LBExam

California contractor exam prep

The CSLB Law and Business exam question bank that cites its sources

Every question is written from the Business and Professions Code, the Labor and Civil Codes, the rules of the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) safety orders, and most answers link straight to the section they come from.

Start practicing Take the 20 question diagnostic

Closed book on exam day. You cannot look anything up in the room, so do the looking up here.

Business Organization and Licensing · free question

What does the registrar look at to fix the amount of a disciplinary contractor's bond after a license law violation?

D How bad the violation was

The seriousness of the violation sets it: the registrar fixes the sum at no less than $25,000 and no more than 10 times the contractor's bond (Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7071.8(b)). No flat statutory sum applies, and the licensee's volume of work plays no part.

Bus. & Prof. Code s. 7071.8(b)

Contractors State License Law, B&P 7000 to 7191

(b) The board shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance, reissuance, renewal, or restoration of a license to the applicant, or to the approval of an application to change officers of a corporation or a limited liability company, or removal of suspension, or to the continued valid use of a license which has been suspended or revoked, but which suspension or revocation has been stayed, that the applicant or licensee file or have on file a contractor’s bond in a sum to be fixed by the registrar based upon the seriousness of the violation, but which sum shall not be less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) nor more than 10 times that amount required by Section 7071.6.

Repealed (in Sec. 18) and added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 367, Sec. 19. (SB 607) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, by its own provisions

From learners

4.93 / 5

3 reviews

  • Passed my trade exam but had to retake Law and Business. Pretty frustrating after all that studying. LBExam helped me find the sections I needed to go back over, and I spent more time reviewing my wrong answers. Passed the retake last week!
    Miguel R. 5.0 / 5
  • Years on job sites didn't prepare me for all the business questions. I knew how we'd always done things at work, but the questions on contracts and payment rules showed me where I needed to check the actual requirements. The explanations were a big help.
    Jason K. 4.9 / 5
  • I was studying for California's Law and Business exam on my own, mostly after work. Used LBExam with my study guide and did a few questions each evening. Having something to test myself with made it easier to tell whether I was actually learning the material.
    David N. 4.9 / 5

What the exam looks like

One paper, marked as a whole. Practice here is split the same seven ways.

CSLB Law and Business exam · the paper

Length3.5 hours, one paper
Formatclosed book, four options
Questionsnot published
Pass marknot published, varies by exam
Sections7, weighted
Resulta fail is broken down by section
Retake after 21 calendar days

Closed book means no reference material in the room. Contractors State License Board publishes the seven sections and each one's share of the paper. It does not publish the number of questions or the percentage needed to pass.

  • Business Organization and Licensing · 13% of the paper

    16 free here · 212 in the bank
    Practice

  • Business Finances · 15% of the paper

    18 free here · 145 in the bank
    Practice

  • Employment Requirements · 20% of the paper

    24 free here · 134 in the bank
    Practice

  • Insurance and Liens · 12% of the paper

    13 free here · 155 in the bank
    Practice

  • Contract Requirements and Execution · 21% of the paper

    23 free here · 156 in the bank
    Practice

  • Public Works · 5% of the paper

    6 free here · 81 in the bank
    Practice

  • Safety · 14% of the paper

    16 free here · 241 in the bank
    Practice
Start a practice run, all sections

Find the section that is costing you the pass

A fail does not just say try again. It shows you how you did section by section, in the shape drawn here. The sections are weighted: Contract Requirements and Execution alone is 21 percent of the paper, so one weak section can sink a sitting that felt fine.

Find out now, for free: 20 scored questions, untimed, and you will know which section to work on.

A retake means waiting 21 calendar days and paying again.

  1. Take the diagnostic

    20 scored questions, weighted like the paper. Free, no account.

    Take the diagnostic

  2. Drill what it names

    The readout points at your weakest section. Practice it from the ledger above.

    Practice a section ↑

  3. Sit the mock

    Full length, real weighting, with the paid bank. Read the breakdown again.

