Tennessee Contractor License Exam Prep

Getting your Tennessee contractor license? Contractor Pathway offers an original, exam-focused study guide and four full-length practice exams for every Tennessee classification that requires a state board exam — currently 4 courses across Electrical, HVAC / Mechanical and Building / General Contractor. Choose your classification below and study with 30-, 60-, or 90-day access at $99, $129, and $169. Many Tennessee classifications also require passing a separate Business & Law exam — and that course is 75% off with any trade course in your cart for the matching term.

Who licenses contractors in Tennessee

These are the Tennessee classifications we build exam prep for, each licensed by its responsible board:

Always confirm the current code edition, experience requirements, fees, and passing score with the board and testing vendor before you schedule. Contractor Pathway is an independent exam-prep provider and is not affiliated with any Tennessee board or testing vendor.

How to get licensed in Tennessee

Tennessee licenses through the Board for Licensing Contractors at the Department of Commerce and Insurance. The defining feature is the monetary limit: your licence carries a dollar ceiling, and that ceiling is set by your financial statement, not by your trade skill.

1. $25,000 is the trigger — and bidding counts. A contractor’s licence is required before contracting — which includes bidding, offering to engage, or negotiating a price — for projects of $25,000 or more when acting as a prime contractor, certain subcontractors, or a construction manager/consultant. Waiting until you win the job is already too late.
2. Understand what the monetary limit covers. The contract or permit value may not exceed the monetary limit assigned to your licence, and that value includes the contractor’s cost of land and profit — not just the build cost.
3. Match the financial statement to the limit you want. A reviewed financial statement supports limits of $3,000,000 or less; an audited statement is required for limits exceeding $3,000,000. A Contractors’ Surety Bond is now available as an alternative to a CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited statement, in an amount equal to at least 50 percent of the monetary limit requested.
4. Everyone sits Business and Law; some sit a trade exam too. All new licence applicants must pass the Business and Law examination, and some classifications additionally require a trade examination. Check the Board’s classification outline before you book anything.
5. Small residential work has a shortcut. Residential contractors who wish to perform work costing less than $125,000 may complete a Limited Licence course through a Tennessee community college or vocational school instead of taking the BC-A residential trade exam and the Business & Law exam.
6. Home improvement is a separate licence — in nine counties. A Home Improvement licence is required for residential remodelling projects from $3,000 to $24,999, but only in the counties that adopted the law: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby.
7. Know which classification you belong in. A BC-A/r contractor may bid and contract for construction, remodelling, repair or improvement of a single family dwelling, with a monetary limit that cannot exceed $125,000. A commercial building contractor covers buildings for use and occupancy by the general public, including residential construction with more than four units or greater than three stories.

Sources: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Board for Licensing Contractors — Contractor licence, classification outline with trade exam requirements, Home Improvement Contractor and the licence application package. Contractor Pathway is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with the Board.

Choose your Tennessee classification

Each course includes a comprehensive study guide — often 10,000 words or more — worked calculations, code-section breakdowns, common exam traps, a glossary, and a 30/60/90-day study plan — plus four full-length practice exams matched to the topic weightings of the Tennessee test.