South Carolina Residential Home Builders License Information
The South Carolina Residential Home Builders license classification covers the construction, repair or improvement of a residential building or structure not over three floors or more than sixteen units in an apartment building.
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 credit report.
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At least one year of experience is required.
· Pre-approval from the state is required to sit for the examination.
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Applicants must also obtain a $15,000 surety bond.
· The South Carolina Business and Law exam is required.
South Carolina Contractors Testing Process:
1. : To apply, contact the state of South Carolina at 1-803-896-4696 or download the application at http://www.llr.state.sc.us/pol/ResidentialBuilders/PDF%20files/REVISED%20BUILDERS%20APP08.pdf
2. Candidates must complete the appropriate examination application and submit it to the Board office along with a fee and supporting documents.
3. Board office notifies PSI of the candidates eligible for testing while also notifying individual applicants of eligibility.
5. Once approved for examination eligibility, the candidate will register with PSI.
6. Candidates may take their test at any of the PSI testing locations found in the Candidate Information Bulletin from PSI (www.psiexams.com). Information regarding the examination itself can be found by visiting PSI’s website or calling PSI at 1-800-733-9267.
7. Board office will notify candidates of exam results.
About the Exam
The South Carolina Residential Contractor Exam has 80 questions and a time limit of 240 minutes. A 65% is required to pass. Topics on the exam include sitework, footings and foundations; concrete and concrete reinforcement; masonry; carpentry; roofing; associated trades; drywall; estimating and plan reading.
Also required is the Business Management and Law for Residential Builders 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:
· 2006 International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings
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Carpentry and Building Construction, 2004
· Modern Masonry, 2003
· The Contractors Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 1998
· Gypsum Construction Handbook, 2000
· Guide to Good Practice for Handling, Installing, Restraining, and Bracing of Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses, 2006.
The following reference book is permitted for the Business Management and Law for Residential Builders Exam:
· South Carolina, Residential Builders Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, 6th 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 Residential Home Builders Exam Prep Course
