Which exam for which licence

Many candidates assume there are "two exams": administration and management. In reality, depending on the licence type, you sit up to four kinds of exams, and the combination changes from one case to the next. This guide teaches you to read the table that links licence type to exams, with worked numbers.

Reading the table, row by row

The regulation on professional qualification (B-1.1, r. 9, ss. 21 to 24) provides four exams: Administration (3 hours), Safety management on construction sites (1 hour 30 minutes), Project and site management (3 hours) and a 3-hour construction work exam for each subclass. The passing mark is 60% for each. The guide then reads the table for the four licence types:

• General or specialized contractor: administration, safety and project management, plus one execution exam per subclass applied for.
• General owner-builder: no administration, but safety and project management, plus execution.
• Specialized owner-builder: no administration and no project management. They sit safety and execution.

An owner-builder cannot hold subclasses 1.1.1 and 1.1.2. Schedule III subclasses require no execution exam, but they do not exempt you from the management exams of your licence type. That is one of the guide’s five traps.

What this means in hours and fees

The guide works out four typical situations. A general contractor applying for one Schedule I subclass sits four exams, for 10 hours 30 minutes in total and $421.08 in exam fees (4 × $105.27, 2026 rate). A specialized contractor with Schedule III subclasses only sits three management exams, or 7 hours 30 minutes. A specialized owner-builder sits two exams and 4 hours 30 minutes.

Do not confuse these exam fees with the cost of getting the licence: a new general licence comes to $1,291.69, an amount the RBQ licence fee calculator breaks down for your situation.

Avoiding an exam, and the limits

Exemption is granted exam by exam. The guide describes the three routes provided: a recognized training program (certificate issued since 2014), experience as a guarantor in the same field during the 5 years before the application, or a professional file. It spells out what does not exist: no blanket exemption for "experience" or for an unrecognized diploma. An exemption obtained through a false declaration is cancelled, with a 1-year ban on sitting any exam. For the detail of each route, see our article on RBQ licences without an exam.

A look inside

• The table of the four licence types and the four exams.
• The three schedules of subclasses and what each implies.
• The special case of plumbing, heating and electrical (CMMTQ, CMEQ, RBQ).
• The owner-builder exemption for work under $20,000, and its limits.
• The licence bond, the guarantor’s role and the notice to sit.
• Five traps, including mixing up $105.27 and $1,291.69.

Who it is for, and what it does not replace

It is for anyone torn between licence types, or who wants to know how many exams lie ahead before filing the application. It is a reading aid, not a Board opinion: confirm your case with the Board. It contains no study preparation, which the 4-week plan covers.

Last checked: October 7, 2026. Next review planned: December 1, 2026. Once you have found your combination, see the list of exams.