South Carolina Limited Building Contractor License Information
The South Carolina Limited Building Contractor license classification covers the construction, repair or improvement of commercial or residential buildings that are no greater than three stories and $350,000.
Requirements:
- Licensure will be required for the practice of contracting in South Carolina.
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Application fees must be submitted with your application as well as a financial statement, passing test scores, and experience affadavit.
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The South Carolina Business and Law exam is required.
The following financial statement requirements apply to initial applications:
-Groups 1 and 2 - Submit a "self-prepared" financial statement - must be signed and notarized. You may generate a balance sheet from your accounting software or obtain a form from a bank. Call (888) 269-7646, and request document #172.
-Group 3 - Submit a “compiled” financial statement prepared by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Licensed Public Accountant (LPA). The financial statement must include a signed cover letter from the CPA or LPA stating it was “compiled”. It must be prepared in accordance with SSARS including all disclosures required by GAAP.
Limit per Contract Net Worth Requirement
Group # 1 $30,000 $6,000
Group # 2 $100,000 $20,000
Group # 3 $350,000 $70,000
South Carolina Contractors Testing Process:
1. Contact PSI 1-800-733-9267 to request the South Carolina Contractors Application Package.
2. Candidates must complete the appropriate registration form for both the Technical and Business Management/Law exam and submit it to PSI.
3. You will be receive an eligibility letter from PSI, then you can call them to schedule your exam. (time to start ordering books & prep course!)
4. Once you have passed the exams, submit your completed application along with fees, financial statements, exam score sheets, experience affidavit (2 years commercial experience in last 5 years), Answer sheet and signature page from SC Code of Laws take home exam, and corporate registration. For more information please visit the South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board website.
About the Exam
The South Carolina Limited Contractor Exam has 80 questions and a time limit of 240 minutes. A 70% is required to pass. Topics on the exam include Sitework; Concrete; Masonry; Carpentry; Metals; Finishes, Doors & Windows; Finishes; Thermal and Moisture Protection; Safety; General Code, Plan Reading and Estimating. .
Also required is the Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors Exam. This exam is 50 questions and you will need to answer 35 correctly (70%) in order to pass with a time limit of 120 minutes.
Reference Books
The following reference books are permitted for the Trades Exam:
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2006 International Building Code
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Code of Federal Regulations – OSHA - 29 CFR Part 1926
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Carpentry and Building Construction, 2004
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Modern Masonry, 2003
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Handling and Erection of Steel Joists and Joist Girders, 2006
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The Contractors Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 1998
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Roofing Construction and Estimating, 1995
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Pipe and Excavation Contracting, 1987
The following reference book is permitted for the Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors Exam:
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South Carolina, Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, 5th Edition, NASCLA
NOTE: DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING, ANYWHERE IN YOUR BOOKS! The exam proctor will check your books prior to going to your testing station and will check them again when you are done with the exam. Only use approved tabs per the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin.
These books are available for purchase by clicking here: Contractor Bookstore
Exam Preparation Study Course
This is a difficult exam, with an enormous amount of reference material to cover. Therefore we have created this exam preparation course to provide you with an easy-to-use, in-depth review for the South Carolina Residential Contractor Exam through a home study and online course format. The program takes you through the major reference books that the exam is based on showing you what to highlight and stressing important points from the books and common test areas. This is accomplished with the following unique components: Audio CD’s to listen to when in the vehicle, online narrated and animated presentations/highlighting sessions, and with a study guide (that can be printed or viewed online). After your review of the materials, you can take as many practice exams as you would like with our software. There are hundreds of questions drawn from the reference books that are randomly generated to create each practice exam, mirroring the format of the actual state exam. The tests are timed and graded, and you can go back and review your results and study more on the areas you may have missed. Our study course covers the major trades books and includes the business, law & project management material.
To purchase the complete study course please click here:
SC Limited Commercial Contractors Exam Prep Course
