B1 · E1 · M1 · P1 · R5 · open book, all of them
The book is open.
The clock is the exam.
Sixty questions. Two hours. The code book on the table. The clock does not care that you know the answer. It cares how fast you can find it.
Flashcards denied
- Questions
- 60
- Time limit
- 120 min
- Per question
- 120 sec
- Book
- Open
- Pass
- Scaled 75
Format per ICC's published certification content outlines; passing score per ICC's support portal. A scaled 75 is not a percentage. How the scoring works.
Why flashcards fail an open-book exam
Every prep product on the market trains recall. The exam does not test recall, the book is right there. It tests whether you can convert the way a question is worded into the way the code files it, then get there, in about two minutes, sixty times in a row.
| The question says | The code files it under |
|---|---|
| basement bedroom window | Emergency escape and rescue openings |
| shear walls | Braced wall panels |
| house wrap | Weather-resistant coverings |
| blocking in a floor cavity | Draftstops, not fireblocking |
| dryer vent | Clothes dryer exhaust |
If you do not already know the code's word for the thing, no tab set saves you. Tabs get you to a chapter after the hard part. That is why candidates buy tabs and still run out of clock.The full anatomy of where the time goes.
Verified weighting · exam B1
Study where the marks are
Wall Construction and Coverings alone is 27 percent of the B1. Most candidates study the chapters in order and give 4-percent areas a week each.
Transcribed from ICC's published outline. The transcription check: areas sum to exactly 100 percent.
Pick your exam: the full inspector ladder
Building Inspector
60 questions · 120 min · open book
E1Electrical Inspector
60 questions · 120 min · open book
M1Mechanical Inspector
60 questions · 120 min · open book
P1Plumbing Inspector
60 questions · 120 min · open book
B2Commercial Building Inspector
80 questions · 210 min · open book
E2Commercial Electrical Inspector
80 questions · 210 min · open book
M2Commercial Mechanical Inspector
50 questions · 120 min · open book
P2Commercial Plumbing Inspector
60 questions · 150 min · open book
Residential and commercial
The four residential exams above pair with the commercial ladder, B2, E2, M2 and P2, each with its own verified reference here. Passing a trade's residential and commercial exams earns the combined inspector designation for that trade.
R5 · Residential Combination Inspector
Earned by passing all four residential exams. 240 questions and eight hours in total. The lookup skill transfers across all four, which is why the trainer sells them as one bundle.
The 120-second study sheet
One page: every topic weight on all four residential exams, the plain-language to code-language glossary, and the two-week study sequence. Free, straight to your inbox.
No spam, no selling your address. One useful sheet and occasional exam-prep notes.