Florida Business and Finance exam
Business and Finance is 120 scored questions in 6 hours 30 minutes, open book, and the clock is what trips people up. They run out of time, or can't find the page. I passed it on July 13 with an 85, then the other two parts by September 26, and I'm turning exactly what I did into a $197 course: the math worked step by step, timed practice that feels like test day, and your books set up so an answer is seconds away. While it's being built, ten founding seats go for $97.
9 of 10 left. The course ships January 31, 2027 — that's what the founding price is for. Not ready to buy? Join the waitlist for the $197 launch price.
The course is built around the three things that decide the Florida Business and Finance exam: the math, the clock, and how fast you can find an answer in the reference books. At launch, it's about 15 lessons with video, text, and practice questions.
The math, worked
Markup vs. margin, overhead allocation, job costing, financial ratios, net worth. The math is where Business and Finance takes people down, so it's where this course spends the most time — in plain English, one problem type at a time.
Timed practice
The number one reason people fail is running out of time, not knowing too little. You get timed practice exams that feel like test day so you learn to pace yourself before you're sweating it out at the testing center.
Your books, set up right
It's open-book — but only if you can find the answer in seconds. I show you exactly where to tab and highlight the Contractors Manual and Builder's Guide to Accounting, plus the three-pass method that keeps the clock from beating you.
Founding seats
I'm turning exactly what I did to pass into this course, and I'm opening ten founding seats before it goes public at $197. This is the cheapest it will ever be, and the founding price is locked for good.
Two things I'll be straight with you about.
The course is still being built — that's what the founding price is for. And it ships January 31, 2027, not next week. I'd rather tell you that now than have you find out after you've paid. If it's not useful, I'll refund you, any time up to 14 days after the course ships. No hassle, no form to fill out.
Got a question first? Ask me — I answer every one.
It closes when the last seat goes — there's no countdown clock here, because a deadline on a course that isn't finished would be one I made up.
The numbers
In 2025, 44% of first attempts at Business and Finance failed, and 63% of retakes did (Pearson VUE Exam Performance Summary, FL DBPR, Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2025). Retakes go worse, so this course is built to get it done the first time.
The price
A lot of prep bundles the whole three-part exam whether you're ready for it or not. This is Business and Finance only, priced so prep isn't a gamble.
Built from the real thing
I went through the same application, the same reference books, and the same exam you're staring down. This course is what I wish I'd had — no filler, no padding, no talking to you like a brochure.
The Business and Finance exam is the business-and-law part of the Florida contractor exam. People search for it as the "Florida business and law exam", but DBPR's name is Business and Finance. Every certified contractor candidate takes the same one, whether you're going for a general, building or residential license. It sits alongside the two trade exams, Contract Administration and Project Management.
| Detail | Florida Business and Finance exam |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 120 |
| Time allowed | 6 hours 30 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% (84 of 120) |
| Format | Computer-based, at a Pearson VUE test center, offered year-round |
| Open book? | Yes, with DBPR's approved reference list only |
| Unscored questions | A few pilot questions are mixed in; they don't count, and extra time is added for them |
| Results | On screen when you finish |
Divide the time by the questions and you get about 3 minutes 15 seconds per question. That sounds generous until you're flipping through a 500-page manual for a single table. Most people who fail Business and Finance don't fail because the material is beyond them. They fail because they run out of time.
DBPR publishes the weight of each content area in Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G4-16.001. Each weight can move by up to 3% on a given exam.
| Content area | Share of the exam |
|---|---|
| Conducting accounting functions | 32% |
| Managing administration duties | 26% |
| Complying with government regulations | 15% |
| Establishing the business | 11% |
| Managing trade operations | 10% |
| Managing human resources | 6% |
Accounting is the biggest single block, nearly a third of the exam. That's where most of the math lives: markup and margin, overhead, job costing and financial ratios. It's why the course spends most of its time there.
You take the Florida Business and Finance exam if you're going for any certified construction license through Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board, including the certified general contractor (CGC), building contractor (CBC) and residential contractor (CRC) licenses. The exam is the same for every category. Only the two trade exams change.
A few people don't take it, or take only this one:
The full list of requirements is in our guide to Florida general contractor license requirements.
Business and Finance is open book, but only with the books on DBPR's reference list, in the editions DBPR names. The wrong edition doesn't just slow you down. The page numbers and tables you studied won't match what's in front of you.
You need five books: the 2025 Florida Contractors Manual, the Builder's Guide to Accounting, and AIA A201, A401, and A701. Florida Statutes Chapter 455 is printed inside the Contractors Manual. I sell all five as one $499 set. DBPR's full list and the shipping terms are on the Florida Business and Finance exam books page.
DBPR's Candidate Information Booklet sets the rules for what you can bring:
I'm finishing a tab and highlight guide that shows where to mark the Contractors Manual and the Builder's Guide to Accounting.
The fastest way to find out whether you're ready is to sit a timed set of Business and Finance questions with a clock running.
If you're scoring under 70% or running out of time, that's the part to fix first.
The people who pass Business and Finance on the first try tend to do the same three things. They know the math well enough that they're not learning it in the exam room. They tab their books so a lookup takes seconds. And they don't let one hard question eat ten minutes.
120 scored questions, with 6 hours 30 minutes to finish. A few unscored pilot questions are mixed in and don't count toward your score, and DBPR adds extra time for them. That works out to about 3 minutes 15 seconds per scored question.
70%, which is 84 of the 120 scored questions. Contract Administration and Project Management also need 70% each, and each part is scored separately.
Yes, but only with the books on DBPR's current Business and Finance reference list, in bound original editions, one copy of each. You can underline, highlight and use permanently attached tabs. Removable tabs, sticky notes and handwritten notes aren't allowed.
Yes, if they're on DBPR's reference list, in the editions it names: the 2025 Contractors Manual, the Builder's Guide to Accounting (2001), and AIA A201-2017, A401-2017, and A701-2018. Florida Statutes Chapter 455 is printed inside the Contractors Manual. They must be bound originals, one copy of each. DBPR updates the list every year, so check it before you buy.
First-time takers passed 56% of the time in 2025 (Jan 1 to Dec 31) and 55% from Jan 1 to Sep 8, 2026. Repeat takers passed 37% and 34% of the time. All attempts combined, it was 49% and 48%. Source: Pearson VUE's Exam Performance Summary for Florida DBPR. The figures count graded exams, not people, and cover general, building and residential candidates, who all take the same Business and Finance exam.
Yes. DBPR uses the same Business and Finance exam for every construction license category. Only the Contract Administration and Project Management exams change by license type.
Yes. You only retake the part you failed. You reapply through Professional Testing, Inc. at floridaexam.com and pay the $135 registration plus the $80 Business and Finance fee again. There's no limit on attempts, but you must pass all parts within four years of your first attempt. After that, a passing grade is valid for four years from your most recently passed part, so apply for your license inside that window.
If you hold a current, active license from Florida's Construction Industry Licensing Board and are adding another category, DBPR says you're exempt from the Business and Finance exam.
The finished course ships January 31, 2027. Founding seat holders get each lesson as it's finished, before launch.
$97 now instead of $197 at launch, locked for good, with direct access to me while there are still only ten of you. Or take the free timed practice exam first and see where you stand — that costs nothing either way.
Modern, affordable prep for the Florida General Contractor exam — built by someone who just passed.
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