Alabama requires a state exam for this license, and passvana has a practice track for it: Alabama General Contractor Business and Law Exam. Here is what the exam looks like, from the official candidate bulletin and the state's own rules.
Alabama General Contractor Business and Law Exam
- The exam: The Business & Law Examination (formerly the General Contractor Examination), given by PSI for the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Content Outlines)
- Who takes it: Required of all general contractors. Eligibility for the exam is determined by the Board, which approves the application first. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Content Outlines; Guidelines for License Application)
- Questions: 50 scored questions. A small number of unscored experimental items (generally about 10% of the question count) may be added and count against your time. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Content Outlines; Experimental Items)
- Time: 120 minutes. The tutorial beforehand takes up to 15 minutes and does not count against your exam time. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Content Outlines; Tutorial)
- Passing score: 70% (35 of 50). (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Content Outlines)
- Open book: Yes. Reference books may be highlighted, underlined and indexed with permanent tabs only; they may not be written in or hold loose papers, and the exam center does not supply them. A silent, nonprinting, non-programmable calculator is allowed. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Reference List; Security Procedures)
- Fee: $96 per examination, paid for each registration, first try or retake. (A $106 fee applies only to four named trade exams.) (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Eligibility and Fees)
- Results: The result appears on screen right after you finish, and a score report is emailed to you. (PSI Candidate Information Bulletin, Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors (updated 1/23/26), Score Reporting)
How to pass on your first try
- Learn the deadlines and dollar figures exactly. Lien notice deadlines, licensing thresholds and contract rules are tested as numbers, and a near miss is a wrong answer.
- Check whether your exam is open book. The format above says. If it is, tab your approved references so you can find a rule quickly instead of reading for it.
- Practice any math the outline lists. Estimating, payroll and financial questions give you the figures and expect a worked answer.
- Take full timed mock exams before test day, so the length and pace of the real exam hold no surprises.
Free practice questions
The track page has free sample questions and a topic breakdown matched to the official outline: Alabama General Contractor Business and Law Exam. The Resources tab also has quick-reference tables built from checked facts; see what is in the Alabama General Contractor Business and Law Key Facts Digest.