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BCIN ExamBCIN Exam

Ontario Building Code exam guide

The BCIN exams are open book. Pass them by finding answers fast.

To get a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN) in Ontario you pass the Building Code exams for your role. The code is in front of you the whole time, so the exam really tests one thing: how quickly you can find the right article. We teach that skill, with free study guides cited to the 2024 OBC and practice in the real format.

Find your examHow to study for it

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70questions
Multiple choice, 4 options each
3 hto finish
About 2.5 minutes a question
70%to pass
Open book, you work from the code
2024OBC
Tested since March 30, 2026

How to study

Open book means the clock is the real test

You get the 2024 Building Code Compendium as a searchable PDF: two volumes and well over a thousand pages. With 70 questions in 3 hours you have about 2.5 minutes for each one, including the time it takes to find the answer.

Many candidates know the material and still run short of time. They scroll, search for article numbers they half remember, and leave questions they could have answered. The fix is practice at finding things, not more memorizing.

Read the full open book method

  1. 1.Learn where things live

    Read each study guide chapter beside the code PDF. Every topic comes with the heading words that find it, so you learn the map of the code instead of memorizing it.

  2. 2.Drill the lookups

    Timed drills name a situation and you find the article, against a 30 second target. A one page cheat sheet keeps the best searches for each exam in one place.

  3. 3.Practise at exam pace

    Questions in the real format, each answer cited to its article with the words to search. Then a full 70 question, 3 hour simulation with the code PDF one tab away, as on exam day.

The exams

Each page covers the exam's format, who needs it, which exams it covers and a free study guide.

Legal and process

The Building Code Act and Division C. Every designer and inspector needs one.

Houses and Part 9

Houses and small buildings under Part 9, the most taken technical exams.

Plumbing and septic

Part 7 plumbing and Part 8 on-site sewage systems.

Large and complex buildings

Part 3 buildings, from large buildings to high buildings and fire protection.

Services and systems

HVAC, fire alarm, lighting, power and the other building services.

Structure

Part 4 structural design and the Part 9 structural rules.

We cover all 16 Building Code exams. Exam booking and fees: Humber Polytechnic. What each exam tests: the Ministry study guides.

Calculation Lab12 worked methods for the numbers the exams ask for: stairs, guards, spans, footings, spatial separation, occupant load, SB-12, plumbing and septic sizing.Open the lab

Start here

Sneak peek inside

Study, drill the lookups, then sit the full exam

Take a look around before you sign up. Most of it is free with an account.

Click a tab to look inside

Study room

The study guide beside the code PDF

Each chapter of the guide sits next to the 2024 Building Code Compendium PDF, the same file you search on exam day. Read a topic, then open the article it points to without leaving the page.

  • A study guide for every exam, chapter by chapter (Free account)
  • Find it fast lists: the words that land on each topic (Free account)
  • The code PDF built in, with search behind Ctrl F, like the exam (Free account)

Free account

Free with an account
A preview of the Study room: a study guide chapter on the left with a Find it fast list of search words, and the code PDF open on the right at the Height of Guards article.

Practice and exam prep

One payment, no subscription. Start free: the study guides, the Study room, lookup drills, cheat sheets and a timed quiz for every exam. Buy prep when you want the full question bank and the full simulations.

  • Free account

    $0

    free account, no card

    • A short timed quiz for every exam
    • Free practice questions, every answer explained and cited
    • The Study room: each guide chapter beside the code PDF
    • Find it fast search lists, and a 5 item sample of each search drill
    • A one page cheat sheet and hint sheet for every exam
    • The Calculation Lab
    Start the free quiz

  • One exam

    CA$99

    one payment, 6 months of access

    • The full question bank, every answer explained and cited
    • Timed 70 question, 3 hour simulations with the code PDF, like the real exam
    • Search drills: find the answer in the code PDF against the clock, by question, topic, cross-reference and table
    • The words to search with every answer, to find it fast
    • Progress by section, weakest first
    • Practice by study guide section or question type
    • Everything in the free account
    Get prep for this exam

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    All exams

    Regular price CA$299, now CA$199.

    one payment, 6 months of access

    • Covers all 16 exams
    • Cheaper than buying exams one at a time from the third exam on
    • Everything in One exam, for every exam
    • Add exams as your BCIN categories grow, at no extra cost
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Frequently asked questions

What are the BCIN exams?
The Ontario Building Code examinations, set by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and delivered by Humber Polytechnic. Passing the right ones qualifies you for a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN), which designers, building officials and inspectors need. Each exam is 70 multiple choice questions in 3 hours, open book, with a 70% pass mark.
Where do I register for and write the exams?
Through Humber Polytechnic, which delivers the exams for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The Ministry also publishes the official study guide for each exam.
Are these real exam questions?
No. No official past questions are published, and we never use leaked ones. Every question is original, written from the 2024 Ontario Building Code and the Building Code Act, 1992, and cites the article that answers it.
What does it cost?
The BCIN guide and the study guides are free. Paid prep is CA$99 for one exam or CA$199 for all exams, one payment for 6 months.