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How to pass the Oregon commercial general contractor exam

One open-book laws and business exam, 16 hours of training first, and no trade exam. Here’s how the Oregon commercial general contractor license works and how to study for it, checked against the CCB’s own documents.

At a glance

The exams

The question count, time and passing score are from the CCB’s license page and PSI’s Oregon bulletin (effective 2/3/2023). The exam is multiple choice and based on the Oregon edition of the NASCLA contractors guide. An online calculator is provided.

Before you apply

• Age: at least 18.
• Training and test: the RMI, an owner or a manager of the business, completes 16 hours of pre-license training and passes the exam. If you passed the NASCLA commercial exam, you skip the training but still take the Oregon exam.
• Experience: one or more key employees must have a combined 8 years of construction experience for Level 1, or 4 years for Level 2.
• Experience substitutions: an apprenticeship or a construction-related bachelor’s degree can replace up to 3 years. A business, finance or economics degree can replace up to 2 years, and a construction associate degree up to 1.
• Bond and insurance: Level 1 needs an $80,000 commercial bond and $2 million aggregate liability insurance. Level 2 needs a $25,000 bond and $1 million aggregate.
• Workers’ comp: commercial contractors must carry workers’ comp, including “personal election” coverage if they have no employees.

Step by step

1. Pick Level 1 or Level 2Both levels do the same work. Level 1 needs more experience, a bigger bond and more insurance. Choose the one your key employees’ experience supports.
2. Take the 16-hour trainingSign up with a CCB-approved provider. When you finish, the provider sends your information to PSI so you can schedule.
3. Schedule and pass the examPay PSI $60 and test at a center or by remote proctor. Bring your own NASCLA Oregon manual. If you fail, you can retest with no limit.
4. Set up the businessRegister the business and name with the Secretary of State. The bond and insurance must be in that exact name.
5. Get bond, insurance and workers’ compBuy the commercial bond and liability coverage for your level, plus workers’ comp.
6. Apply within 24 monthsSubmit the CCB application with the bond, insurance certificate, test score report and the $400 fee (two-year license).

The reference books

The exam is open book, with one approved reference: the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Oregon Construction Contractors, 2nd edition. English and Spanish versions are available, and you may bring both.

You bring your own copy. You can highlight, underline, tab (removable or permanent tabs) and index it, and handwritten notes are allowed. You can’t write in it during the exam or bring loose papers.

What’s on it: Oregon contractor laws and regulations carry the most weight (18 items), then contracts (9), hiring and managing employees (7) and bidding and estimating (6). Lien law and scheduling and project management have 5 items each. The rest are 2 to 4 items each: business structure, subcontractors, building codes, jobsite safety, environmental factors, building exterior shell, financial management and tax basics.

If English is your second language, you may bring one bound, word-for-word translation dictionary with an ISBN and no writing or tabs.

A 6-week study plan

On test day

• Bring your own NASCLA Oregon manual (English, Spanish or both). Tabs, highlighting and handwritten notes are fine if done before the exam.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes early with valid ID that matches your PSI registration.
• Don’t bring a handheld calculator. An online calculator is provided.
• Answer what you know first, then look up the rest. You have about 2¼ minutes per question.
• Expect 8 unscored pilot questions mixed in. You can’t tell which ones they are, so answer everything.
• Testing remotely? Run PSI’s system check ahead of time and launch within 15 minutes of your booked time.

Quick answers