South Dakota Contractor Exam — What Each City Requires

No Statewide Exam — Each City Runs Its Own

South Dakota doesn't administer a state-level contractor exam for general contractors. Since general contractor licensing is handled at the municipal level, each city that requires an exam designs and administers its own. The format, passing score, study materials, and fees vary significantly depending on where you want to work.

This also means that passing one city's exam does not establish a license in another city. Passing the Sioux Falls exam doesn't waive the Rapid City exam, and vice versa. If you want to work in multiple cities that require exams, you'll need to pass each one separately.

Sioux Falls — Construction Supervisor Examination

Sioux Falls requires the most specific exam of any SD city. The Construction Supervisor Examination is administered by the Planning and Development Services department.

Format: 50 questions, multiple-choice, timed, open-book

Study material: The City of Sioux Falls Residential Code Handbook, available from the building department

Passing score: 80%

Fee: $75

Schedule: Administered monthly

Who takes it: The person designated as the "Construction Supervisor" on the contractor license application. This is typically the qualifying individual (owner, partner, or designated employee) whose credentials back the license.

The exam focuses on Sioux Falls-specific residential building code provisions, local permit procedures, and zoning requirements. Generic national exam prep won't cover this material — you need the city's own handbook.

One practical note: Sioux Falls does not recognize out-of-state licenses in lieu of the exam. Even if you hold credentials from a larger market with a more rigorous exam, the designated supervisor must physically sit for this test.

Rapid City — National Standard via Pearson VUE

Rapid City takes a different approach. Instead of a locally-developed exam, the city requires the National Standard General Building Contractor Exam, administered through Pearson VUE testing centers.

Format: Standardized national exam

Study material: Based on the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC)

Fee: $115

Classifications: Class A (Commercial and Residential) and Class B (Residential)

Because this is a nationally-standardized test, you can access Pearson VUE study materials, practice exams, and testing center locations through their standard scheduling system. The test content is broader than Sioux Falls' locally-focused exam — it covers general building code knowledge rather than city-specific procedures.

This exam is arguably the most transferable credential you can earn in South Dakota, even though no other SD city formally recognizes it. The IBC/IRC knowledge base applies everywhere the International Code Council codes are adopted.

Aberdeen — Local Open-Book Exam

Aberdeen's exam sits between Sioux Falls and Rapid City in terms of difficulty and scope.

Format: 50 questions, open-book

Study material: The Aberdeen Contractors Handbook ($15 from the Building Inspections office)

Passing score: 70%

Fee: $35

Waiver option: The exam requirement can be waived if the Building Official approves proof of prior licensing in a recognized, equivalent jurisdiction. This is at the Building Official's discretion, and there's no published list of pre-approved jurisdictions.

Aberdeen's exam covers local building code enforcement, zoning regulations, and permit procedures specific to the city. Like Sioux Falls, you need the city's own study guide — national resources won't prepare you for the local content.

Cities That Skip the Exam

Not every South Dakota city requires a contractor exam. Two notable examples:

Brookings — no exam, no bond. Submit your application with insurance and CET documentation, and you're licensed.

Watertown — no exam. Applications are processed through the OpenGov permit portal with proof of insurance and CET registration.

Smaller municipalities across the state generally follow this pattern — many require only proof of insurance, a CET license, and a completed application. The exam requirement is concentrated in the larger cities that have dedicated building inspection departments.

Preparing for Multiple City Exams

If you're planning to license in both Sioux Falls and Rapid City (the two largest markets), you're studying two fundamentally different bodies of material: a city-specific residential code handbook versus a national IBC/IRC exam. There's overlap in the underlying building science, but the test formats and scoring are distinct.

A practical approach: start with the Rapid City Pearson VUE exam, since the IBC/IRC knowledge base is broadly applicable and the study materials are readily available. Then focus on the Sioux Falls handbook for the local-specific material. Aberdeen's exam is the least demanding of the three, so it's usually the easiest to add if you're already prepared for the other two.

The South Dakota Contractor License Guide includes the full exam logistics for each city — contact information, scheduling procedures, and what to bring on test day — along with the complete licensing requirements beyond the exam itself.

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