100+ Free FL Underground Utility Practice Questions

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: FL Underground Utility Exam

70%

Passing score

DBPR

Scored questions

DBPR At a Glance

5 hrs

Time allowed

DBPR At a Glance

$135

Registration fee

Professional Testing, Inc.

4 yrs

Experience req

CILB

Independent English-language multiple-choice study aid built from the official CILB Underground Utility content outline (effective for 2026). These questions teach the trade-knowledge content tested on the open-book computer-based exam; they are not a reproduction of CILB's secure item bank and do not substitute for the official examination administered by Professional Testing, Inc. and Pearson VUE.

Sample FL Underground Utility Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your FL Underground Utility exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Under Florida's Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act (Chapter 556), who must contact Sunshine 811 before beginning subsurface excavation?

A.Only the property owner on whose land the work occurs

B.Any excavator performing covered digging operations, including augering, boring, trenching, and directional drilling

C.Only licensed underground utility contractors; homeowners are exempt

D.Only general contractors with projects exceeding $25,000 in value

Explanation: Chapter 556, Florida Statutes, defines excavation broadly to include auguring, boring, trenching, directional drilling, grading, moving earth, and similar operations, and requires any excavator to notify the One-Call system before digging. The duty is tied to the activity, not to licensure or project value, and homeowner exemptions do not exist in the statute.

2How far in advance of a planned dig must an excavator notify Sunshine 811 under Chapter 556, Florida Statutes?

A.At least 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays

B.Two full business days, not including the date of the request

C.Five calendar days in all circumstances

D.Twelve hours for emergency repairs only

Explanation: Chapter 556 requires the excavator to provide locate notice at least two full business days before the planned start, not counting the day of the request. This gives member utilities the statutory window to mark the facilities before ground is disturbed.

3What is the tolerance zone established under Chapter 556, Florida Statutes, for excavation near a marked underground facility?

A.12 inches measured horizontally from the centerline of the mark

B.24 inches measured from the outside edge of the facility on either side

C.36 inches measured from the locate flag placed at the surface

D.6 inches measured from the painted line regardless of pipe size

Explanation: Florida's tolerance zone runs 24 inches from the outside edge of the underground facility on either side. Within this zone the excavator must use increased precaution, typically hand-digging or vacuum excavation, to expose and protect the facility before using power equipment.

4On a utility locate marking plan, what does the color white indicate under the APWA uniform color code?

A.Proposed excavation route or limits

B.Potable water lines

C.Communication, alarm, or signal lines

D.Reclaimed or irrigation water lines

Explanation: White marks the proposed excavation route or limits that the excavator wants the locators to search within. The excavator pre-marks the dig area in white so each utility owner knows where to confine their locate.

5Which APWA uniform color code marks a buried sanitary sewer line?

A.Green

B.Yellow

C.Red

D.Pink

Explanation: Green is used for sewers and drain lines under the APWA uniform color code. Yellow marks gas, oil, petroleum, or other hazardous materials; red marks electric power; pink marks temporary survey markings.

6Before earthwork begins, who is responsible for classifying the soil on an excavation site for the purpose of selecting an OSHA protective system?

A.The site geotechnical engineer listed on the soils report

B.A competent person on site who is trained to identify soil types and excavation hazards

C.The project building official at permit issuance

D.The equipment operator based on the first bucket of material removed

Explanation: OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P assigns soil classification and protective system selection to a competent person, defined as someone capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and authorized to take corrective action. A soils report supports the decision but the on-site competent person makes the classification for the actual cut.

7On a utility plan set, the term "invert elevation" refers to which of the following?

A.The top of pipe elevation at the upstream end of a run

B.The inside bottom elevation of a pipe at a given station, used to establish flow line and grade

C.The outside diameter of the pipe at its deepest point

D.The finished ground elevation directly above the pipe crown

Explanation: The invert is the inside bottom of a pipe or structure at a given station, defining the flow line that establishes pipe grade and hydraulic slope. Installers set inverts from the plan profile to maintain the required slope and connect properly at structures.

8A trench is to be excavated 400 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 5 feet deep in firm, dry soil. Approximately how many cubic yards of soil will be removed, ignoring swell?

A.About 66 cubic yards

B.About 222 cubic yards

C.About 600 cubic yards

D.About 2,000 cubic yards

Explanation: Volume in cubic feet is 400 x 3 x 5 = 6,000 cubic feet. Dividing by 27 cubic feet per cubic yard gives about 222 cubic yards. Estimators convert in-place volumes to cubic yards first, then apply a swell factor to size hauling.

9Which erosion-control measure is most appropriate to slow runoff and trap sediment along the downslope edge of a disturbed trench right-of-way before a rain event?

A.A solid concrete curb poured at the trench edge

B.A silt fence installed on the contour along the toe of the disturbed area

C.A permanent asphalt berm placed over the trench line

D.A perimeter chain-link fence wrapped in polyethylene sheeting

Explanation: A silt fence placed on the contour along the toe of disturbed soil slows sheet flow, ponds runoff, and allows sediment to settle while water filters through the geotextile. It is a standard temporary sediment control for trench right-of-way work.

