.5 are active here. Estimating board feet and calculating rafter and joist quantities also appear.

OSHA Safety — 6 items
Fall protection thresholds, scaffolding capacity and erection rules, trench cave-in protection, PPE selection, hazard communication, PELs for silica and asbestos, and electrical safety — GFCI, grounding, lockout/tagout, and power line clearances. Citations come directly from 29 CFR 1926 subparts.

Roofing — 6 items
Roof slope measurement, asphalt shingle types and ratings, underlayment requirements by slope, valley flashing methods (open, closed-cut, woven), built-up roofing materials and bitumen types, and wood shingle/shake fastening. Know how slope changes underlayment requirements and which valley method applies to which condition.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating

A change order includes $9,000 in materials and $5,000 in labor, with a 15% markup applied to the total. What is the total amount of the change order?

• A. $15,000
• B. $15,500
• C. $16,000
• D. $16,100

Correct Answer: D — $16,100

Add materials and labor first: $9,000 + $5,000 = $14,000. Apply 15% markup: $14,000 × 1.15 = $16,100. The mistake candidates make is applying markup to only one line item, or adding markup as a flat $2,000 instead of a percentage. Work the arithmetic in order and don't shortcut it.

Question 2 — Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement

Lifting anchors cast into precast concrete members shall be capable of supporting at least how many times the maximum load throughout all directions of the lift?

• A. 5 times
• B. 4 times
• C. 2 times
• D. 3 times

Correct Answer: B — 4 times

Lifting anchors must support at least four times the maximum load in all directions of the lift. The lifting hardware itself carries a five-to-one safety factor. These are two separate requirements — conflating them is the common error. Source: PCI Erectors' Manual, Division 2, Section 2.2.6 Engineered Lifting Devices.

Question 3 — Sitework, Footings, and Foundation

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

• 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 — Preparation of the site prior to placement of compacted fill material

Per 2021 IBC, Section 1803.5.8, Item 1, the geotechnical investigation must address site preparation before compacted fill is placed. This ensures the subgrade is ready before any lift is started. The other options may be real site activities in some situations, but none are the required geotechnical specification under this section.

How to Read Your Score

Passing requires 73% — that's 73 correct out of 100 on the real exam.

Your first practice attempt is a diagnostic. Don't treat it as a verdict. A score in the 50s tells you which topics need the most work. A score in the 60s means you're close but not ready. Scoring right at 73% on practice is not a green light — practice conditions are controlled and the real exam has pressure built in. Aim for 80%+ on practice before you feel solid.

Use the topic-by-topic breakdown after each attempt. General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating is 27 questions — if you're losing ground there, that alone can fail you. Concrete is 15 questions. Those two sections together are 42% of your score. Fix them first.

Retake the full practice exam multiple times. The 748+ question pool means each attempt is a different test. Patterns you keep missing will show up again. When the same question type trips you up twice, that's a signal to go back to the source reference, not just re-read the question.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Multi-step math with the wrong sequence. Change order and estimating problems require you to combine line items before applying markup. Candidates apply percentages too early and get a number that looks close but isn't.

Wrong table or code section. The 2021 IBC has overlapping provisions for loads, occupancy, and fire resistance. Pulling from Table 1604.3 when the question is about Table 706.4 costs you a point you should have had.

Soil and excavation specifics. Candidates blur the line between the four protective systems — sloping angles, benching geometry, shoring hardware, and trench shield use each have distinct requirements. Know them separately.

Steel joist terminology. K-, LH-, DLH-, and CJ-Series designations are not interchangeable. Erection bridging release criteria are specific — confusing "installed" with "completed" gets candidates wrong answers on Metals questions.

Gypsum finish levels. Levels 1 through 5 have defined, specific requirements. Candidates guess based on what sounds right rather than knowing the Gypsum Construction Handbook definitions exactly.

Time management. 300 minutes for 100 questions is 3 minutes per question. The General Code and Estimating section has 27 questions and some require calculation. Budget your time or the back half of the exam gets rushed.

Exam Quick Facts