Individuals interested in becoming licensed or registered as a Residential Builder, Residential Specialty Contractor or Home Inspector by Examination must take a two-part examination for licensure in South Carolina.
Part One: Technical Examination
Home Builders: (110 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a passing score of 70% on the Technical Examination.
Residential Specialty Contractors:
Electrical: Technical Examination (60 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a passing score of 73.3% on the Technical Examination.
HVAC: Technical Examination (80 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a passing score of 65% on the Technical Examination.
Plumbing: Technical Examination (65 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a passing score of 67.7% on the Technical Examination.
Home Inspector: Technical Examination (100 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a passing score of 70% on the Technical Examination.
Part Two: Business Management and Law Examination (50 multiple-choice questions)
Applicants must obtain a scale score of 68 to pass the Business Management and Law Examination.
Prior to application submission, applicants must have one year of Commission-approved experience under the supervision of a licensee in the trade in which they are applying in order to be eligible to take the examination for licensure.
Individuals wishing to sit for the examination must first submit an application with the Commission for review/approval. The Commission will notify the applicant and PSI once an applicant has been approved to take the examination. The applicant will contact PSI to schedule the examination.
All examination fees are paid directly to PSI. Examinations cannot be scheduled prior to obtaining an Examination Eligibility Letter from the Commission.
PSI examination study materials may be found at:
Please see the following page:
Any person licensed to practice residential building by any other state or country whose requirements are determined by the Commission to be commensurate with the requirements of this state, may be licensed to practice residential building in this state without taking the technical examination. Exam waiver is assessed by state requirements and examination content.