Exam Preparation
The Books You Need for Your NC Contractor Exam
Every North Carolina contractor exam is open book — but only if you bring the right books, in the right editions, marked the right way. Here is the current list for each exam, straight from the PSI Candidate Information Bulletins, plus the tabbing rules that turn people away at the door.
Start Here
Four Things to Know Before You Buy a Single Book
Buying the wrong edition is the most expensive mistake candidates make, and it is completely avoidable. Read these four before you order anything.
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Every Exam Is Open Book
NASCLA, NC Building, NC Residential and Business & Law are all open book. That sounds generous until you are 90 questions into a 200-minute clock. Most people who fail knew the material — they just could not find it fast enough.
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You Bring Your Own Books
PSI does not supply reference books at the test center. Whatever you are allowed to use, you have to buy, mark up and carry in yourself. The only thing handed out on site is the diagram packet for the NASCLA exam.
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Code Editions Are Fixed
For code questions the exam is written against one specific edition, and that is the only one it is graded on. For the other references you can generally use a later edition — but on the NASCLA exam that is at your own risk, and a conflicting answer is not grounds for appeal.
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Permanent Tabs Only
You may highlight, underline and tab your books before the exam — but only with permanent tabs. Post-It flags are specifically banned and have to come out before you are allowed to start. More on that below, because it catches people out constantly.
The Lists
What Each Exam Requires
Taken from the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletins. Editions change — confirm against the bulletin for your exam before you order, or call us on 910-227-9002 and we will check it with you.
NC Residential Contractor — 90 questions, 210 minutes, 70% to pass
Allowed in the test center:
- North Carolina State Building Code: Residential Code, 2018
- North Carolina State Building Code: Administrative Code and Policies, 2018
- Contractor's Guide to Business, Law and Project Management — NC General Contractors Edition, 10th Edition (NASCLA)
- NC Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, latest amendments
Specifically not allowed: Carpentry and Building Construction (Feirer) 2010 or 2016 Student Edition; Roofing Construction & Estimating 1995; Modern Masonry 8th edition (2015); Pipe and Excavation Contracting 2011; The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction 2005; the BCSI truss guide 2013; NC Administrative Code Title 15A Chapter 4; NC General Statutes Chapter 113A Article 4.
NC Building Contractor — 90 questions, 200 minutes, 70% to pass
Allowed in the test center:
- North Carolina State Building Code: Building Code, 2018
- North Carolina State Building Code: Administrative Code and Policies, 2018
- Contractor's Guide to Business, Law and Project Management — NC General Contractors Edition, 10th Edition (NASCLA)
- NC Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, latest amendments
- ACI 318-11 or ACI 318-14 — Structural Concrete
- ACI 530/530.1-11 or ACI 530/530.1-13 — Masonry Structures
- ANSI A117.1-2017 — Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
- Sports Fields Design, Construction and Maintenance, 2nd Edition, 2010
Specifically not allowed: Technical Digest No. 9 (steel joists); Carpentry and Building Construction (Feirer) 2010 or 2016 Student Edition; Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures 16th edition; Pipe and Excavation Contracting 2011; Roofing Construction & Estimating 1995; the unbonded post-tensioning manual 3rd Edition.
Worth knowing: PSI publishes a content outline for this exam, and it allocates 5 of the 90 questions to Sports Fields — along with 13 to Concrete, 14 to Estimating and Plan Reading, and 12 to Metals. It catches people out because the scope is wider than they expect.
NASCLA Commercial General Building — 115 questions, 330 minutes
Twenty-four permitted titles — the longest list of the four — and the references are not provided — you carry them all in. A diagram and blueprint packet is handed out on site.
Allowed in the test center:
- NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Basic 14th Edition, 2024
- International Building Code, 2021 or 2024
- Mechanical and Electrical Systems for Construction Managers, 4th Edition, 2024
- ICC A117.1-2017 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
- BCSI truss guide, 2018 (updated March 2020) or 2025
- Carpentry and Building Construction, 2016 (Feirer)
- 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA) 2023 — or PSI's OSHA Excerpts 2025
- Construction Jobsite Management, 4th ed. 2017 or 5th ed. 2024
- Construction Project Management, 4th ed. 2014 or 5th ed. 2022
- Principles and Practices of Commercial Construction, 11th edition, 2024
- Modern Masonry — Brick, Block, Stone, 9th edition (2020)
- ACI 318-14 or ACI 318-19 (2022)
- The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 4th Edition, 2018
- Placing Reinforcing Bars, 10th edition, 2019 or later
- SDI Manual of Construction with Steel Deck, 2016
- Gypsum Construction Handbook, 7th edition, 2014
- Technical Digest No. 9 — Steel Joists and Joist Girders, 3rd Edition
- Erectors' Manual — Pre-Cast Concrete Products, 2nd Edition
- Unbonded Post-Tensioning, Level 1, 3rd Edition, 2003
- Pipe and Excavation Contracting, 2011
- Roofing Construction and Estimating, 1995 (reprinted 2022)
- Green Building Fundamentals, 2nd edition, 2011
- ANSI/EIMA 99-A-2017 (EIFS)
- Developing Your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan — EPA 2007, document 833R06004, free from the EPA
Careful: several books allowed here — Technical Digest No. 9, Modern Masonry, Pipe and Excavation Contracting, Roofing Construction and Estimating — are banned on the NC Building and NC Residential exams. Same candidate, different exam, different rules.
