This guide is organized by the nine content areas published in the DBPR Examination Content Information sheet and Rule 61G4-16.001(7)(b), F.A.C. Every question shows the correct answer and a plain-English explanation. The first two areas are free, no account. Full access opens all 361 questions.
Study in the order the exam is weighted
Four areas carry 15% each and together make up 60% of the paper. Start there:
- Built-Up Roofs (15%) — asphalt types and the slope each one is limited to, coal tar pitch and why it is restricted to near-dead-level roofs, test cuts, felts and ply counts, gravel stops, and assemblies over steel, concrete, insulating concrete and wood decks.
- Shingles and Shakes (15%) — exposure and coverage, bond lines and joint offsets, the three valley types, drip edge at eave versus rake, fastener placement and length, plus wood shake grades, spacing and interlayment.
- Single Ply Systems (15%) — EPDM as a thermoset that cannot be welded, TPO and PVC as thermoplastics that can, and the adhered, mechanically attached, ballasted and induction-welded ways of holding them down.
- Modified Roofing Systems (15%) — APP versus SBS, which application method belongs to which, and the torch-safety discipline that comes with heat application.
Then the three 10% areas — Architectural Metal Roofs, Concrete and Clay Tile Roofs, and Equipment and Safety — and finally Membrane Waterproofing and Drains and Gutters at 5% each.
Why an open-book exam still needs a study guide
The General Trade Knowledge exam is open book against the state's approved reference list, and that is exactly what lulls candidates into under-preparing. Five hours for 80 questions is about three and three-quarter minutes each. That is ample if you already know the answer and want to confirm it, and nowhere near enough if you are reading a chapter for the first time at the test center.
Studying by content area builds both halves of the skill at once: the material itself, and a mental index of which reference answers which kind of question.
Equipment and Safety is 10% of the exam and the most reliable ten points on it. The OSHA figures do not change with the roof type — the 6-foot fall protection trigger, the 42-inch guardrail, the 4-to-1 ladder ratio, the 3-foot extension above the landing, the 4-to-1 scaffold capacity factor. Learn them once and they are yours on any question.
Work each area to the point of explanation
Read the question, commit to an answer before you look, then read the explanation — including on the ones you got right. The target is not recognizing the correct letter; it is being able to say why the other three are wrong. That is what survives when the exam rewords the same concept.
When an area feels solid, switch to the practice test to test recall under pressure, then prove it against the clock with the timed 80-question simulation.
What this guide does not cover
This site is the trade exam. Roofing is a Division II category, so most candidates also sit Business & Finance — 120 questions in 6.5 hours, a different subject entirely. Before you buy a course for it, check whether you are exempt: our page on whether you need Business & Finance covers the Division I exemption in Rule 61G4-16.0015(3), F.A.C.
And passing is not the same as licensure. See license requirements for the experience, financial responsibility and insurance side.
The first two content areas are free
No account needed. Full access opens all nine areas and 361 explained questions for $49 for 3 months or $89 for life.