The Florida Contract Administration Exam

What Contract Administration actually tests

Despite the name, this part is not an abstract law exam. It is about running the paperwork side of a job correctly: how you priced it, what you signed, what you are owed, and how you get out of the contract cleanly at the end. Every content area is something a general contractor does before or around the physical work rather than in it.

The state publishes the exact breakdown in its Examination Content Information sheet. The percentages may vary by as much as three points either way on any given form:

The four content areas and their weights

• Project Contracts — 40%. By far the largest area on either part. Contract types (lump sum, guaranteed maximum price, unit cost); general, supplemental and special conditions; specifications; lien law; the Construction Industries Recovery Fund; Chapter 558 F.S.; subcontractor agreements and insurance certificates; change orders, field orders and change directives; payments, draws, schedule of values and stored material; and closeout — substantial completion, retainage release, warranties, final release of lien, punch lists and the certificate of occupancy.
• Preconstruction Activities — 27%. Preparing cost estimates and take-offs; material and equipment costing; overhead; obtaining and evaluating subcontractor and supplier bids; unit price versus lump sum; checking bid specifications for completeness; calculating margins, fixed and variable costs and the break-even point; square-foot systems estimating; liquidated damages and regulatory costs including OSHA, DEP and impact fees.
• Obtaining Licenses, Permits and Approvals — 20%. Chapter 489 F.S. and Rule 61G4 F.A.C.; which licences different scopes of work require; which activities need permits and which are exempt; local requirements; and arranging inspections in the proper sequence, including special and threshold inspections.
• Construction Procedures and Operations — 13%. Developing schedules — submittals and A/E review time, deliveries and lead times, flow charts and the Critical Path Method, look-ahead scheduling and scheduling software; and coordinating the work — subcontractor meetings, daily logs, scheduling personnel and suppliers, safety meetings, inventory control and sustainability programs.

The math you will actually need

The ECI is explicit that questions draw on reading and interpreting plans, specifications and codes, plus basic mathematics: area and volume, fractions, decimals and percentages, the sides of triangles, square roots and powers, and solving simple algebraic equations for an unknown. On this part that shows up most as estimating arithmetic — take-off quantities, markup versus margin, break-even revenue and progress-payment calculations.

Where candidates lose points

Two patterns come up repeatedly. The first is confusing markup with margin: 20% profit on the selling price is not a 20% markup on cost, and the exam will offer both numbers as choices. The second is treating change orders, field orders and construction change directives as interchangeable — they differ in who has signed and whether the work proceeds before the price is settled, and questions are written to catch exactly that.

Preparing for this part

Because it is open book, the win condition is knowing the material well enough that your references only confirm what you already believe. Work the contract and estimating areas in the study guide first, then test recall on the practice quiz, then sit the timed 60-question simulation — same length and clock as this part. Set your books up properly first; see reference books and tabbing. The other part is covered on our Project Management page.

Frequently asked questions