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The NASCLA exam in South Carolina

Bid Bond editorial teamUpdated 3 min read

South Carolina has two agencies on NASCLA's list of agencies that accept the NASCLA Commercial General Building exam: the Contractors' Licensing Board and the Residential Builders Commission. Both sit within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Here is what we could and could not confirm for each.

Contractors' Licensing Board

What NASCLA's list shows. NASCLA's listing for the board says it has administered the exam since May 2010 and that exam scores must be within three years to be accepted. NASCLA's map, read 7 November 2026, shades South Carolina as an administering state, and NASCLA's page says administering agencies offer the option to take either their own state trade exam or the NASCLA exam.

What the board's own site says. We searched the board's pages and its initial license application form on 7 November 2026 and found nothing about the NASCLA exam. So for this board we report only what NASCLA's list shows. Confirm with the board before you apply to NASCLA or pay for anything.

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Residential Builders Commission

What the commission's site says. Its residential builder page, read 7 November 2026, lists ways to get the Residential Builder license without the technical portion of the exam. One of them is having passed the NASCLA Commercial General Building Contractor exam within the past three years, with a copy of your exam transcript included with your application. The page also says:

  • The work experience requirements and the Business Management and Law portion of the exam still apply.
  • A residential builder licensed by technical exam waiver may not perform the mechanical trades and receives a limited license (Residential Builder Exam Waiver). Mechanical work must be subcontracted to someone properly licensed, or you apply for licensure by examination.

What NASCLA's list adds. NASCLA's listing for the commission notes that it has reciprocity with the Contractors' Licensing Board and that you must have passed the NASCLA exam within the past three years.

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Where to apply

  • Contractors' Licensing Board: llr.sc.gov/clb, see its applications page.
  • Residential Builders Commission: Residential Builder page, which links to the online application and forms.

Before you book

  • Confirm with the agency. Ask the Contractors' Licensing Board whether it takes a NASCLA pass for the classification you want, since its site does not say on the pages we read. Ask which license classification it accepts the NASCLA exam for, what else you need, and how recent your exam date must be.
  • NASCLA comes first. NASCLA must accept your application at ned.nascla.org before you can book with PSI. Approval gives you one year and up to three attempts. See cost, scheduling and retakes.
  • Send a transcript. After you pass, you buy a transcript in NASCLA's National Examination Database (NED) and send it to the agency. See how to apply and use NED transcripts.

For the other participating states, see which states accept the NASCLA exam. To weigh the NASCLA exam against a state's own trade exam, read NASCLA exam vs a state trade exam.

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The NASCLA Commercial course has a lesson for each of the 12 subject areas that shows which listed reference to open and how to apply it, original practice questions with every answer worked, and four timed practice exams of 115 questions on a 330-minute clock. Your scores come back by subject area, so you know where the next study hour goes. See the course.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by NASCLA or PSI. NASCLA and PSI are named only to identify the exam and its test vendor. State agencies are named only to identify them.

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Facts come from the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.

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