General Building (B) · Free practice test
Free CSLB General B practice test: 20 General Building questions, no login.
Checked 20 October 2026 against CSLB and PSI sources · Written by the License Ladder team · Reviewed by AJ Sokol, Co-Founder
Right here, free: 20 questions for the General Building (B) exam, the General B trade exam the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) gives for a California general building contractor license, in the real exam’s format, four choices and one best answer, spread across CSLB’s five sections by its published weights. No login, email or credit card. Each answer comes with an explanation, and you get a score by section. The real exam is closed book, and CSLB gives you 3½ hours. CSLB publishes no passing score.
Where can you take a free General Building practice test?
Right here, with no login: 20 General Building (B) questions from License Ladder’s practice bank, weighted like CSLB’s five sections. In Study mode, see the correct answer and why after each question. In Exam mode, answer all 20 first, with an elapsed-time clock, and see your results at the end. Then get your score by section and review all 20 explanations.
Questions from License Ladder’s General Building practice bank. Section weights from CSLB’s General Building study guide 13E-B (03-2026). Checked 20 October 2026.
How does the real CSLB General Building exam work?
You take the CSLB General Building (B) exam on a computer at a PSI test center. It is multiple choice with four choices per question, it is closed book, and CSLB gives you 3½ hours. PSI charges $51.43 per registration. CSLB publishes neither a question count nor a passing score. B candidates also take CSLB’s Law and Business exam, unless a waiver applies.
| Item | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Time | 3½ hours, after an on-screen tutorial of up to 15 minutes that does not count against your time |
| Where | On a computer at one of PSI’s 20 California test centers or in Wilsonville, Oregon; no online option |
| Format | Multiple choice, four choices per question, one best answer; one question on screen at a time, with the minutes remaining shown |
| Books and notes | None. CSLB calls it a closed-book exam, and textbooks, notes and reading materials stay out of the testing room |
| Calculator | Provided; you can’t bring your own |
| Guessing | No penalty, so answer every question |
| Question count and passing score | Not published by CSLB |
| Fee | $51.43 per registration, paid to PSI, first try or retake |
| Results | A printed report before you leave the test center |
Two exams for one B license
The qualifier on a B license must also pass CSLB’s Law and Business exam, unless a waiver applies. Each exam is its own PSI registration, and you can take them on the same day or different days. Try the free Law and Business practice test.
Practice before the clock starts
PSI’s General Building bulletin says the on-screen tutorial, up to 15 minutes, does not count against your time, and it is followed by sample questions so you can practice answering and reviewing your answers. Then the clock runs, with the minutes remaining shown at the top of the screen.
What each section covers, topic by topic, is in our guide to what is on the CSLB General Building exam.
Sources: CSLB, Examinations FAQ; CSLB study guide 13E-B (03-2026); PSI, General Building (B) candidate bulletin; CSLB, Get Licensed to Build. Checked 20 October 2026.
What are the five General Building sections worth?
Core Trades is the biggest, at about 30% of the CSLB General Building (B) exam. Framing and Structural Components and Finish Trades are about 20% each. Planning and Estimating and Safety are about 15% each. These are CSLB’s weights for exams from January 1, 2025. This free test uses the same split: 6, 4, 4, 3 and 3 of its 20 questions.
| Section | CSLB weight | Questions on this test |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Planning and Estimating | 15% | 3 |
| 2. Framing and Structural Components | 20% | 4 |
| 3. Core Trades | 30% | 6 |
| 4. Finish Trades | 20% | 4 |
| 5. Safety | 15% | 3 |
Three building sections carry 70%
Framing and Structural Components, Core Trades and Finish Trades add up to 70% of the exam by CSLB’s weights. Planning and Estimating and Safety make up the other 30%. Core Trades alone, at 30%, is the largest section.
Built on the 2025 outline
CSLB’s outline for exams from January 1, 2025 changed four of the five weights. Safety rose from 12% to 15% and Finish Trades from 19% to 20%. Planning and Estimating fell from 17% to 15% and Framing and Structural Components from 22% to 20%. Material that shows Safety at 12% predates it.
Every topic CSLB lists under each section, and how the exam is scored, is in our guide to what is on the CSLB General Building exam.
Sources: CSLB study guide 13E-B (03-2026), for exams scheduled on or after January 1, 2025; CSLB’s previous General Building study guide (CSLB’s file as saved by the Internet Archive). The 70% and 30% totals are our arithmetic on CSLB’s weights. Checked 20 October 2026.
Why does the General Building exam reach so far past one trade?
Because a B license covers whole structures. Under Business and Professions Code section 7057, a general building contractor’s main business is structures that need at least two unrelated trades. So CSLB’s General Building (B) outline goes well past framing and finish work. It covers plumbing, electrical, HVAC, concrete and roofing, plus estimating and job safety.
Core Trades, the biggest section
At 30%, Core Trades lists plumbing; electrical; HVAC; concrete; earthwork and surveying; insulation, acoustical, and weatherproofing; and roofing. A framer, a remodeler and a concrete contractor each meet trades here that they may not work every day.
