You retake only the test you failed, not both. There is no cap on attempts. The fee is $135 plus $80 per test, nonrefundable. Applications are due at least 30 days before the administration you want. The one hard limit: every test must be passed within four years of your first attempt, or all past scores become invalid and you start again from zero.
You only retake what you failed
Rule 61G4-16.009(1)(b)2, F.A.C. is explicit: a candidate "shall be required to retake only the tests on which he or she failed to achieve a passing score or failed to appear to take when scheduled."
This matters because roofing normally involves two tests. Pass General Trade Knowledge and fail Business & Finance, and only Business & Finance is retaken. The trade score stands. And because Rule 61G4-16.001(37), F.A.C. requires 70% on each test separately, that partitioning cuts both ways: a strong trade result never rescues a failing business result, but it is never wasted either.
The four-year rule
Here is the deadline that catches people. The same rule continues: "a candidate must pass all tests within four years of the first attempt; after which time all past test scores of the candidate shall be considered invalid and he or she shall be required to take all parts of the test."
Four years is generous, and that is the danger. A candidate who passes the trade exam, gets busy, and comes back three and a half years later to attempt Business & Finance is close to losing a result they already earned.
A note on where the four years is measured from. Rule 61G4-16.005, F.A.C. states that a passing grade is valid for four years "from the date of the most recently passed portion of the exam." The Candidate Information Booklet words it differently, tying validity to the date the board approves the list of successful candidates. The rule was amended more recently, so treat the rule as controlling — and if your timing is anywhere near the edge, confirm your own dates with the DBPR rather than relying on either summary.
How many attempts do you get?
Within that four-year window, as many as you need. The Candidate Information Booklet states that candidates "will not be limited in the number of times they may re-take a test during the four year period."
Unlimited attempts is not a study plan, though. Each one costs a fee, a rescheduling and a day off the job, and there is no evidence that repeated sittings teach the material.
What a retake costs and when to apply
Rule 61G4-12.009(1)(b), F.A.C. covers both the unsuccessful examinee and the approved applicant who failed to appear. The fee for the next subsequent test — or both tests if necessary — is $135, plus $80 per test for administration collected on scheduling. All of it is nonrefundable.
On timing, Rule 61G4-16.009(1)(b)3, F.A.C. requires a candidate who failed to submit an application to retake "no less than thirty (30) days prior to the administration of the examination the candidate wishes to take." Miss that window and you are waiting for the next one. Full breakdown on the cost page.
Failing to appear counts as failing
This surprises people. The registration packet is blunt: candidates who are scheduled and fail to appear for any scheduled part receive a failing score for that part and forfeit all fees. A missed seat is not a postponement — it is a fail plus the cost of the retake.
Do the next attempt differently
The most useful thing a failed attempt gives you is information about which content areas let you down. Use it rather than simply re-reading everything.
- Rebalance to the weights. Built-Up Roofs, Shingles and Shakes, Single Ply Systems and Modified Roofing Systems are 15% each — 60% between them. If you were thin in two of those, that is where the points went.
- Bank the safe areas. Equipment and Safety is 10% and the numbers are fixed.
- Fix the books, not just the knowledge. If you ran out of time rather than out of understanding, the problem is your tabbing, not your roofing.
- Simulate before rebooking. Clear 80% on a full timed 80-question run before you spend another fee.
Our study plan sets out the order.
Make the next attempt the last one
361 questions across all nine content areas, with per-topic scoring so you can aim at the gap. First 5 free.