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How to pass the Utah B100 General Building Contractor exam

One open-book exam, two pre-licensure courses, and high insurance minimums. Here’s how the Utah B100 General Building license works and how to study for it, checked against the state’s own documents.

At a glance

The exams

Question count, time, passing score and fee are from Prov’s Utah Contracting candidate bulletin (CIB 2025.08.12). The exam covers licensing (10 questions), estimating and bidding (6), contract management (6), labor laws (6), financial management (6), project management (5), risk management (5), tax laws (5), business organization (4), safety (4) and lien laws (3). Your score is given to you at the test site.

Before you apply

• Qualifier: the business names a qualifier. The qualifier passes the Business & Law exam and completes the pre-licensure courses.
• Experience: Utah’s rule counts “two years full-time paid employment” as 4,000 hours of paid work. Experience can come from W-2 work or as an owner, licensed or exempt, from military or railroad construction work, or from a supervised school program.
• Experience substitutes: a passing score on the NASCLA commercial general building exam, a four-year or two-year Construction Management degree from a recognized program, or a Utah professional engineer license satisfies that experience requirement.
• Pre-licensure education: a 25-hour course (15 hours of financial responsibility, 6 hours of business practices, 2 hours of regulations and 2 hours of mechanic lien basics, including the State Construction Registry) plus a five-hour course on the Business & Law exam topics.
• The rule most people miss: liability insurance must be at least $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total, with DOPL named as certificate holder, and it must stay in force the whole time you’re licensed.
• Workers’ comp: proof of workers’ compensation insurance naming DOPL as certificate holder, or a Workers’ Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission if you have no employees.

Step by step

1. Finish both pre-licensure coursesTake the 25-hour and five-hour courses from an approved provider. They are taught live, in class or by live broadcast. The provider reports your completion to DOPL within seven days.
2. Register with ProvGo to provexam.com/register, choose “UT Contracting,” and pick Business and Law (English or Spanish). The fee is $85 each time you take the exam.
3. Pick a test center or ExamroomTest at a Prov center or at home through Examroom. To change or cancel, contact Prov at least three business days ahead or you lose the fee.
4. Get one primary book readyMost candidates bring one of the approved primary reference books. Highlight it and add permanent tabs. The state laws and rules are available online inside the exam.
5. Pass the examYou need 70%. If you fail, wait 30 days to retake. After three failures, you wait six months before each new attempt.
6. Apply to DOPLSend your application with proof of the courses, experience, liability insurance and workers’ comp (or the waiver). Get the current form and fee from DOPL before you apply.

The reference books

For most candidates, the exam uses one primary book. Prov’s bulletin lists these choices: the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management (4th ed.), the Utah Contractor Education Book from the Home Builders Association of Utah (11th ed., 2020, also in Spanish), or The Utah Contractor Business & Law Manual from AGC of Utah (1st ed.).

Six state references are built into the exam screen, so you don’t bring them: DOPL’s general rule (R156-1), the Construction Trades Licensing Act (Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 55), the Trades Licensing Act Rule (R156-55a), the Workers’ Compensation Act (34A-2), the Centralized New Hire Registry Act (35A-7), and the lien law (Title 38, Chapter 1a).

Practice with the online references: they’re long, and searching them under time pressure is a skill. Read the licensing act and the lien law before test day so you know where things are.

Older editions: you may use older versions of the references, but answers are based on the newer versions.

A 6-week study plan

On test day

• Doors open at least 15 minutes early. If you arrive after the session starts, you’re turned away and lose your fee.
• Bring a current government-issued photo ID that matches your registration exactly. A temporary paper Utah license alone isn’t enough.
• Bring your primary reference book, highlighted and tabbed with permanent tabs. The state laws and rules are on screen.
• A simple calculator is allowed: silent, battery powered, no tape, non-programmable. Phone calculators aren’t allowed.
• Watch the clock: you have 2 minutes per question. Answer what you know first, then look up the rest.
• Phones, smart watches, bags, pens and food go in storage. You’ll sign a log and be photographed at check-in.

Quick answers