Virginia DPOR · PSI Exams · 3-Month Roadmap

VA Class A Contractor License
Complete Game Plan

📱 Android-First 🎧 Audio/Visual Learner 💼 Commercial Focus 💰 ~$200 Study Budget 🗓 12 Weeks · ~120 Hours
The 5-Step Licensing Journey — In Order
1

Complete 8-Hour Pre-Licensing Course

Required before applying to DPOR. Doubles as your first study block — topics overlap directly with the business exam.

2

Submit DPOR Application

Provide experience documentation, financial statement (net worth $45K+), 8-hr certificate, and pay the $385 application fee.

3

Receive Authorization to Test (ATT)

DPOR reviews your application and issues an ATT. You cannot schedule PSI exams without this approval.

4

Pass 3 PSI Business Exam Portions

Virginia Portion + General Portion + Advanced Portion — all in one sitting. Open book. This is the primary weak area to address.

5

Pass 2 PSI Specialty Exams

Commercial Building Contractor (CBC) + Equipment & Machinery (EMC). Strong technical background makes these more manageable.

🏗

License Configuration

Two classifications — maximum commercial opportunity for sports/athletic facility work:

ClassificationCodeWhy It Fits
Commercial Building ContractorCBCMaster commercial classification; explicitly covers recreational facility contracting, institutional and government structures. Prime contractor authority on stadiums, schools, gyms.
Equipment & Machinery ContractingEMCCovers sports equipment installation, inspection, and repair specifically. Makes him the credentialed expert in his niche.
💡

Excavation is covered under CBC for commercial projects — no separate excavation specialty exam required.

📋

Business Exam Structure

All 3 portions are sat in a single PSI session. The exam is open book — bring the NASCLA reference with tabs.

PortionQuestionsPass ScoreTimeKey Topics
Virginia Portion2418 (75%)48 minState regulations, licensing law, board rules
General Portion5035 (70%)100 minEstimating, contracts, financial management, taxes
Advanced Portion2417 (71%)60 minLabor law, lien law, advanced financial management

PSI exam fee for all 3 portions: $85

Top 5 Highest-Failure Business Topics

1
Financial Management
Markup vs. margin, overhead recovery, break-even, job costing. Draw a pie chart diagram: Markup = Profit ÷ Cost | Margin = Profit ÷ Selling Price. Create a formula cheat-sheet tab.
2
Federal & State Taxes
Payroll taxes, estimated taxes, 941 forms, withholding. Use Anki audio flashcards for deadlines and key percentages. Draw a flowchart of tax types.
3
Labor Laws
FLSA, OSHA 300 logs, workers' comp, 1099 vs. W-2. Draw a visual comparison chart of employee vs. independent contractor classification rules.
4
Lien Law
Virginia: mechanic's lien must be filed within 90 days of last work; suit within 6 months. Create a wall-sized timeline diagram and keep it tabbed in the NASCLA book.
5
Contract Management
Contract types, change orders, dispute resolution, bonding. Annotate real contract samples from the 8-hour course. Know the difference between lump-sum, cost-plus, and unit-price contracts.
🔧

Specialty Exams

ExamQuestionsPass ScoreTimeFee
CBC Specialty8070%180 min$85
Equipment & Machinery~5070%~90 min$85
⚠️

CBC weak spots for experienced contractors: Building Codes (IBC), ADA accessibility, life safety & egress — code-heavy sections less common in field work. Prioritize these in Weeks 10–11.

📅

12-Week Study Schedule

DayHoursWeekly Total
Monday–Friday1 hr/day5 hrs
Saturday2–4 hrs (avg 3)3 hrs
Sunday2 hrs2 hrs
Total—~10 hrs/week · ~120 hrs total
Phase 1 Foundation — 8-Hour Course + Book Tabbing + Baseline Weeks 1–2

Goal: Complete the 8-hour pre-license course, build the NASCLA book tab system, take a free baseline practice test.

  • Mon/Wed: Watch one vacontractortraining.com module (30 min) → Tab corresponding book section (30 min)
  • Tue/Thu: Re-listen while active → Record 5 key terms in Anki (audio cards)
  • Fri: Free PSI practice sampler — record score by topic
  • Saturday: Complete 2–3 modules. Build color-coded tab system: 🟡 Business Law · 🔵 Financial · 🟢 Taxes · 🟠 Lien Law · 🔴 Labor Laws
  • Sunday: Full free baseline test — document results by topic to map exact weak spots
Phase 2 Business Core Attack — Virginia + General Portions Weeks 3–6

Goal: Master the Virginia and General Portions. Attack the business weakness head-on.

  • Mon/Wed/Fri: YouTube lesson on the week's topic (30 min) → 20 RocketCert practice questions → Read every wrong-answer rationale aloud
  • Tue/Thu: Anki audio review (10 min) → Draw a visual summary: flowchart, diagram, comparison chart (20 min) → Tab/annotate book (30 min)
  • Wk 3 Saturday: Financial Management — markup/margin diagrams, overhead recovery flowchart
  • Wk 4 Saturday: Estimating & Bidding — bid worksheet template, bidding process flowchart
  • Wk 5 Saturday: Taxes — payroll tax flowchart, Anki for tax deadlines and form numbers
  • Wk 6 Saturday: Labor Laws — W-2 vs. 1099 visual comparison chart
  • Sunday: Timed practice test (business portions only) — track scores weekly
Phase 3 Advanced Business + Full Mock Exams Weeks 7–9

Goal: Master the Advanced Portion. Hit 80%+ on practice tests consistently.

