Every Idaho contractor exam runs 100 questions in four hours. That uniformity is convenient, and it hides three things that will cost you if you plan around the wrong one.
The pass mark is not the same across trades
Electrical and HVAC exams require 70 percent. Plumbing requires 75 percent.
On a 100-question paper that is the difference between 70 correct answers and 75, which sounds small until you are sitting on 72 and finding out which side of the line you landed on. If you are preparing for a plumbing license, the five-question buffer you assumed you had does not exist.
The HVAC Contractor exam is not a trade exam
This is the one that wastes months.
Idaho’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses administers the HVAC exams itself. The Journeyman and Specialty Journeyman papers are what you would expect: mechanical code, referenced to the 2018 International Mechanical Code and the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code.
The HVAC Contractor exam is different. All 100 of its questions come from the DOPL Contractor’s Business and Law Reference Manual, and code books are not permitted in the room at all. It covers licensing, business organization, accounting and finance, human resources, insurance, estimating and bidding, contracts, project management, safety, taxes, and lien law.
A journeyman stepping up to a contractor license who prepares by studying the mechanical code harder has prepared for a different exam. The step up in Idaho is from trade competence to running a business.
The plumbing code edition is older than you expect
Idaho’s plumbing exams are referenced to the 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code plus the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code under IDAPA 24.39.20.
Buying the current UPC because it is current is a real and common mistake. Section numbering moves between cycles, and an open-book exam scored against the 2015 edition does not care that your book is newer. Electrical, by contrast, runs on the NEC with Idaho amendments under IDAPA 24.39.10.
The exams at a glance
| Examination | Questions | Time | Pass | Referenced to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrician | 100 | 4 hours | 70% | NEC + Idaho amendments |
| Master Electrician | 100 | 4 hours | 70% | NEC + Idaho amendments |
| Journeyman Plumber | 100 | 4 hours | 75% | 2015 UPC + Idaho code |
| Plumbing Contractor | 100 | 4 hours | 75% | 2015 UPC + Idaho code |
| Journeyman HVAC | 100 | 4 hours | 70% | 2018 IMC + 2018 IFGC |
| HVAC Contractor | 100 | 4 hours | 70% | Business and law manual only |
All are open book. Which reference you are allowed to bring depends entirely on which paper you sit, so read the reference list for your exam rather than for your trade.
Idaho exam prep
We build practice exams to the real length, time limit and pass mark of the paper you are actually sitting, with an answer explanation for every question and a full study guide.
- Idaho Journeyman Electrician Exam Prep
- Idaho Master Electrician Exam Prep
- Idaho Journeyman Plumber Exam Prep
- Idaho Plumbing Contractor Exam Prep
- Idaho Journeyman HVAC Exam Prep
- Idaho HVAC Contractor Exam Prep
Before you register
- Confirm your pass mark. Plumbing is 75 percent where electrical and HVAC are 70.
- Confirm what your exam is actually about. The HVAC Contractor paper is business and law, not mechanical code.
- Confirm the code edition on the current DOPL bulletin before buying a book. Idaho pins older editions than you may assume.