Exam B1

Residential Building Inspector

Inspecting one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes not more than three stories in height, and accessory structures for compliance with adopted building codes.

Questions: 60
Time limit: 120 min
Per question: 120 sec
Book: Open

Where the marks sit

Wall Construction and Coverings carries 27 percent on its own. Study time should follow this, not the order of the chapters.

05 Wall Construction and Coverings27%

07 Public Safety and Special Construction17%

03 Footings and Foundations16%

04 Floor Construction14%

06 Roof and Ceiling Construction14%

02 Building Planning8%

01 Code Administration4%

Transcribed from ICC's published B1 content outline. Areas sum to 100 percent.

Full topic breakdown

Area	Topic	Weight
0101	Project Administration	2%
0102	Public Information and Legal	2%
0201	Unit Separation	3%
0202	Building Location	3%
0203	Room and Opening Dimensions	2%
0301	Footings	5%
0302	Stepped Footings and Special Foundations	3%
0303	Columns and Piers	3%
0304	Site Preparations, Foundation, and Basement Walls	5%
0401	Lumber Quality, Floors	3%
0402	Floor Joist Framing	3%
0403	Concrete Slab Inspection	2%
0404	Subflooring and Decking	2%
0405	Crawl Spaces	2%
0406	Draftstops	2%
0501	Lumber Quality, Walls	4%
0502	Wood Framing, Walls	4%
0503	Header Spans	2%
0504	Steel Framing	2%
0505	Fireblocking	2%
0506	Masonry Materials and Placement	2%
0508	Concrete Wall Inspection	2%
0509	Braced Wall Panels	2%
0510	Interior Coverings	2%
0512	Exterior Sheathing, Veneers, and Weather-Resistant Coverings	3%
0513	Exterior Plaster, Stucco, and Lath	2%
0601	Roof/Ceiling Insulation and Vapor Barriers	2%
0602	Attics and Ceilings	2%
0603	Roof Framing	4%
0604	Roof Sheathing	2%
0605	Roofs, Roof Coverings, and Reroofing	2%
0607	Fireplaces and Chimneys	2%
0701	Means of Egress	4%
0702	Exit Stairways and Ramps	3%
0703	Exterior Construction	3%
0704	Smoke Detectors	2%
0705	Flamespread of Insulation and Finishes	2%
0706	Safety Glazing	3%

Where candidates lose the clock on B1

Each of these is a term the exam words one way and the code files another way.

You are looking for	The code calls it
basement bedroom window	Means of egress, emergency escape and rescue openings
stair step height and handrail	Exit stairways and ramps
blocking in a stud cavity	Fireblocking
blocking in a floor cavity	Draftstops
tempered glass near a door	Safety glazing
how deep does the footing go	Footings
shear walls / wall bracing	Braced wall panels
attic venting	Attics and ceilings, under roof and ceiling construction
how small can a room be	Room and opening dimensions, under building planning
house wrap	Exterior sheathing, veneers, and weather-resistant coverings

Drill these against a clock

Before you book: the ICC passing score is a scaled 75, not 75 percent, and B1 vs R5 covers whether to stop at one exam or take all four.

Common questions

How many questions are on the ICC B1 exam?

The B1 Residential Building Inspector exam has 60 multiple-choice questions with a 120-minute limit, which works out to about 120 seconds per question.

Is the ICC B1 exam open book?

Yes. The B1 is an open-book exam. The constraint is time rather than recall: you have roughly 120 seconds per question including the lookup.

How long is the ICC B1 exam?

120 minutes, or 2 hours, for 60 questions.

What is on the ICC B1 exam?

7 topic areas. The heaviest is Wall Construction and Coverings at 27 percent, followed by Public Safety and Special Construction at 17 percent. The full weighting is published by ICC and reproduced on this page.

Which code book do I need for the B1 exam?

The International Residential Code is the primary reference. Confirm the edition your jurisdiction has adopted, because adopted editions vary by state and the exam is written to a specific one.

The companion books