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Most people need one legal/process exam plus one technical exam that matches the buildings or systems they work on. A house designer, for example, typically writes Designer Legal/Process (or General Legal/Process) and House, while someone who wants to design or inspect all Part 9 buildings writes Small Buildings, which also covers House.
The tables below come from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's registration page and Table 3.5.2.1 of Division C of the 2024 Building Code. If your situation is unusual, confirm with the Ministry's Qualification and Registration Unit before you book.
Step 1: pick your legal/process exam
There are four legal exams. Which ones you are allowed to use depends on your role.
| Role | Accepted legal/process exam | Technical exams |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Building Official (CBO) who also inspects | Powers and Duties of a CBO | At least one |
| CBO who does not inspect | Powers and Duties of a CBO | None |
| Supervisor or manager of inspectors | Powers and Duties of a CBO | At least one |
| Inspector with CBO powers for plumbing | Powers and Duties of a CBO | Plumbing-All Buildings |
| Inspector with CBO powers for sewage systems | Powers and Duties of a CBO | On-site Sewage Systems |
| Inspector (including plans examiner) | General Legal/Process or Powers and Duties of a CBO | At least one |
| Qualified designer or independent designer | Designer Legal/Process, General Legal/Process, Powers and Duties of a CBO, or Powers and Duties of RCA | At least one |
| Design firm | A qualified designer named in the firm's registration must have passed a legal exam | That designer must have passed at least one |
| On-site sewage installer firm and sewage supervisor | None | On-site Sewage Systems |
Two points people miss:
- General Legal/Process works for designers too. If you might move between design work and municipal inspection, General Legal/Process keeps both doors open. Designer Legal/Process is narrower: its syllabus leaves out most of the enforcement and inspection powers in the Act.
- Inspectors cannot use Designer Legal/Process. Only General Legal/Process or Powers and Duties of a CBO count for an inspector.
Step 2: pick your technical exams
Each technical qualification matches a type of building or system. The "type of building" column is a plain summary of Column 3 of Table 3.5.2.1.
| Qualification | Covers (summary) | Exams that give it |
|---|---|---|
| House | Detached, semi-detached and row houses with no more than two dwelling units, plus ancillary buildings | House or Small Buildings |
| Small Buildings | Part 9 buildings: up to 3 storeys and 600 m² building area, Group C (not retirement homes), D, E, F2 or F3 | Small Buildings |
| Large Buildings | Buildings under Parts 3 to 6: anything over 3 storeys or 600 m², plus assembly, care, detention, high-hazard industrial and post-disaster buildings | Large Buildings or Complex Buildings |
| Complex Buildings | Large buildings plus systems under Division B 3.2.6 (high buildings) and 3.2.8.3 to 3.2.8.8 (openings through floor assemblies) | Complex Buildings |
| HVAC-House | Systems under 9.32 (ventilation) and 9.33 (heating and air conditioning) in a house | HVAC-House or Building Services |
| Plumbing-House | Part 7 plumbing in a house | Plumbing-House or Plumbing-All Buildings |
| Plumbing-All Buildings | Part 7 plumbing in all buildings | Plumbing-All Buildings |
| Building Services | Fire suppression and detection, smoke control, energy efficiency, lighting, emergency power and related systems | Building Services |
| Detection, Lighting and Power | Fire alarm, voice communication, lighting, emergency lighting and emergency power systems | Detection, Lighting and Power or Building Services |
| Building Structural | Loadbearing structural elements such as foundations, floors, walls, roofs, columns and beams | Building Structural |
| Fire Protection | Fire suppression, detection, firefighting and fire safety systems | Fire Protection |
| On-site Sewage Systems | Sewage systems under Part 8 | On-site Sewage Systems |
The nesting rules
The Ministry says some qualifications are "nested" under others. Pass the bigger exam and you hold both qualifications. Its table:
| If you pass | You are qualified in |
|---|---|
| Small Buildings | Small Buildings and House |
| Complex Buildings | Complex Buildings and Large Buildings |
| Plumbing-All Buildings | Plumbing-All Buildings and Plumbing-House |
| Building Services | Building Services, HVAC-House, and Detection, Lighting and Power |
What nesting does not do:
- Large Buildings does not cover Small Buildings or House.
- Complex Buildings does not cover Small Buildings or House.
- House does not cover Small Buildings. Nesting only works one way, from the broader exam down.
- The nesting table lists technical exams only. For the legal side, you just need one exam that is accepted for your role.
The Ministry also states that both the 2012 and 2024 versions of each exam meet the qualification requirements. If you passed a 2012 exam, you do not need to rewrite it because the code changed.
Exams by role
House designer (BCIN designer)
Legal: Designer Legal/Process (or General Legal/Process). Technical: House. If you also want to design small commercial, office, retail or small apartment buildings, write Small Buildings instead of House, since it covers both. See BCIN House vs Small Buildings.
Designer of small buildings
Legal: Designer Legal/Process or General Legal/Process. Technical: Small Buildings.
Designer of large or complex buildings
Legal: one accepted designer legal exam. Technical: Large Buildings, or Complex Buildings if you also need the high building provisions (it also covers Large Buildings). Neither covers Part 9 buildings, so add Small Buildings if you design those too.
Building official, inspector or plans examiner
Legal: General Legal/Process (inspectors) or Powers and Duties of a CBO (CBOs, managers, supervisors, and inspectors who want to step up later). Technical: at least one, matched to the buildings you will inspect. An inspector may only act on the building types that match their registered classes. New officials can also start working under supervision through the Ministry's building inspector internship program.
HVAC designer
For houses: a legal exam plus HVAC-House. For larger buildings, Building Services covers HVAC-House as well. Note that Division C has a specific exemption for design of a plumbing system or an HVAC system of a house from the rules for firms providing design to the public, but people doing that work are still covered by the "other designers" rules in Subsection 3.2.5. Read both articles, or ask the Ministry, before deciding you are exempt.
Plumbing designer
For houses: a legal exam plus Plumbing-House. For all buildings: Plumbing-All Buildings, which also covers Plumbing-House.
On-site sewage system installer
On-site Sewage Systems only. No legal exam is required. The qualification is held through the sewage supervisor named in the installer firm's registration.
Registered code agency (RCA)
Registered code agencies are registered firms, and the Ministry asks interested firms to contact its Qualification and Registration Unit. The legal exam built for them is Powers and Duties of RCA. Division C sets out which technical qualifications match each RCA class (House, Small Buildings, Large Buildings, Complex Buildings, On-site Sewage Systems).
Exemptions to check first
Some design work does not need a BCIN at all. Articles 3.2.4.1 and 3.2.5.1 of Division C list exemptions, such as an owner designing their own house, certain small low occupancy farm buildings, signs and some site services. They are worded precisely, so read the articles rather than relying on a summary.
Order to write them in
Most candidates start with the legal exam, because it is the shortest syllabus and every role except sewage installers needs one. Then write the technical exam for the work you want first. If you plan to do both House and Small Buildings work, skip House and write Small Buildings.
Once you know your exams, open the free study guide for each one on its exam page, such as General Legal/Process, House or Small Buildings, and try the free practice quiz.
Sources
- Ontario, Become a registered building practitioner (Tables 1 to 3)
- 2024 Building Code Compendium, Division C, Part 3 Qualifications (Table 3.5.2.1)
- 2024 Building Code Compendium, Division A, Part 1 (Article 1.3.3.3)
- Humber Polytechnic, Building Code examinations FAQ
- Ontario, Study guides for 2024 Building Code examinations
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