NC Business & Law — 40 questions, 90 minutes, 70% to pass
Every NC general contractor classification requires this exam alongside the trade exam.
Allowed in the test center:
- Contractor's Guide to Business, Law and Project Management — NC General Contractors Edition, 10th Edition (NASCLA)
- North Carolina Excavation Safety Guidelines, 2022 or later (NC811)
- NC Administrative Code, Title 15A, Chapter 4 — Sedimentation Control, latest amendments
- NC General Statutes Chapter 113A, Article 4 — Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973, sections 113A-50 to 113A-67
It is weighted far more heavily than people expect toward Licensing — 21 of the 40 questions — with another 8 on liens and bonds.
Tabbing & Highlighting
How to Mark Up Your Books the Right Way
PSI is strict about how your books may be marked, and the rules are not obvious. Candidates turn up having spent hundreds of dollars on code books, carefully flagged, and are made to strip every flag out before they are allowed to start.
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Allowed: Highlighting, Underlining, Indexing
You can mark your books up as much as you like before the exam, as long as you are not writing in them. Highlight, underline and index freely — it is one of the few real advantages you get on an open-book test.
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Allowed: Permanent Tabs Only
PSI names permanent plastic tabs and Redi-Tag Self-Stick Permanent Adhesive Index Tabs as acceptable. Their test is simple — an acceptable tab will tear the page if you try to pull it off. If it peels away cleanly, it will not be allowed.
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Banned: Post-It Flags
Post-It Index Flags and Post-It Flags are named specifically as unacceptable. Any temporary tab has to be removed before the exam will begin. If you have tabbed a code book with them, that is your morning gone.
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Banned: Writing, Notes and Loose Paper
No notes written on the tabs, and nothing written inside the books — before or during. Anyone caught writing in a reference during the exam has it confiscated and is reported to the Board. No extra papers either, loose or attached.
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References Must Be Complete and Bound
Part of a book is not acceptable. If you have downloaded a code reference, you can still bring it — but it has to be spiral bound or hole-punched into a 3-ring binder before it counts.
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We Teach This, and Then We Drill It
Our Highlighting, Tabbing & Lookup module walks through exactly how to set your books up within the rules, then drills finding answers against the clock. On a timed open-book exam, lookup speed is worth as much as knowing the material.
On the Day
What You Can and Cannot Take Into the Test Center
PSI's security rules are enforced strictly, and a prohibited item found in the exam room means your results are invalidated. Worth reading the week before, not the morning of.
What can I take into the exam room?
- Your own approved reference books, marked only within the tabbing rules above.
- A calculator that is silent, battery-operated, non-printing and non-programmable, with no keyboard containing the alphabet.
- A magnifying glass — PSI provides one on request.
What has to go in the locker?
- Any electronic device — phone, smart watch, electronic watch, camera, tablet, laptop, music player, recorder, radio.
- Outerwear. Open sweaters, cardigans, shawls, scarves, vests, jackets and coats are not permitted in the testing room, so wear a shirt or blouse underneath.
- Hats and headgear, unless worn for religious reasons.
- Purses, notebooks, briefcases, backpacks, wallets, pens, pencils, food, drinks and good-luck items.
PSI takes no responsibility for anything left in the storage provided, and unclaimed items are disposed of after 30 days.
What actually happens at check-in?
You will be asked whether you have any prohibited items. Proctors may ask you to empty your pockets and turn them out, lift the ends of your sleeves and the bottoms of your pant legs, and inspect eyeglass frames or anything else that could conceal a recording device.
If prohibited items are found at check-in you can put them in storage or return them to your vehicle. If one is found in the exam room, your results are invalidated.
Can someone wait for me?
No. Anyone who comes with you cannot wait in the exam center, inside the building, or on the building's property — that includes drivers, children, friends, family, colleagues and instructors.
There is also no smoking, eating or drinking anywhere in the exam center.
Check It Yourself
Where This Information Comes From
Everything on this page is taken from the official PSI Candidate Information Bulletins and the NC Licensing Board. Do not take our word for it — the primary sources are below, and you should check them before you buy books, because editions change.
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PSI Bulletin — NC Building, Residential and Business & Law
The official Candidate Information Bulletin for the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. Book lists, content outlines, tabbing rules and test center policy. Updated 19 November 2025.
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PSI Bulletin — NASCLA Commercial General Building
The Candidate Information Bulletin for the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors. Updated 7 July 2026.
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NC Licensing Board for General Contractors
The Board itself — license applications, classifications, eligibility and the rules that govern all of it. Anything about your own license or eligibility is answered here, not by us.
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PSI — Schedule Your Exam
Where you register and book a seat once the Board has sent your eligibility letter. The letter is valid for 120 days.
Exam Prep
Knowing the Book Is Half of It. Finding the Answer Is the Other Half.
Our Study Vault includes a Highlighting, Tabbing & Lookup module for every exam we prep — how to set your books up within PSI's rules, then timed drills on finding answers under pressure. Live classes and the exam simulator are available too.