CSLB study guides

What is in a study guide

Each guide on Trade Forge Prep covers one content area of the exam. It holds every rule that area tests, written in plain language with the statute or code section it comes from. It lists the numbers worth memorizing, such as dollar limits, deadlines and percentages, each with its source. It has a section on where people go wrong, with the mix-ups and false assumptions that cost points. And it ends with a glossary of the terms the exam uses.

Guides are split into chapters of a few minutes each. You can read one on a break and pick up where you left off. They are the study material for the exam, not a summary of someone else’s.

For General Building (B), the exam is tested against the California building codes, and those are not ours to republish. So some areas have two guides. One maps what the code covers and tells you where to read it. The other covers the rules the exam asks about.

How guides and practice fit together

Two ways work. Read the guide first, then test yourself with practice questions on the same area. Or start with questions, and read the guide for whatever you missed. After every set of 10 questions, the summary links the guide for each area it covered, so the second way needs no planning.

How to use them

Start with the areas the exam weights most. The pages above list them in that order. Mark chapters as you finish them so your place is kept.

Do not try to memorize a guide all at once. Read a chapter, do a set of questions on it, then read the next chapter.

Every guide is free to read in full, with no account. An account keeps your reading progress across devices.

Common questions