The business side of the build
Planning and Estimating, at 15%, covers scope of work and code compliance, plans and specifications, field inspection, project coordination and cost estimates for materials, equipment and labor. Some questions require math, and a calculator is provided.
Safety on every site
Safety, at 15%, covers personnel safety, transportation and traffic control, and environmental safety. CSLB raised it from 12% in its outline for exams from January 1, 2025.
CSLB says its exam questions are written and reviewed by licensed contractors who are actively working in the trade, and that state law requires every license exam to be updated at least every five to seven years. The General Building exam is a test of the whole job, and it deserves preparation to match.
Sources: Business and Professions Code section 7057; CSLB study guide 13E-B (03-2026); CSLB, Board meeting packet, September 2026 (how exams are updated). Checked 20 October 2026.
What does your General B practice score tell you?
It shows where you stand today on 20 questions across CSLB’s five sections, and your results by section show where License Ladder will focus your study. It does not tell you whether you would pass: CSLB publishes no passing score for the General Building (B) exam. In the License Ladder app, the readiness score answers that question: when it turns green, you’re ready to pass.
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Take all 20, closed book
No notes and no searching, the way the real exam runs: CSLB calls the General Building exam closed book. Read all four choices before you pick, because each question is written to have one best answer.
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Read every explanation
Your results list all 20 questions with the correct answer and the reason behind it. Read the explanations for the questions you got right too, and note the ones to review.
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Study to green with License Ladder
Get License Ladder with General Building and use it as directed: study the printed cards and digital guides, and work the app’s practice questions and timed mock exams until your readiness score turns green. Then take the exam.
Why green matters
Reaching a green readiness score before your exam is the first condition of License Ladder’s pass guarantee. Then take the exam within 12 months of purchase, and if you don’t pass, send the official result within 60 days and your purchase is refunded.
Sources: CSLB, Get Licensed to Build (2025 edition), which says the percentage needed to pass “varies for each exam”; CSLB study guide 13E-B (03-2026). Checked 20 October 2026.
How should you prepare for the General Building exam?
Get License Ladder with General Building and use it as directed. Law & Business is $99, and General Building is $50 more ($149 total). You get the printed General Building deck (177 cards) and the Law & Business deck (142 cards), 319 cards in all. You also get digital study guides and one year of the app. The app has practice questions, timed mock exams, a readiness score and, in the online system, the AI Exam Coach.
Printed cards for both exams
177 General Building cards and 142 Law & Business cards, 319 in all, with free shipping. The General Building deck comes only with the Law & Business deck.
One year of the app
Practice questions, timed mock exams, digital study guides and a readiness score that turns green when you’re ready to pass. In the online system, the AI Exam Coach answers your questions.
Backed by a guarantee
The pass guarantee: reach a green readiness score before your exam and take it within 12 months of purchase. If you don’t pass, send the official result within 60 days and your purchase is refunded.
One payment, no subscription. Set that against the cost of starting over: if you have not passed within 18 months of CSLB accepting your application, the application is void and you file again with a new $450 application fee, on top of $51.43 to PSI for every attempt.
Product details from License Ladder; the guarantee terms are on their own page. Application rules: CSLB, Examinations FAQ and CSLB, Application for Original Contractor License; exam fee: PSI, General Building (B) candidate bulletin. Checked 20 October 2026.
Questions about the free General Building practice test and the B exam
Keep going with License Ladder
Law & Business is $99. Add General Building for $50 more ($149 total) and you get the printed General Building (B) deck, 177 cards, and the Law & Business deck, 142 cards, plus digital study guides and one year of the app with practice questions, timed mock exams, the readiness score and the AI Exam Coach in the online system. One payment, no subscription.
Enter your name and email to access the free demo. No credit card.
15 free cards on the App Store.
Where every fact on this page comes from
We read each source below in October 2026 and re-checked CSLB’s General Building study guide, its Examinations FAQ and PSI’s General Building bulletin on 20 October 2026.
CSLB study guides: General Building (B) study guide, 13E-B (03-2026) · Previous General Building guide, for exams from February 6, 2020 (archived copy of CSLB's file) · Residential Remodeling (B-2) study guide, 13E-B2 (03-2026) · Law and Business study guide, 13E-LAW (03-2026)
CSLB pages, forms and publications: Examinations FAQ · Get Licensed to Build (2025 edition) · Application for Original Contractor License, 13A-1 (rev. 01/2026) · 2025 Accomplishments and Activities Report · Board meeting packet, September 2026
PSI: CSLB Licensing Examination Information Guide: General Building (B) · CSLB Licensing Examination Information Guide: Law and Business
Law: Business and Professions Code section 7057
What we looked for and did not find, as of 20 October 2026: a question count or a passing score for the General Building exam in CSLB’s study guide, its Examinations FAQ or its Get Licensed to Build guide, or in PSI’s General Building bulletin.
License Ladder is independent study material, not affiliated with or endorsed by CSLB or PSI.