1.1 Current Exam Facts

Arizona General Contractor Licensing Exams at a Glance

Quick Answer: Arizona requires two exams to license a general contractor — a Statutes & Rules Exam (SRE) taken online through GMetrix ($61, 70% passing) and a PSI Trade Exam with 100 questions ($66, 240 minutes, 70% passing). For commercial classifications (KB-1, KB-2, B-1, B-2), the NASCLA Commercial General Building exam (115 questions, 330 minutes, 81 correct to pass) may be substituted for the trade exam. Neither the SRE item count nor the official pass rate is published.

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (AZ ROC) administers contractor licensing under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 10 and the Arizona Administrative Code (AAC) Title 4, Chapter 9. A contractor license is required whenever total project cost exceeds the $1,000 threshold — for any construction, alteration, or repair work. Projects under $1,000 that do not require a building permit are exempt.

To become a licensed general contractor in Arizona, every applicant who has not served as a qualifying party on an Arizona contractor license within the preceding 5 years must pass two separate exams: the SRE and a trade-specific exam.

The Two Required Exams

Scores stay usable for 2 years: PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin requires the completed license application and the original score report to reach AZ ROC within two years of the date you passed.

AZ ROC and GMetrix publish the SRE's price, delivery mode, and 70% pass mark but not its item count. Third-party prep sites quote anything from 50 to 80 questions and none of those figures traces back to AZ ROC. Treat the item count as unpublished; what is certain is the 70% bar.

Statutes & Rules Exam (SRE)

The SRE is delivered by GMetrix as an online, open-book training course followed by a test — it is not taken at a PSI test center. It covers:

• A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 10 (the Arizona contractor licensing statute)
• AAC Title 4, Chapter 9 (the administrative rules)
• The AZ ROC SRE Glossary

The SRE is Arizona-specific and cannot be waived. AZ ROC states it plainly: "The AZ SRE Statutes and Rules Exam cannot be waived because it has reference to Arizona specific statutes and rules." The GMetrix course is licensed to one named person, stays active for one year, and includes a single attempt at the final exam.

PSI Trade Exam

The trade exam is delivered by PSI Services either remote-proctored online or at a PSI test center. The 100 scored items cover the trade content outline for your classification; 5–10 additional unscored experimental items may appear and count against your time but not your score.

Open-book references allowed (PSI content outlines effective 5/9/2024):

• 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA) — the GPO edition or PSI's OSHA Selections — on both trade exams
• 2018 IRC (International Residential Code) — allowed on the residential B/B-3/CR-61 exam and on the commercial B-1/B-2/KB-1/KB-2 exam
• 2018 IBC (International Building Code) — allowed on the commercial B-1/B-2/KB-1/KB-2 exam only

The commercial bulletin also names five books used to write questions that are not allowed in the exam room: Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, Pipe and Excavation Contracting, Handling and Erection of Steel Joists and Joist Girders, Carpentry and Building Construction, and Modern Masonry. Study them; do not pack them.

References may be highlighted, underlined, and indexed, but only permanent tabs are permitted. No writing is allowed during the exam, and any downloaded references must be bound (not loose pages).

The trade exam may be waived if you were a qualifying party in Arizona or another state in the same or comparable classification within the preceding 5 years. The SRE cannot be waived.

NASCLA Commercial General Building Exam (Alternative)

For the commercial general building classifications — KB-1, KB-2, B-1, and B-2 — Arizona accepts the NASCLA (National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies) Commercial General Building exam in lieu of the PSI trade exam. The NASCLA exam is not accepted for the residential B.

• 115 questions, 330 minutes, and 81 correct answers to pass — a different exam from the 100-question/240-minute AZ ROC trade exam
• $106 exam fee paid to PSI Exams Online, plus the $25 application fee paid directly to NASCLA (AZ ROC, Applying for a License)
• The SRE is still required even when the NASCLA exam is used
• Designed for contractors licensed in multiple states; results are sent to states through NASCLA's National Examination Database (NED)

This option benefits contractors who work across state lines — a single NASCLA score can satisfy trade-exam requirements in every participating state that accepts it.

Experience Requirement

Arizona requires a minimum of 4 years of practical or management trade experience in the type of construction applied for, with at least 2 years within the last 10 years. Up to 2 years of accredited technical training or college may substitute for experience. Applicants must be 18 or older and designate a qualifying party who is regularly employed and actively engaged in the work.

Pass Rate

The official pass rate for the Arizona general contractor exams is not published by AZ ROC, PSI, or NASCLA. Treat any specific percentage you encounter on third-party sites as unverified — the only authoritative source is AZ ROC, and they do not publish pass-rate statistics. What is published is the 70% passing score on both exams.

Retake Policy

The 30-day / 3-attempt rule in PSI's Candidate Information Bulletin governs the PSI-delivered exams: wait 30 days before retaking an exam you failed, and after 3 failed attempts wait 90 days before each further retake. The exam fee is valid for one year and is never refundable or transferable.

The SRE follows GMetrix's rules, not PSI's. The GMetrix course carries one exam attempt and one year of access, so a failed SRE means repurchasing the $61 course rather than serving a 30-day wait. Do not carry PSI's retake numbers over to the SRE.

License Fees (Paid to AZ ROC)

These are paid with the application and are separate from the exam fees paid to GMetrix, PSI, or NASCLA.