Covers both parts of the CGC trade exam — Contract Administration and Project Management — across 11 content areas and 352 explained questions. Weighted from the state's published Examination Content Information. First 2 areas free, no account.
How this study guide is organized
The state splits the general contractor trade exam into two parts and publishes a content outline for each. This guide follows those outlines rather than inventing its own structure, so when you finish an area you know exactly which slice of the real exam you have covered.
Areas 1 through 4 are the Contract Administration part: estimating and preconstruction, project contracts and contract law, licensing and permits, and scheduling and operations. Areas 5 through 11 are the Project Management part: site layout and soils, earthwork, concrete and masonry, framing and erection, envelope and finish materials, safety and OSHA, and reading plans and specifications.
Where to spend your time
The weighting is uneven, and that is an advantage if you plan around it rather than studying everything equally:
- Project Contracts & Contract Law is the single biggest area — 40% of the Contract Administration part on its own. Contract types, conditions, change orders, draws, lien law and closeout.
- Construction Methods & Materials, split here into five workable areas, makes up 63% of the Project Management part. Studying it as one giant topic is how people end up thin everywhere.
- Safety & OSHA is 20% of Project Management and the most reliable points on the exam — stable rules, easy to find, easy to retain.
- Estimating & Preconstruction is 27% of Contract Administration and carries most of the arithmetic.
Read the explanation on questions you got right, not just the ones you missed. On an open-book exam, a lucky guess that you never examined is a question you will get wrong when the state rewords it.
Why an explained study guide beats a question dump
Plenty of prep material gives you a letter and moves on. That trains recognition of one specific phrasing and nothing else. Every question here carries a written explanation of why the answer is right — and often why the tempting wrong answer is wrong — because the concept is what survives being reworded on exam day.
It matters more here than on a closed-book exam. Both trade parts are open book, which means the answer is somewhere in your references. What separates candidates is whether they already understand the material and use the books to confirm, or are reading the material for the first time with the clock running. See reference books and tabbing for the other half of that skill.
How to work through it
Take one area at a time. Read the question, commit to an answer before you look, then read the explanation. When an area feels solid, switch to the practice test to test recall under exam conditions, then prove it with the timed 60-question simulation. The complete order is in how to pass on your first try, and how long to allow sets realistic expectations.
The first two areas are free with no account. Full access unlocks all 11 areas and 352 explained questions. Remember the guide prepares you for the exam — licensure also requires meeting experience, financial responsibility and insurance requirements.
Start the free study guide
Browse the first two content areas right now — no account, no payment. Then unlock all 11 areas and 352 explained questions.