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100+ Free SC Limited Building Practice Questions

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: SC Limited Building Exam

80 Q

Official Exam Questions

PSI SC Commercial Contractor CIB updated 5/15/2025

70%

Passing Score (56 of 80)

PSI SC Commercial Contractor CIB updated 5/15/2025

5 hours

Time Allowed

PSI SC Commercial Contractor CIB updated 5/15/2025

USD 75

PSI Exam Fee

PSI SC Commercial Contractor CIB updated 5/15/2025

Open Book

Book Policy

PSI SC Commercial Contractor CIB updated 5/15/2025

South Carolina (Limited) Building Contractor Examination is the official CLB/PSI open-book exam: 80 questions, 70% (56 of 80), 5 hours, USD 75 (bulletin updated 5/15/2025). Official delivery is English.

Sample SC Limited Building Practice Questions

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

1Before excavating for a 3-story Limited Building project in South Carolina, how much advance notice must the excavator give SC 811, not counting the day the ticket is entered, weekends, or holidays?
A.1 full working day
B.2 full working days
C.5 full calendar days
D.3 full working days
Explanation: South Carolina's underground facility damage-prevention law and the SC 811 Excavator Manual require 3 full working days of notice, excluding the day of ticket entry, weekends, and holidays. Facility operators use that window to mark their lines and post a positive response. Digging before the wait expires, or before every operator has responded, is a statutory violation even on a small commercial pad.
2On a Columbia jobsite, a locate crew paints a continuous yellow line across the proposed building pad. Under the APWA uniform color code used by SC 811, that mark identifies:
A.gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other gaseous materials
B.electric power lines, cables, and lighting
C.potable water
D.communications, alarm, or signal lines
Explanation: The APWA uniform color code, which SC 811 operators follow, assigns yellow to gas, oil, steam, petroleum, and other gaseous materials. A Limited Building contractor grading a pad must treat a yellow mark as a high-hazard energy line and stay out of the tolerance zone until the facility is hand-exposed.
3A 12-inch water main is marked on a Greenville site. Under South Carolina law, the tolerance zone on each side of the mark is:
A.18 inches, regardless of pipe diameter
B.24 inches only, with no addition for pipe size
C.36 inches plus the full pipe diameter
D.24 inches plus one-half the facility diameter, or 30 inches each side
Explanation: SC 811 and the Damage Prevention Act define the tolerance zone as 24 inches plus one-half the known facility width on each side of the mark. Half of a 12-inch main is 6 inches, so the zone is 30 inches each side. Mechanized equipment is prohibited in that zone until the line is visually exposed by hand or vacuum excavation.
4After utilities are marked, a Limited Building excavator must work inside the South Carolina tolerance zone by:
A.hand-digging or using nonintrusive means until the facility is visually exposed or confirmed absent to the excavation depth
B.using a toothed bucket at idle speed until the line is felt
C.probing with a steel bar, then resuming machine excavation
D.relying on the paint marks as the exact pipe centerline and digging 6 inches away
Explanation: South Carolina requires hand excavation or other nonintrusive methods inside the tolerance zone until the facility is seen or confirmed not present to the planned depth. Marks are approximate; the pipe may sit anywhere in the zone. Machine teeth and steel probes are common damage causes and do not satisfy the statute.
5Under the 2021 IBC as adopted in South Carolina, the ground immediately adjacent to a building foundation shall slope away from the wall at not less than which rate for the first 10 feet, unless drains or swales are provided?
A.1 percent (about 1-1/4 inches in 10 feet)
B.2 percent (about 2-1/2 inches in 10 feet)
C.10 percent (12 inches in 10 feet)
D.5 percent (6 inches in 10 feet)
Explanation: IBC Section 1804.4 requires the ground next to the foundation to fall at least 1 unit vertical in 20 units horizontal (5 percent) for a minimum of 10 feet, which is 6 inches of drop. That slope keeps roof and surface water from saturating backfill and entering the basement or crawl space. Where lot lines block a 10-foot fall, approved drains or swales must still carry water away.
6A Limited Building pad requires a 40 ft by 30 ft cut averaging 2.0 ft deep. The same site has a 40 ft by 20 ft fill averaging 1.5 ft. Ignoring swell and shrinkage, how many bank cubic yards must be exported?
A.45 cubic yards
B.22 cubic yards
C.89 cubic yards
D.133 cubic yards
Explanation: Cut volume is 40 × 30 × 2.0 = 2,400 cubic feet, or 2,400 ÷ 27 = 88.9 cubic yards. Fill volume is 40 × 20 × 1.5 = 1,200 cubic feet, or 44.4 cubic yards. Net export is 88.9 − 44.4 = 44.5 cubic yards, which rounds to 45 cubic yards. Convert cubic feet to cubic yards by dividing by 27 before subtracting.
7On a 2-acre commercial site in Lexington County that will disturb more than 1 acre, a silt fence is installed primarily to:
A.trap sediment in stormwater runoff before it leaves the site
B.increase the compacted density of structural fill
C.mark the SC 811 tolerance zone around utilities
D.replace the need for a construction entrance and tracking pad
Explanation: Silt fence is a temporary sediment-control best management practice. On sites that disturb 1 acre or more, NPDES/SCDHEC stormwater rules require a SWPPP, and perimeter silt fence is the usual downslope control that keeps soil on the lot. It is not a compaction tool, a utility marker, or a substitute for a stabilized construction entrance.
8Structural fill under a 3-story Limited Building slab-on-grade is typically specified to be compacted to not less than which density?
A.85 percent of the standard Proctor maximum dry density
B.90 percent of the loose truck-bed unit weight
C.100 percent of the relative density of clean, dry sand
D.95 percent of the standard Proctor (ASTM D698) maximum dry density
Explanation: Most geotechnical reports and IBC Chapter 18 special-inspection programs for building pads call for 95 percent of the standard Proctor maximum dry density (ASTM D698) in thin lifts. That density limits settlement under footings and slabs. Field density tests with a nuclear gauge or sand cone confirm each lift before the next is placed.
9A Limited Building crew will trench parallel to a marked 8-inch gas main for 200 feet. South Carolina requires visual exposure of that facility at intervals not exceeding:
A.50 feet
B.25 feet
C.100 feet
D.200 feet, once at each end of the run
Explanation: The SC 811 Excavator Manual requires that when excavation runs parallel to a marked facility inside or along the tolerance zone, the excavator visually expose the facility at intervals not exceeding 50 feet. That potholing confirms the line has not drifted toward the trench. An 8-inch main also widens the tolerance zone to 24 + 4 = 28 inches each side.
10Ready-mixed concrete is ordered and billed by the cubic yard. How many cubic feet are in 1 cubic yard?
A.9
B.12
C.36
D.27
Explanation: A cubic yard is 3 ft × 3 ft × 3 ft = 27 cubic feet. Every slab, footing, and wall takeoff converts cubic feet to cubic yards by dividing by 27 before the order is placed. Forgetting that conversion is the most common concrete-quantity error on the Limited Building exam.

