Free Contractor Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Contractor practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A contractor is hired to remodel the kitchen inside an individually owned condominium unit. How does Maryland's Home Improvement Law classify that work?

   1. A. It is home improvement work
   2. B. It is new-home construction
   3. C. It is work on a condominium common area
   4. D. It is a government transaction

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The work is covered because the statute says home improvement includes "work done on individual condominium units." The kitchen is inside the individual unit.

   Reference: Article - Business Regulation — Business Regulation Article §8-101(g)(2)(v), PDF p. 253

2. 2A seller personally solicits a $25 residential service sale, and the buyer agrees at home rather than at the seller's business. How is the transaction classified?

   1. A. As a door-to-door sale
   2. B. As a retail-establishment exception
   3. C. As a government transaction
   4. D. As a sale below the statutory threshold

   Answer: A

   Explanation: A door-to-door sale has a purchase price "of $25 or more," is personally solicited, and is agreed to away from the seller's place of business.

   Reference: Article - Commercial Law — Commercial Law Article §14-301(d), PDF pp. 751-752

3. 3Under Maryland's Workplace Fraud Act, what is the starting classification for workers performing services in construction?

   1. A. They are presumed to be employees of the work provider
   2. B. They are presumed to be partners
   3. C. They are presumed to be unpaid volunteers
   4. D. They are presumed independent contractors if paid by the job

   Answer: A

   Explanation: For enforcement of the Act, "work performed by an individual for remuneration paid by an employer shall be presumed to create an employer–employee relationship" unless the worker is exempt or the employer proves the statutory test.

   Reference: Article - Labor and Employment, Section 3-903 — Labor and Employment Article §3-903(c)(1), PDF p. 1

4. 4For listed residential-construction activities, what fall-protection approach does MOSH require?

   1. A. A warning sign alone
   2. B. A conventional fall-protection system or a compliant written fall-protection plan
   3. C. A verbal plan with no protective system
   4. D. A customer waiver of protection

   Answer: B

   Explanation: MOSH says these employers "must use a conventional fall protect system or have a written fall protection plan" for the listed residential activities.

   Reference: MOSH Instruction 10-13 - Fall Protection for Residential Construction - Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) — Summary, residential fall-protection requirements

5. 5Once a construction bid is accepted, what cost-control role does the agreed bid price serve?

   1. A. It replaces all project specifications
   2. B. It becomes the budget against which actual expenditures are measured
   3. C. It eliminates the need to track actual costs
   4. D. It serves only as the contractor's tax basis

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The IRS construction guide states: "The agreed-upon bid price then becomes the budget by which the actual expenditures are measured and drawn against."

   Reference: Publication 5653 (2-2025) — p. 141, Construction Process, Stage 3 bidding and cost control

6. 6Which project is expressly excluded from the Maryland Title 8 definition of a home improvement?

   1. A. Construction of an entirely new home
   2. B. Improvement of an individual condominium unit
   3. C. Construction of a deck on an existing residence
   4. D. Connection of an appliance to exposed plumbing lines in an existing residence

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Maryland expressly provides that home improvement "does not include: (i) construction of a new home." The other choices describe work included in the statutory definition or its appliance-connection rule.

   Reference: Article - Business Regulation — Business Regulation Article §8-101(g)(2)-(3), PDF p. 253

7. 7When computing a cancellation period under Maryland's Door-to-Door Sales Act, which day is not a business day?

   1. A. Saturday that is not a holiday
   2. B. Sunday
   3. C. Tuesday that is not a holiday
   4. D. Friday that is not a holiday

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The Act defines business day as "any calendar day except Sunday" or one of the listed business holidays.

   Reference: Article - Commercial Law — Commercial Law Article §14-301(b), PDF p. 751

8. 8Which worker can qualify as an 'exempt person' under Maryland's Workplace Fraud Act?

   1. A. Any employee paid without withholding
   2. B. A sole proprietor whose only employees are a parent, child, or spouse
   3. C. Any worker who signs an independent-contractor label
   4. D. A corporation that has no occupational license

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The definition begins with an individual who "performs services in a personal capacity and employs no individuals other than" the individual's spouse, children, or parents, subject to the remaining statutory conditions.

   Reference: Article - Labor and Employment, Section 3-901 — Labor and Employment Article §3-901(d)(1), PDF p. 1

9. 9A residential contractor claims conventional fall protection is infeasible and uses a written alternative plan. Who bears the burden of proving infeasibility or greater hazard?

   1. A. The employer
   2. B. The employee
   3. C. The homeowner
   4. D. The equipment supplier

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The MOSH instruction states that "the burden of proof is on the employer to prove infeasibility or greater hazard."

   Reference: MOSH Instruction 10-13 - Fall Protection for Residential Construction - Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) — Summary, exception for infeasibility or greater hazard

10. 10Why should an estimator use wage rates appropriate to the project rather than an unrelated labor rate?

    1. A. Wage rates are needed only to choose insurance
    2. B. Wage rates determine the license term
    3. C. Proper wage rates are necessary when estimating construction costs
    4. D. Any wage rate produces the same bid

    Answer: C

    Explanation: The IRS guide says that when estimating construction costs, "it is important to use the proper wage rates."

    Reference: Publication 5653 (2-2025) — p. 141, standard cost manuals and wage-rate data