Free practice questions for the California CSLB A General Engineering trade exam — earthwork, piping, concrete, roadwork and safety — with a written explanation on every answer, in English, Spanish, and Russian.
8 questions, about 4 minutes. No account needed — pick an answer to see whether it's right and read the explanation, the same explanations you get on every question in the full course.
Practice across the full question bank.
Understand why the correct answer works — not just which letter is right.
Spend more time on the questions you miss.
Practice under exam-style time pressure before exam day.
Every question tells you why the correct answer is correct and defines the terms it uses — so you learn the rule, not just the answer.
Questions are written from scratch against the official codes and agency publications for this exam — never copied from the real exam.
Every question and explanation is fully translated, with the English exam term kept alongside — not a shallow machine translation.
LICENA is a practice tool, not a school. We don't promise a pass — we help you understand the material and walk in prepared.
The full A General Engineering course is 500 questions across 5 blocks that follow the eight sections of CSLB's official study guide.
Exam structure, topics, study areas and official resources.
The A General Engineering exam is the trade half of a California general engineering contractor's license; the Law and Business exam is the other half. Under Business and Professions Code section 7056 the A contractor's work is fixed works requiring specialized engineering knowledge and skill — highways, pipelines, sewers, dams, bridges, grading and paving — and CSLB's official study guide splits the exam into eight sections with published weights. Practice it in the free sample above — no sign-up, with a written explanation on every question.
You take the A exam on a computer at a PSI testing center, closed book: the study guide's test policy says no reference materials may be used. The questions are multiple choice with four choices and one BEST answer, there is no penalty for guessing, and because some questions require mathematical computation, a calculator is provided. CSLB's Examination FAQ gives 3-1/2 hours for each examination. The study guide does not publish the number of questions or the passing score, so plan for the full time and answer everything.
Planning and estimating (15%) — plans and specifications, code compliance, evaluating job sites, coordinating with other trades, estimating materials, equipment and labor. Structural principles (6%) — constructing structures, seismic requirements, basic engineering. Earthwork and surveying (15%) — surveying and preparing sites, soil conditions, compaction and expansion. Subsurface, surface and elevated piping work (21%) — shoring and sloping, erosion, tunneling, drilling and boring, pipelines, connecting and testing, dry utilities. Foundation and concrete construction (11%) — forms and falsework, placing and finishing, pilings and foundations. Buildings, structures and related work (9%) — mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, demolition, disposal and recycling. Roadwork and paving (5%) — base for highways, roads and parking lots. Safety (18%) — personnel and job-site safety, PPE, hazardous materials.
A handful of thresholds pay for themselves. California's one-call law, Government Code 4216.2, requires notifying the regional notification center at least two working days and not more than 14 calendar days before excavating, with the day of the notice not counted. Cal/OSHA section 1541.1 requires a protective system in every excavation unless it is entirely in stable rock or less than 5 feet deep with a competent person finding no sign of a cave-in. The California MUTCD merging-taper formulas are L = WS²/60 at 40 mph or less and L = WS at 45 mph or more. Compaction depends on whose contract it is: 90 percent of ASTM D1557 maximum density in 12-inch lifts under the Building Code's Appendix J, at least 95 percent relative compaction for Caltrans structure backfill.
The safety section is drawn from Cal/OSHA's Title 8 Construction Safety Orders, and the general engineering hazards dominate: excavations and trenches, haulage vehicles and earthmoving equipment, work near traffic, confined spaces in vaults and manholes, and heat. Study Article 6 on excavations first — protective systems, soil types, access and egress, inspections by a competent person — then PPE and hazard communication. These items are the most predictable points on the exam because the rule is a fixed number or a fixed duty.
The LICENA A General Engineering course is 500 questions across 5 blocks. At 30 questions a day that is roughly three weeks — one full pass, then a second pass concentrated on the sections you missed. Weight your time the way the exam does: piping work and safety together are almost 40 percent, planning and estimating with earthwork another 30. Do the arithmetic questions by hand with the same kind of calculator you will get at the center, and read each explanation even when you were right — the wrong choices are written around the mistakes the real exam tests for.
Try the full bank free for 3 days — no card needed. Then $9.99 for your first month and $19.99/month after that if you decide to continue, cancel anytime. A school sells a full prepaid package; this is a question bank you can stop at any time — and you study on your phone, in your language, whenever you have a few minutes.
Continue A General Engineering practice The free sample above stays free. Creating an account is free — no card needed.LICENA gives you practice questions to study with. We are not an accredited school and we do not guarantee that you will pass any exam.
LICENA provides online practice only. Registration, exam scheduling and licensing are handled by the CSLB and its exam vendor PSI — not by LICENA. LICENA is not affiliated with the CSLB or PSI.