10When groundwater is encountered in a trench at or above the bottom of the excavation, what is the primary reason to maintain dewatering during pipe installation?

A.It reduces the labor cost of placing bedding material

B.It prevents washout of bedding, maintains a stable bearing surface for the pipe, and allows proper joint assembly and compaction of the haunches

C.It allows the crew to skip the hydrostatic test because the trench is already saturated

D.It eliminates the need for shoring because the soil is fully saturated and self-supporting

Explanation: Standing water in the trench undermines the bedding, floats or displaces pipe, and prevents proper haunch compaction, all of which damage the installed line. Dewatering is maintained until the pipe, bedding, and initial backfill are placed and compacted to design density.

About the FL Underground Utility Exam

The Florida Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor Examination (Division II Trade Knowledge) tests installation and repair of main sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water distribution systems plus excavation, trenching, shoring, dewatering, pipe laying, backfill and compaction, trenchless methods (directional drilling, jack and bore, slip lining, pipe bursting), valves, fittings, taps, thrust restraint, hydrostatic and leakage testing, AWWA C651 disinfection, drainage, equipment operation, and traffic control. References include OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P, AWWA C900, the Ductile Iron Pipe Installation Guide, the FDOT 555/556 standards, Florida Statutes Chapter 556 (Sunshine 811), and the Florida Building Code, Plumbing 2023.

Questions

80 scored questions

Time Limit

5 hours

Passing Score

70%

Exam Fee

$135 registration + $80 per portion (Florida DBPR Bureau of Education and Testing; administered by Professional Testing, Inc. and Pearson VUE)

FL Underground Utility Exam Content Outline

20%

Pre-Installation

Site inspection, estimating, shop drawings, codes, utility location under Florida Statutes Chapter 556 (Sunshine 811), soil and groundwater conditions, erosion control, and material handling.

20%

Excavating, Backfill, and Compaction

Trenching, shoring, sloping, benching, and shielding under OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P; dewatering; pavement removal; backfill placement; lift thickness; and field density testing against Proctor maximum.

15%

Pipe Installation and Repairs

Ductile iron, PVC (AWWA C900), and concrete pipe installation; push-on and mechanical joints; bedding and haunch support; directional boring, jacking and boring, slip lining, and pipe bursting; deflection limits.

15%

Piping, Valves, and Fittings

Taps, thrust blocks and joint restraints, hydrants (dry-barrel), meters (positive displacement and turbine), gate and butterfly valves, fittings, supports, air release valves, and cathodic protection.

10%

Testing, Disinfecting, and Job Closeout

Hydrostatic pressure testing at 1.5x working pressure, AWWA C600 leakage allowance, gravity sewer infiltration and exfiltration testing, AWWA C651 chlorination and bacteriological sampling, as-builts, and operating manuals.

10%

Equipment

Excavators, trenchers, compactors (sheepsfoot for cohesive and vibratory for granular), pumps and dewatering sizing with safety factor, loaders, crane rigging, boring equipment, daily inspection, and preventive maintenance.

Traffic Control

Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plans, advance warning sign spacing per the MUTCD, channelizing devices, barricades, flagger positioning, and taper length calculations.

Drainage Systems

Storm sewer collection systems, catch basins, manhole spacing and access, pipe sizing and flow (Q = A x V), and detention versus retention facilities.

How to Pass the FL Underground Utility Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 70%
Exam length: 80 questions
Time limit: 5 hours
Exam fee: $135 registration + $80 per portion

Keys to Passing

Work through all 100 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
Track weak areas and revisit them
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

FL Underground Utility Study Tips from Top Performers

1Tab the references before exam day: OSHA 1926 Subpart P for soil types and sloping ratios, AWWA C900 and C651 for PVC and disinfection, Chapter 556 for One-Call timing and tolerance zone, and the FBC Plumbing 2023 for crossover items.

2Practice calculations until they are automatic: trench volume in cubic yards, swell factor for hauling, slope ratio set-back by soil type, Proctor percent density, hydrostatic test pressure at 1.5x working, and AWWA C600 leakage allowance.

3Map each topic to its primary reference so you can move from question to book to section in under 30 seconds; reference routing is what a timed open-book exam actually measures.

4Know the license scope cold: the main systems, termination points (meter for water, property line or manhole for sewer), the empty-conduit conditions, and the exclusions for fire-protection piping and energized electrical work.

5Run timed simulations at 3.75 minutes per scored question and reserve extra time for multi-step lookups and calculations so you do not run out of clock on the easy items.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these the real CILB exam questions?

No. These are independently written study questions built from the official CILB Underground Utility content outline. They are an English-language MCQ study aid and do not reproduce CILB's item bank or substitute for the official open-book examination.

What is the format of the exam?

80 scored multiple-choice questions, 5 hours, open-book, computer-based at Pearson VUE centers, administered through Professional Testing, Inc. Passing score 70%.

Is the exam open-book?

Yes. Candidates may bring only the approved references listed on the DBPR Construction Examinations Reference Lists (effective January 1, 2026).

What experience is required?

Generally 4 years of trade experience including at least 1 year as a foreman, or a qualifying combination of education and experience; confirm with DBPR.

100+ Free FL Underground Utility Practice Questions

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