    What the bank adds

Practice readout · worked example

61 of 100 correct (61%)

Below this site's 70 percent study line. A real fail breaks down by the same sections.

Business Organization and Licensing 10/13 · 76%
Business Finances 11/15 · 73%
Employment Requirements 12/20 · 60%
Insurance and Liens 6/12 · 50%
Contract Requirements and Execution 8/21 · 38%
Public Works 4/5 · 80%
Safety 10/14 · 71%

Green clears this site's 70 percent study line. Four sections already do. Contractors State License Board publishes no pass mark, so that line is this site's own target.

Drill this first Contract Requirements and Execution

The law is on this site, not linked away

The library · 48 sources

  • The Codes 15
  • The Regulations 8
  • Guides 22
  • Manuals and reference documents 3

19 carry their full text here, section by section.

Prep material for this exam sometimes gets the law wrong. Each question about the law here names the section it rests on, and 37 of those sources have a page here. The law is on the site, section by section, so you can read the rule itself instead of somebody's summary of it.

Every citation is a chip like this one. Press it and the provision opens.

Contractors State License Law, s. 7071.8(b)
(b) The board shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance, reissuance, renewal, or restoration of a license to the applicant, or to the approval of an application to change officers of a corporation or a limited liability company, or removal of suspension, or to the continued valid use of a license which has been suspended or revoked, but which suspension or revocation has been stayed, that the applicant or licensee file or have on file a contractor’s bond in a sum to be fixed by the registrar based upon the seriousness of the violation, but which sum shall not be less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) nor more than 10 times that amount required by Section 7071.6.

Read the sources

Flashcards for the parts you have to know cold

Flashcards are for the deadlines, bond amounts and dollar limits you have to know from memory. 315 cards across the 7 sections, 50 of them free to read here, each one naming the provision behind it.

  1. Still learning
  2. Every day
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  4. Every 4 days
  5. Every 8 days · mastered
  6. Every 16 days · mastered

The ladder watches your exam date. Set your sitting date and the schedule fits around it: as the day gets close, no card waits longer than the time you have left, and the last few days are one sweep of everything.

Get it right and it comes back less often. Miss it and it starts over from 10 minutes. Green is mastered.

Create a free account See what the full bank adds

Questions people ask before they start

What does LBExam cost?
149 USD plus tax, once, for lifetime access. The exam itself is a separate cost, paid to the exam provider and never through this site: The exam fee is paid by the applicant directly to the organization that administers the exam, at no greater than the actual cost of administering it. Rescheduling an examination costs $100, set by 16 CCR s. 811(b)(1). Billed by ExamPrep; your statement will show EXAMPREP.
How many practice questions are there?
1124 in the bank, 116 of them free and open to anyone, across the 7 exam sections. Most carry the provision they rest on, as a link into the law on this site. The others are written from a standard form or a published guide, which is not law and is not reproduced here, so they carry the explanation alone.
Is the CSLB Law and Business exam open book?
No. The study guide says it is a closed-book examination and that no reference material may be used during it.
What is the pass mark?
Contractors State License Board does not publish one. Not published. CSLB says the percentage needed to pass varies by exam, and a candidate may ask CSLB for it. A failing report shows how you did section by section, which is why the diagnostic here reports the same way.
How long is the exam, and how many questions?
One paper of 3.5 hours, multiple choice with four options and one best answer. Some questions need arithmetic and a calculator is provided. Contractors State License Board does not publish how many questions the paper holds.
Do I need an account?
Not to practice. The free questions and the diagnostic are open to anyone. An account keeps your progress, and adds unlimited 30-minute mocks and a schedule that brings the cards you missed back.
Is LBExam connected to Contractors State License Board?
LBExam is independent and not affiliated with the Contractors State License Board.

Two ways in

Retaking after a fail?

A fail shows you how you did in each section. Start with the diagnostic, which reports in the same shape, and work the section it points at until the meter clears the line.

Start with the diagnostic

First attempt?

Work the sections in the order the study guide weights them, heaviest first, and watch each meter climb. Read the provision behind each answer you get wrong.

Read the law it is written from