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How to pass the Tennessee Commercial Contractor exam

Two open-book exams, a 73% passing score, and a license limit set by your financial statement. Here’s how the Tennessee commercial license works and how to study for it, checked against the state’s own documents.

At a glance

The exams

Question counts, times and the 73% passing standard are from Prov’s Tennessee Candidate Information Bulletin (TNCONT_CIB 2026.08.18). All exams are on computer and open book. Prov also lists the NASCLA Commercial Building Contractor exam (115 questions, 5 hours). If you take a break, the clock keeps running and you can’t go back to questions you saw before the break.

Before you apply

• Business & Law for everyone: every new applicant passes the Tennessee Business & Law exam. The trade exam can be taken by a different person, and up to two people can take each exam for the company.
• Qualifying agent: the person who takes the exams for the company must be an owner, full-time employee or officer. Non-owners also file a Power of Attorney form.
• Financial statement: a reviewed or audited statement from a licensed, independent CPA or LPA, less than 12 months old and following GAAP. Reviewed works for limits up to $3,000,000. Above that, it must be audited.
• Monetary limit: 10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth. A $150,000 limit needs $15,000 in both. Unlimited needs $300,000 in both, plus the required experience. There is a 10% tolerance.
• Surety bond option: starting July 1, 2026, you can file the Board’s Contractors’ Surety Bond instead of a CPA statement. The bond must be at least 50% of the monetary limit you request.
• Reference and affidavit: one letter of reference from a past client, employer or code official (not a family member), and a notarized Contractor’s Affidavit.
• Insurance: general liability based on your monetary limit, plus workers’ compensation unless you show an exemption. Construction employers with even one employee must carry workers’ comp.

Step by step

1. Pick your classification and limitUse the Board’s Classification Outline. BC-B covers commercial work with no small-commercial cap. BC-b(sm) is capped at $1.5 million per project.
2. Schedule your exams with ProvRegister at provexam.com. Each exam is $53, first try or retake. Board pre-approval is only needed for the CMC and CMC-A exams.
3. Get your financial statement or bondHave a licensed CPA or LPA prepare a reviewed or audited statement in the exact name you’ll license, or file the Board’s surety bond form.
4. Gather your documentsSecretary of State registration, reference letter, notarized affidavit, insurance certificates, and a local business tax license for each city or county where you’ll work.
5. Apply onlineFile the Initial New Contractor Application at core.tn.gov. The fee is $250. Exam scores are typically valid for two years.
6. Interview if askedIf you have complaints, convictions, or bid work without a license, or your application is incomplete, you’ll interview with the Board. It’s informal and usually 30 minutes or less.

The reference books

Business & Law uses one book: the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Tennessee (4th edition). The exam covers estimating and bidding (7 questions), contracts (6), licensing, OSHA safety, labor law and tax law (5 each), business organization, project management and risk management (4 each), financial management (3) and lien law (2).

The BC-B trade exam lists the 2021 International Building Code, the 2018 International Residential Code, Pearson’s Study Guide for Commercial Building Contractor (2024), and OSHA 29 CFR 1926. The biggest topics are estimating and plan reading (15), concrete (15), general code (12), masonry (10) and structural steel (10).

Older books still work for now: through January 1, 2027, you can also use the PSI-era books on the Alternate Book List, such as Carpentry and Building Construction, Modern Masonry, Placing Reinforcing Bars, Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, ACI 318 and ACI 530. After that, only Prov’s list is allowed.

What you can bring: any edition of a listed book, though answers follow the edition in the bulletin. Highlighting and permanent tabs are fine. Handwritten notes, moveable tabs, Post-it notes, photocopies and study guides are not. Only a simple 4-function calculator is allowed, and the test has one built in.

A 6-week study plan

On test day

• Arrive at least 15 minutes early with a valid government-issued photo ID and your books.
• Books may only be highlighted and permanently tabbed. Remove Post-it notes, moveable tabs and any handwritten notes before you go.
• Both exams give you about 3 minutes per question. Answer what you know first, then look up the rest.
• Think before you take a break. The timer keeps running, and every question you saw before the break is locked.
• Testing from home through Examroom? Install the ProvLock Chrome extension and run the system check ahead of time.
• You get your score by email right away. If you don’t pass, the report shows the topics where you were weak.

Quick answers