If you are getting a Virginia contractor license, the business examination is one of the gates you walk through. Virginia licenses contractors by firm, not by individual, and every Class A or Class B firm names a designated employee who passes the board's business examination on the firm's behalf. The exam is administered by PSI and given under the Candidate Information Bulletin (rev. 6/5/2024). This post covers the format, the rules, the fees, and what each portion tests.
The exam at a glance
Virginia does something most states do not: it splits the business exam into three portions and assigns them by license class:
- Class A designated employees take all three portions: Virginia, General, and Advanced.
- Class B designated employees take two: the Virginia Portion and the General Portion.
- Class C takes no business exam.
The three portions, with their official numbers:
- Virginia Portion: 24 questions, 18 to pass, 48 minutes. This is the Virginia-specific half: Regulation of Contractors (7), Board Rules and Regulations (5), Building Codes (5), Transaction Recovery Fund (5), and Erosion and Sediment Control (2).
- General Portion: 50 questions, 35 to pass, 100 minutes. The general business core: Business Organization (2), Estimating and Bidding (10), Contract Management (10), Project Management (7), Risk Management (3), Safety (5), Labor Laws (3), Financial Management (5), Federal and State Taxes (4), and Lien Laws (1).
- Advanced Portion: 24 questions, 17 to pass, 60 minutes (Class A only). A deeper pass over the general business topics: Estimating and Bidding (1), Contract Management (4), Project Management (1), Risk Management (2), Safety (2), Labor Laws (4), Financial Management (5), Federal and State Taxes (4), and Lien Laws (1).
Fees follow the same pattern: $40 for one portion, $72 for two portions, $85 for three portions. Fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable, and they are valid for one year from payment. Confirm the current fee in the bulletin before you pay, since fees can change.
This is an independent study aid, not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, the Board for Contractors, PSI, or NASCLA. Always check the current PSI bulletin for the exact rules at your test center.
Open book: what that really means
The Virginia exams are open book, but "open book" means you bring your own references. None are provided at the site, and no study guides are allowed. The primary reference is the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business Law and Project Management, Virginia 11th Edition; the bulletin states it contains all information needed for the General and Advanced portions. For the Virginia Portion, add the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, 2021 edition. The open-book strategy that works is a tabbing map: permanent tabs for each topic area and highlighted numbers throughout the book, built before exam day.
The rules on the references are strict. You may highlight, underline, and index before the exam. Only permanent tabs are allowed; removable tabs are not. References containing any writing are not allowed. Downloaded references must be spiral bound, hole-punched in a binder, or stapled in the left-hand corner; no loose papers. A silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator is permitted.
Score validity and retakes
Your scores are valid for 1 year. If all required portions are not passed within one year of the initial exam, the entire examination must be retaken, so schedule your retakes promptly rather than letting a passed portion expire. You may not take a new appointment on the same day as the exam, because results have to be processed first. Unsuccessful candidates may retest within two business days, subject to availability. One useful escape hatch: Class A candidates who pass the General and Virginia portions but not the Advanced portion within the year may apply for Class B and have PSI forward their scores, then continue working toward Class A.
Five to 10 unscored experimental questions may be mixed in. They do not count toward your score, so do not burn time on a question that feels alien.
What to bring on exam day
- Your tabbed and highlighted NASCLA Virginia 11th Edition book (permanent tabs only, no writing added).
- The USBC 2021 edition for the Virginia Portion, if you choose to bring it.
- Acceptable identification as listed in the bulletin.
- A silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator.
Do not bring study guides, notes, or removable tabs. Arrive early so check-in does not eat your calm.
The numbers worth drilling
Open-book exams still reward people who know the key figures cold, because every number you have memorized is a lookup you skip. Drill these until they are automatic:
- 18 of 24 (Virginia Portion), 35 of 50 (General), 17 of 24 (Advanced): the passing lines.
- 48, 100, and 60 minutes: the time limits, about 2 minutes per question.
- $40 / $72 / $85: the portion fees.
- $150,000 / $1,000,000: the Class A single-contract and 12-month thresholds (2025 law).
- $30,000 / $100,000: the Transaction Recovery Fund per-claimant and per-regulant aggregate limits.
- 6 feet (fall protection), 5 feet (excavation cave-in protection): the safety thresholds.
- 7 days (prime-to-sub payment under VPPA), 30 days (state agency payment), 45 days (locality payment): the prompt-pay clocks.
- 90 days from the last day of the month of last work: the lien memorandum deadline.
- 90 days (statute) vs 120 days (regulation): the open conflict on designated-employee replacement. The exam knows this is unsettled; know both numbers and the conflict.
One warning about prep materials: nearly every third-party book still prints the pre-2025 figures, the $120,000/$750,000 Class A thresholds and the $20,000/$40,000 Recovery Fund limits. The 2025 law (HB1707/SB1059) controls, and the exam will use current law. When a statute and an older book conflict, the statute wins.
How the business exam compares to trade exams
The business portions are a separate animal from any trade or specialty exam for your classification. Trade exams test craft knowledge; these test whether you can run a contracting business inside Virginia law: licensing, money, contracts, taxes, employees, insurance, VOSH safety rules, and liens. Field experience helps with the safety and project-management questions, but it will not carry you through tax law, the VPPA payment rules, or lien deadlines. Study it as its own subject, and work practice questions until the figures are reflexes.
Try the free practice quiz
Want to see where you stand right now? Take the free 12-question Virginia Business and Law practice quiz. You will get your score with explanations for every answer, so you can see exactly which topics need work. Start the free quiz