BCIN Courses in Ontario: Colleges, OBOA, Online and Self-Study

George Brown College: the Ministry's training partner

MMAH's page on becoming a registered building practitioner says Building Code training courses are offered through George Brown College, which develops and updates the courses and self-study manuals and partners with other colleges and groups to deliver training closer to where candidates live. Humber Polytechnic's exam site likewise notes that George Brown took over updating and delivering the training courses the Ministry used to prepare.

George Brown's School of Continuing Education lists its building code courses under one subject page. The 2024 courses we saw there span the common exams, including House, General Legal/Process with Powers and Duties, Small Buildings, Large Buildings, Complex Buildings, Building Services, Building Structural and Plumbing All Buildings, in virtual classroom or independent study formats. If you live outside Toronto, ask your local college whether it delivers these courses as a partner.

The free Building Code Skills Development Program

George Brown College also runs a free Building Code Skills Development Program in partnership with the OBOA, aimed at getting new people into building official jobs. Coverage of the 2025 intakes describes it as:

• 4 weeks on workplace culture, occupational communication and job readiness, then 12 weeks of technical building code training through George Brown's School of Continuing Education;
• preparation to write the House 2024 and General Legal/Process 2024 exams;
• a Building Officials Fundamentals Certificate from George Brown, with one year of career support after graduation.

The college's program page is titled for internationally trained individuals, so check the current eligibility rules and intake dates on that page before you apply. People who are not eligible can still follow the same exam pair on their own: General Legal/Process plus House is the usual starting point for a new inspector. See which BCIN exams do I need.

OBOA training

The Ontario Building Officials Association runs its own training centre. Its training page says all OBOA courses now reference the 2024 edition of the code, and that courses are offered in hybrid form (choose in person or virtual when you register), online, or in person, with self-directed learning through its portal. Its 2024 course catalogue includes courses named for the exams, such as House, Small Buildings, Large Buildings, Building Structural, Fire Protection, Plumbing House and Plumbing All Buildings, a legal process course for building officials and designers, a Part 8 On-site Sewage Systems course, and Part 9 topic courses.

OBOA's new prerequisite, OBOA Foundations: The Ontario Building Code & Act, is free in its self-directed format. OBOA members pay lower course fees than non-members.

Self-study with the free official material

Every exam has a free MMAH study guide that lists exactly which parts of the Building Code Act and the 2024 Building Code are tested and which are excluded. That list is your syllabus, whichever course you take. The 2024 Building Code Compendium is free to read on ontario.ca, and the PDF edition is a free download from Publications Ontario.

Self-study works best when you:

1. Read the study guide line by line and tick off each article as you cover it.
2. Learn the structure of the code first, so you know which Part and Section to open (see the Part 9 overview).
3. Practise searching the PDF the way you will on exam day (see how to pass the open book BCIN exam).
4. Finish with timed practice: 70 questions in 3 hours leaves about 2.5 minutes a question.

Our free study guides follow the MMAH syllabus for all 16 exams, one chapter per section, with article citations, and the calculation lab works through the methods that cost people marks (footings, spans, spatial separation, SB-12).

Practice question products

Several companies sell BCIN practice banks and mock exams, usually priced per exam with a few months of access. When comparing them, check:

• Code edition. Exams have been on the 2024 code since 2026-03-30. Questions written for the 2012 code will mislead you.
• Citations. Each answer should name the article, so you can check it yourself.
• Realistic mocks. 70 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass, as set out on the exam format page.
• Free sample. You should be able to try questions before you pay.
• Access length and refund terms, in writing before you buy.

Good practice products use original questions: the real exams are confidential, and "dump" files are unreliable and against the exam rules. See BCIN exam sample questions. Our own practice banks and timed simulations are on the pricing page, with a free quiz on each exam page.

How to choose

• New to the code, and you learn best with an instructor: a George Brown or OBOA course for your first exam, then practice questions.
• New building official, eligible for the free program: the George Brown Building Code Skills Development Program.
• Working in construction or design, comfortable reading code: self-study with the study guide, plus a practice bank and mock exams.
• Rewriting after a fail: MMAH notes that rewrite candidates also tend to score higher after a course. Go back to the study guide sections where you felt slow or unsure, and practise speed.

Whatever you choose, register for the exam with Humber once you are ready. Booking, fees and retakes are on BCIN exam registration and cost.

Related pages

• BCIN exam guide
• Which BCIN exams do I need?
• How to pass the open book BCIN exam
• All 16 exams and free study guides