A commercial builder in Georgia lands a project across the line in South Carolina, then gets a call about another one in Tennessee. Each state has its own licensing board. Each one used to mean another trade exam, another study cycle, another trip to a test center. For a lot of commercial contractors, one exam now covers that trade requirement in all three.
Here is the plain answer. The NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors is a single, standardized trade exam. If you pass it, participating state agencies accept it in place of their own commercial general building trade exam. It is not a national license. You still apply to each state separately and meet its other requirements, which often include a state business and law exam, insurance, bonding and financial documents.
This post covers what the exam is, which agencies accept it, what is on it, and when it is worth taking.
What the NASCLA exam is, and is not
NASCLA is the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies. Its commercial general building exam was built from a national job analysis of the work commercial general contractors do, so participating states can share one trade exam instead of each writing their own.
NASCLA is direct about what passing does and does not do. Its exam FAQ says the program is not a license or a certification. A passing result eliminates the trade exam requirement for participating state agencies. You still contact each state licensing agency, apply for the license, and meet its additional requirements.
- What it replaces: The commercial general building trade exam in participating states.
- What it does not replace: State applications, state business and law exams where required, bonds, insurance, financial statements, and experience requirements.
- How states see your result: Passing scores go into NASCLA’s National Examination Database. You send a transcript to each state agency, which pairs it with your license application.
Who accepts it
NASCLA’s participating state agencies page lists the agencies that accept the commercial general building exam. As read today, the list includes agencies in these states and territories:
- Alabama (two agencies: the Home Builders Licensure Board and the Licensing Board for General Contractors)
- Arizona, Arkansas, California and Florida
- Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada
- New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon
- South Carolina (two agencies: the Contractors’ Licensing Board and the Residential Builders Commission)
- Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia
- The U.S. Virgin Islands
Two terms matter on that page. An administering agency uses the NASCLA exam as its own state trade exam, so you can take it directly through that state. An accepting agency takes a NASCLA result as a waiver of its state trade exam. Every administering agency also accepts it.
Being on the list does not mean a state accepts the exam for every license type. Each agency decides which license classifications and limits the NASCLA result applies to. Always check with the specific state board before you rely on it.
What is on the exam
PSI administers the exam. According to PSI’s candidate information bulletin for the NASCLA commercial exam (updated July 7, 2026), the exam has 115 scored questions, a minimum passing score of 81, and a time limit of 330 minutes. Ten unscored pretest questions are also included, and the time for them has been added to the time allowed.
The bulletin’s content outline, by number of questions:
- Procurement and Contracting Requirements: 31
- General Requirements: 25
- Site Construction: 15
- Concrete: 6
- Metals: 6
- Mechanical and Plumbing Systems: 6
- Wood: 5
- Thermal and Moisture Protection: 5
- Finishes: 5
- Masonry: 4
- Doors, Windows and Glazing: 4
- Electrical Systems: 3
Notice the shape. More than half the exam is procurement, contracting and general requirements. This is a commercial project management exam as much as a construction knowledge exam.
It is open book
PSI’s bulletin says the exam is open book, with a specific list of references allowed in the testing center, and a silent, non-programmable calculator. For code questions, the exam is based only on the code editions listed in the bulletin. For other references, you can use earlier or later editions at your own risk. Download the current bulletin before you buy books, because the editions matter.
We track exam numbers like these from the official bulletin, not from memory. Here is how we source our exam facts.
Applying and the costs that come with it
The NASCLA FAQ explains the application side:
- Eligibility. There are no requirements to apply. Anyone can apply to sit the exam.
- Application. NASCLA lists a $65 application fee. Applications are valid for one year from approval.
- Attempts. Candidates get three attempts within that one-year eligibility window.
- Exam fee. PSI’s bulletin lists a $130 exam fee, valid for one year from payment.
- Transcripts. NASCLA lists a $45 fee for each transcript sent to a state agency.
Then each state has its own application, fees and requirements on top of that.
When the NASCLA exam is worth it
- You work, or plan to work, in more than one participating state. Fits best for commercial builders near state lines or following project work across a region. Does not help much if you will only ever hold one state’s license.
- Your home state administers it anyway. In an administering state, the NASCLA exam may simply be your state trade exam. Passing it gives you portability at no extra study cost.
- You do commercial general building work. Fits the license types states accept it for. Does not fit specialty trades or many residential-only licenses, which have their own exams.
If you only need one state, compare the NASCLA exam to that state’s own exam. In some states they are the same paper. In others the state exam may be shorter or focused differently.
How to prepare
- Get the current PSI bulletin. It lists the exact references and editions. Buy and tab those books.
- Weight your time like the outline. Procurement, contracting and general requirements carry the most questions.
- Practice finding answers fast. Open book does not mean easy. You have the books, but you also have a lot of questions and a fixed clock. Navigation speed matters.
- Work the plan and spec questions. A blueprint packet is handed out at the test center. Practice reading drawings under time.
- Line up each state’s extra steps. Business and law exams, financial statements, bonds and insurance, so you can apply as soon as your transcript is available.
For state-by-state detail, our guides to Mississippi contractor license exams and West Virginia contractor license exams show how NASCLA fits next to each state’s business and law paper.
Questions contractors ask
Is the NASCLA exam a national contractor license?
No. NASCLA says plainly that it is not a license or certification. It removes the trade exam requirement in participating states. You still apply to each state.
Do I still need to take a business and law exam?
Often, yes. Many participating states have their own business and law exam, and passing the NASCLA trade exam does not replace it. Check each state’s requirements.
How do states get my score?
Through NASCLA’s National Examination Database. After you pass, you send an electronic transcript to each state agency you are applying to.
Next step
If you are preparing for the commercial general building exam, start with our NASCLA exam prep: a study guide built on the PSI content outline and full-length timed practice exams, organized by the state you are applying in.