The Mississippi Contractor License Exam

The bulletin gives first-time applicants 6 months from the date of eligibility to take the exam. Within those 6 months you may retest on an unlimited basis. If you have not passed by the end of that window, you must reapply with the board. Plan study time accordingly: waiting months after approval to start preparing leaves little room for a retake.

PSI charges $120 for one exam portion and $240 for two, per registration, first attempt or repeat. Fees are not refundable or transferable, including to another person at your firm, so register the right qualifier. If you cancel at least 2 days before the appointment, PSI holds the unused fee for up to one year from your first registration date.

Register at test-takers.psiexams.com/mscontlb or call (855) 557-0619. When a seat is open you can book as late as 6:00 pm Central the day before. Register only for the exams the board approved; the bulletin says the state is the only entity that can tell you which tests to take. Candidates granted ADA accommodations have to schedule by telephone with a PSI registrar rather than online.

PSI's Mississippi test center is in Jackson at 2679 Crane Ridge Drive, the same street as the MSBOC office. Mississippi candidates can also use PSI centers elsewhere; the bulletin points to regional sites in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport in Louisiana and in Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama. Each site sets its own weekly schedule, generally at least once or twice a week, and PSI shows open dates only after you register and pay.

Only the person the firm designated can use a registration. That matters when a qualifier leaves: the bulletin says the replacement must be designated and pass the required exams within 90 days after the previous qualifier's departure, so a firm in that position should register the new person quickly.

The Law and Business Management exam has 50 questions, requires 70 percent and allows 2 hours. The outline:

Every Mississippi trade exam also passes at 70 percent. A sample from the bulletin:

All MSBOC exams are open book, and you bring your own references. You may highlight, underline and index them beforehand, but not write in them; anyone caught writing in a reference during the exam has it confiscated and is reported. No loose or attached papers are allowed, and only permanent tabs may be used. For code questions, only the listed code edition is allowed into the testing site. A silent, nonprinting, non-programmable calculator is permitted.

When references disagree, a code, law or regulation overrides other sources, a state-specific requirement overrides a national one, and the listed references override anything else.

Arrive 30 minutes early with one valid, unexpired ID that carries both your signature and your photograph, such as a state driver's license or identification card, a U.S. passport or a military ID, and make sure the name you registered under exactly matches it. Outerwear such as open sweaters, vests and jackets stays out of the testing room, along with phones and other electronics. One to ten unscored experimental items may appear and they use exam time. Your score appears on screen when you finish; a failing result comes with a diagnostic report by exam type, and retake registration forms are available at the site. The comment feature during the exam is the only review PSI offers.

After you pass and the application is complete, the board reviews applications weekly, and successful candidates receive their Commercial Certificate of Responsibility or Residential License about a week after approval.

Buy the Mississippi NASCLA guide early and tab it; estimating and contracts make up 13 of the 50 business questions. PSI sells an online practice exam that can be taken any number of times, with a fee each time; the bulletin cautions that practice exams only show the question style and that a good practice score does not assure a pass. MSBOC's testing page lists several prep companies for information only, noting that prep courses teach test-taking, not a trade.

ContractorPrepHQ also offers Mississippi practice: original questions written from the PSI outlines and reference lists, a diagnostic, topic drills with explanations and timed practice exams with a readiness score. Law and Business Management prep is $99, and trade prep at $149 includes it, with a one-time price, lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee.