Free practice questions for the CSLB asbestos open-book examination — the form every California contractor-license applicant completes before the license is issued — with a written explanation on every answer.
Every applicant for an initial California contractor license must complete CSLB's asbestos open-book examination and submit it before the license is issued. It is 20 questions answered from CSLB's booklet “Asbestos: A Contractor's Guide and Open Book Examination,” and passing it does not certify you to do asbestos work. Practice the material below — free, no sign-up, with an explanation on every question. This whole course is free on LICENA.
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.
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 LICENA asbestos course is 100 questions across 5 blocks, drawn from these areas of CSLB's official guide — and it is free.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber, not a manufactured product; six types are regulated federally and in California, chrysotile being the most used. CSLB's guide counts roughly 3,600 commercial products that contained it, and its tables show where it hides: sprayed-on acoustic and fireproofing coatings, pipe and boiler lagging, floor tile, roofing felt, asbestos-cement ("transite") pipe and siding, joint compound. The trap is the date rule of thumb. CSLB states plainly that asbestos is still not illegal in the United States, that any building could contain it regardless of age, and that there are no date restrictions when surveying before renovation or demolition.
Fibers are too small to see, pass through ordinary vacuum filters and stay airborne for hours; the body cannot clear them once they lodge. Material that crumbles under hand pressure or impact is called friable — the form that most readily releases fibers. Two numbers do the regulatory work: the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air (f/cc) averaged over an eight-hour day, and the excursion limit of 1.0 f/cc over any 30-minute sampling period. Candidates swap them constantly. Neither is a safe level — no safe level of asbestos exposure has been established.
Four outcomes matter: asbestosis, the lung scarring sometimes called white lung; lung cancer; mesothelioma of the chest or abdominal lining; and digestive-tract cancers. Two figures matter. Symptoms usually appear 10 to 30 years after exposure, and a smoker heavily exposed to asbestos is 30 to 90 times or more likely to develop lung cancer than a nonsmoker. Family members have been sickened by fibers carried home on clothing. Regularly exposed workers get a full physical at hire and annually after, with a chest x-ray and pulmonary function test, at the employer's cost.
For asbestos-related work involving 100 square feet or more of surface area, a contractor must pass either CSLB's Asbestos Certification examination or the C-22 Asbestos Abatement licensure examination and be registered with Cal/OSHA's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Two agencies, two credentials; naming only one is the classic wrong answer. A licensed contractor without them may still bid such a job if the asbestos work is subcontracted to a properly certified and registered firm. Self-performing it instead brings a $1,000 to $3,000 fine and possible license suspension or revocation on a first conviction.
The most misread rule. Under 100 square feet, CSLB certification and DOSH registration are not required, but it is still asbestos-related work: file a Carcinogen "Report of Use" with DOSH's Occupational Carcinogen Control Unit and a Temporary Worksite Notification with the nearest DOSH district office, and everyone involved needs 40 hours of training from a DOSH-approved trainer. Title 8, section 1529 worker protections apply at any quantity.
EPA's National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) is enforced in California by the Air Resources Board and delegated local air districts. Demolition may not begin until 10 working days after notification — required even when the survey finds no asbestos. NESHAP excludes residential buildings of four or fewer units, though local districts may be stricter. Its work practices: strip asbestos before disruptive activity begins, keep it adequately wet, produce no visible emissions outdoors, and haul it in leak-tight labeled containers to a state-approved disposal site. Penalties reach $25,000 per day per violation.
The owner, general contractor or contractor must determine whether asbestos is present before work begins, presuming it is present unless the owner produces proof that the materials are asbestos-free — with that response documented. Sampling is not a do-it-yourself step: a certified industrial hygienist, a DOSH-certified asbestos consultant, or a contractor with AHERA inspector training must collect it, and the lab reports percentage and type by polarized light microscopy. If asbestos turns up mid-project, stop work in that area immediately.
There is no exam day at a test center. CSLB provides the booklet Asbestos: A Contractor's Guide and Open Book Examination once you pass your law and trade exams, or with the bond and fee request if your exam was waived. Only the qualifying individual may complete it, and the online submission needs your application number and cannot be saved partway. There are 20 questions — 11 multiple choice, 9 true/false — answered with the guide open. Submit online, or mail the tear-out verification form with your bond verification and license fee notice; without it CSLB cannot issue your license. And read what you sign: this exam does not certify or license you for asbestos work. The guide and exam are on CSLB's official page.
LICENA's asbestos course is 100 questions in 5 blocks of 20 — about one block a sitting. Because the real form is open book, the point is not to beat it but to walk onto a job knowing the 100-square-foot line, the two exposure limits and the notification clocks. Nobody hands you the booklet when a plumber opens a wall and finds pipe lagging. Most applicants work through this beside the CSLB Law & Business exam; in HVAC or refrigeration, the free EPA 608 practice covers the other federal certification you will need.
The asbestos course is free on LICENA — all 100 questions across 5 blocks, with a written explanation on every answer, no payment and no card. If you are also applying for a California contractor license, the CSLB Law & Business and trade banks are $20/month per course.
Create free account 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.