How to Know You’re Ready for the Contractor Licensing Exam

You’ve hit the books every night for many weeks. You’ve become confident in your skills. You have reviewed all the requirements and you can easily prove your work toward them. But how do you know that you’re ready for the exam? If you can answer yes to the items on this checklist, you may be good to take the next big step.

1. You Have Done Well on Practice Exams

Practice makes perfect, and you can test your skills on a few practice exams. Taking a practice exam provides more useful experience than merely giving you an idea of what might be on the actual test. It also gives you some insight into how you feel as you take the exam. This could alert you to possible problems you might face that you could take steps to correct before you take the real test. For example, you may discover that you have a habit of answering the question before you have read through it fully. This is a common problem for all kinds of people in basically every industry. Knowing about this issue might help save you some hassle later on.

2. You Feel Ready to Pass the Exam

The good news about being prepared is that once you take the exam, chances are pretty good you will pass it with flying colors. Almost all of the students who take advantage of our prep schools pass their exams on the first try. This is because we organize all the study and practical skill preparation you might need, including:

• live instruction classes
• crash courses
• home study workbooks
• practice exams
• math review
• test-taking strategies

By the time you have gone through everything, we offer, taking the test is the natural next step.

3. You Have Taken the Asbestos Open-Book Examination

The state of California places a few extra requirements before you can apply to take the exam, and the asbestos open-book examination is one of them. Everyone who wants to take a licensing exam to become a new contractor in the construction industry needs to take this exam. Passing it confirms that you have some familiarity with asbestos, the harms it poses in building scenarios, and how you might need to handle it. Taking this test doesn’t certify you to work with asbestos. It just helps you understand what you need to do if you encounter it. Fortunately, you may only need to take it once, even if you plan to get several licenses over your career.

4. You’ve Completed the Law and Business Examination

Similar to the asbestos examination, California rules dictate that you take an exam related to construction law and business management practices before you can take your qualifying exam. The purpose of this test is to make sure that you understand and can follow the laws and regulations related to your particular field. You will also be tested on your knowledge of general business practices specifically related to construction, including hiring practices, finances, safety, insurance and other topics.

5. You Have Enough Experience

As a general rule, California wants you to be able to prove that you have at least four years of experience in the field before you apply for the license. This may seem contradictory, since you can’t do much contract work without a license, and you have to gain experience before you can apply for one. However, getting an education in construction or completing an apprenticeship may be able to count toward your experience. The California State Licensing Board wants at least a year of practical experience, but your education could possibly cover up to the remaining three years.

Preparing for an exam that could change your career might be something you have been gearing up to do for years. Fortunately, knowing when you are ready is pretty easy. If you can answer “Yes!” to all the items on this list, you might be in great shape. To receive excellent help as you prepare to take your contractor licensing exams, contact CSLS today!