About the SC Limited Building Exam

The South Carolina (Limited) Building Contractor Examination is the official CLB classification examination administered by PSI. The official exam has 80 scored questions. Passing is 70% (56 of 80) in 5 hours. The examination is open book. PSI lists USD 75 (South Carolina Commercial Contractor Candidate Information Bulletin updated 5/15/2025). For Group #1, #2, and #3 limitations to construct or remodel commercial or residential buildings. Construction is limited to 3 stories in height. All commercial general and mechanical contractor candidates must pass the Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractor Examination in addition to this technical examination. LLR charges a separate USD 350 license application fee. This bank is an English-language MCQ study adaptation. It does not replace required trade experience, board approval, financial statements or bonds, or the official examination.

Assessment

Open-book computer-based multiple-choice. Allowed references are listed in the South Carolina Commercial Contractor Candidate Information Bulletin updated 5/15/2025.

Time Limit

5 hours

Passing Score

70% (56 of 80)

Exam Fee

USD 75 (PSI Services LLC (for the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board))

SC Limited Building Exam Content Outline

9%

Sitework

Sitework (7 items)

13%

Concrete

Concrete (10 items)

13%

Masonry

Masonry (10 items)

13%

Metals

Metals (10 items)

15%

Carpentry

Carpentry (12 items)

11%

Thermal and Moisture Protection

Thermal and Moisture Protection (9 items)

3%

Doors and Windows

Doors and Windows (2 items)

3%

Finishes

Finishes (2 items)

6%

Safety

Safety (5 items)

14%

General Code, Plan Reading and Estimating

General Code, Plan Reading and Estimating (13 items)

How to Pass the SC Limited Building Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 70% (56 of 80)
  • Assessment: Open-book computer-based multiple-choice. Allowed references are listed in the South Carolina Commercial Contractor Candidate Information Bulletin updated 5/15/2025.
  • Time limit: 5 hours
  • Exam fee: USD 75

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

SC Limited Building Study Tips from Top Performers

1Distribute study time to the official PSI content outline (bulletin updated 5/15/2025)
2Use only the PSI-listed references for this classification
3Temporary tabs such as Post-it notes are prohibited in the PSI center
4This bank is an English-language MCQ study aid, not an official PSI form

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the South Carolina (Limited) Building Contractor Examination?

The official PSI examination has 80 scored questions. Passing is 70% (56 of 80) within 5 hours (South Carolina Commercial Contractor Candidate Information Bulletin updated 5/15/2025).

How much does the SC Limited Building exam cost?

PSI lists USD 75 for this examination. The South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board charges a separate USD 350 license application fee.

Is the SC Limited Building exam open book?

Yes. PSI lists the commercial contractor examinations as open book. Candidates may bring the PSI-listed references for this classification. Temporary tabs such as Post-it notes are prohibited.

What building height does the limited building classification cover?

The (Limited) Building Contractor classification is for Group #1, #2, and #3 work on commercial or residential buildings limited to 3 stories in height.