  • Lien law, labor laws, and financial management cover ~14 of the 24 Advanced Portion questions — maximum Saturday focus
  • Build a wall-sized Virginia lien law timeline diagram (90-day filing / 6-month suit deadlines)
  • Open-book speed drills: Pick a question → find the answer in the NASCLA book in under 60 seconds. This is a tested skill
  • First full timed simulation of all 3 business portions back-to-back (3 hrs 28 min total) on Sunday of Week 9
  • Target: 80%+ consistently on all three portions before moving to Phase 4
Phase 4 Specialty Exams — CBC + Equipment & Machinery Weeks 10–11

Goal: Pass CBC and EMC content reviews. Strong technical background = this should feel like review.

  • Priority: IBC building codes, ADA/accessibility, life safety/egress — most likely gap for field-experienced contractors
  • Review PSI content outline PDF for EMC → watch YouTube on athletic equipment installation standards + ASTM inspection guidelines
  • Purchase PSI's official CBC practice test (~$30 at psionlinestore.com) — written by the same team as the real exam
Phase 5 Full Simulation & Test-Day Prep Week 12
  • Mon–Wed: Full timed mock exams (all portions) — simulate real test conditions
  • Thu: Review every missed question. No new content
  • Fri: Light Anki audio review only — rest the brain
  • Saturday: Open-book speed drills only — 30 questions, book navigation focus
  • Sunday: Rest. Confirm PSI test center location and parking. Visualize success.
📚

Freemium → Paid Resources

🆓 Free — Start Here (Week 1)

FREE
YouTube: 1ExamPrep VA Series
Search "1ExamPrep Virginia Class A" — narrated, visual, comprehensive business exam content
$0
FREE
YouTube: Conquer the VA Business Exam
June 2025 video — business section focused, covers the hardest exam topics
$0
FREE
PSI Candidate Info Bulletin
Free download at dpor.virginia.gov — the official exam blueprint with content weights
$0
FREE
Anki (Android App)
Audio flashcards. Search "Virginia contractor" shared decks. Record voice answers for hands-free review.
$0
FREE
PSI Practice Sampler
psionlinestore.com — free sample questions for baseline test before committing to paid resources
$0

💰 Paid — Upgrade Decision Tree

🔀

Take a baseline practice test in Week 2. If scoring 75%+: continue free resources + add PSI CBC practice test (~$30) in Week 10. If scoring below 75%: add RocketCert ($129) starting Week 3.

BUY FIRST
vacontractortraining.com Deluxe
8-hour DPOR certificate + NASCLA physical reference book. Two birds, one stone — required cert AND open-book exam resource.
~$189
IF NEEDED
RocketCert VA Class A/B
Android-friendly, narrated audio/visual, pass guarantee, and detailed wrong-answer rationale on every question.
~$129
EXAM FEE
PSI Business Exam (3 portions)
All three business exam portions in one sitting. Required to schedule after receiving ATT.
$85
EXAM FEE
PSI CBC Specialty Exam
Commercial Building Contractor specialty exam. Schedule after passing business exams.
$85
EXAM FEE
PSI Equipment & Machinery Exam
Athletic/sports equipment specialty exam. Can be scheduled same day as CBC.
$85
WEEK 10
PSI Official CBC Practice Test
Written by the same team as the real exam — highest-accuracy simulation for the specialty portion.
~$30
~$988 All-In
Study Materials (~$348) + PSI Exam Fees ($255) + DPOR Application ($385)
📱

Android App Stack

Anki
Audio flashcards — record voice answers for hands-free review while driving, training, or doing chores
Free on Google Play
YouTube
1ExamPrep, ConquerVA, vacontractortraining modules — save playlists for offline use
Free
RocketCert
Mobile browser-optimized practice tests with wrong-answer rationale after each question
~$129
Google Keep
Quick capture of weak topics and Anki card ideas during study sessions
Free
Android Text-to-Speech
Built-in. Have the PSI content outline or study notes read aloud — activate via Accessibility settings
Free (built-in)

"He does not need to type or read Anki cards. Record voice answers for each term — then review by listening while driving, walking, or at the gym. This turns every commute and workout into study time."

✅

Immediate Action Checklist

Complete these steps this week to launch the 12-week plan:

Day 1: Download the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin (free at dpor.virginia.gov) — use Android Text-to-Speech to listen to the content outline
Day 2: Watch "How to Get Your Virginia Contractor License in 2026" on YouTube (Feb 2026 video)
Day 3: Install Anki on Android (free from Google Play) — search and download a Virginia contractor deck
Day 4: Purchase vacontractortraining.com Class A/B Deluxe (~$189) — start the 8-hour course
Day 5: Take a free baseline practice test (psionlinestore.com) — record scores by topic
Week 2: Based on baseline score, decide whether to add RocketCert ($129)
Week 2: Start building the NASCLA book color-coded tab system during Saturday session

The #1 habit that separates pass from fail: Schedule 20–30 minutes every Saturday as an open-book speed drill. Pick a question, find the answer in the tabbed NASCLA book, target under 60 seconds. The business exam is open book — but only if you can use it fast enough.