1. About the RBQ 6.1 contractor licence exam

The RBQ sub-category 6.1 exam is the theoretical examination administered by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec for candidates seeking to act as qualified representative (répondant) for a contractor licence covering wood frameworks. The licence also authorizes the work of sub-category 6.2 (Annex III), plus similar or related construction work.

The exam is offered in French and English in multiple-choice format, lasts 3 hours, and the passing grade is 60%. It is built around four official modules covering definitions and types of systems, the regulatory framework, plans and specifications, and the standards for executing wood-frame installation.

2. Exam structure at a glance

The RBQ does not publish a percentage weighting per module for this licence. By content volume, Module 4 dominates with 52 skill statements. EC 8 alone (executing wood-structure work) carries 34 skill statements — the largest single EC across the whole profile. The Profil cites National Building Code Part 9 articles directly: 9.3.2 (wood quality), 9.4.3 (allowable deflection), and the full 9.23.x family on wood-frame construction (fastening, spans, anchorage, sill plates, floor beams and joists, wall studs, plates, lintels, roof and ceiling framing).

3. Detailed competency elements

Module 1 — Wood materials and loads

• EC 1 — Wood terminology and concepts (7 skill statements): definitions of wood-frame terms; rafter, joist, beam, stud, plate, lintel, blocking, bridging; lumber-grade vocabulary; engineered wood vocabulary (glulam, LVL, I-joists, parallel strand lumber); MER (Marquage des bois de construction) mark and grading certification; SPF (spruce-pine-fir) species group; OSB and plywood sheathing types.
• EC 2 — Load concepts (3 skill statements): dead, live, snow and wind loads; concentrated vs. uniformly distributed loads; load paths through wood-frame assemblies.
• EC 3 — Wood components and materials (4 skill statements): lumber grades No.1 and No.2 and where each is used; engineered wood products and their applications; sheathing-grade selection (OSB, plywood); identifying when a structural engineer's seal is required (beyond NBC Part 9 limits or irregular geometry).

Module 2 — Legislative, normative and regulatory framework

• EC 4 — Codes and standards for wood-structure work (5 skill statements): applying parts and sections of the Quebec Construction Code Chapter I — Building 1995; role of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA); identifying the CSA standards (CSA O86 engineering design in wood, CSA O121 Douglas fir plywood, CSA O151 Canadian softwood plywood, CSA O325 construction sheathing); scope of codes and standards by material and building type; relationship between wood-structure standards and the Quebec Construction Code Chapter I.

Module 3 — Plans and specifications

• EC 5 — Reading drawings and plans (9 skill statements): locating elements on a plan; wood-structure symbols; dimensions and annotations; sections and details; general notes and tables; quantity take-off (métré); shop drawings for engineered wood; erection drawings.
• EC 6 — Reading specification divisions (2 skill statements): divisions and sections for building framework (17-division 1995 system referenced to the 49-division 2004 system); structural wood specifications typically in Division 6 / Division 06.

Module 4 — Standards and execution of work

• EC 7 — Planning and organizing (8 skill statements): scope boundaries communicated to the general contractor; logical execution sequence; interface coordination with other trades; project characteristics requiring plans and specs; plan-modification process; climate impact on wood-frame work; engineer-approved drawings for engineered wood elements; reporting drawing-site divergences.
• EC 8 — Executing wood-structure work (34 skill statements — the largest single EC in the entire RBQ profile system): verifying delivered material against plans and specs (grades, species, dimensions); MER mark verification; protecting wood elements during temporary on-site storage; sill plate installation and anchorage to foundation (NBC 9.23.6, 9.23.7); floor beam installation (NBC 9.23.8); floor joist spacing, blocking and bridging (NBC 9.23.9); wall stud sizing, spacing and bracing (NBC 9.23.10); top and bottom plate continuity and splicing (NBC 9.23.11); lintel sizing over openings (NBC 9.23.12); roof and ceiling framing (NBC 9.23.13); rafter and joist span verification (NBC 9.23.4); concrete topping on wood floor systems; roofing-load verification; fastening of structural members (NBC 9.23.3.4); notching and drilling limits (NBC 9.23.5); wood-quality and deflection limits (NBC 9.3.2, 9.4.3); engineered wood placement per fabricator drawings; member alignment and plumb verification; sheathing fastening pattern; temporary bracing during erection; openings rough-in coordination with other trades.
• EC 9 — Modification and renovation (2 skill statements): evaluating existing wood structures before alteration; verifying load paths when modifying load-bearing walls.
• EC 10 — Quality control (5 skill statements): quality-control means for wood work; material quality at reception and storage; tests and trials on materials; quality-control responsibility allocation; problem-solving for execution issues.
• EC 11 — Health and safety (3 skill statements): fall-arrest devices per S-2.1 r.4 art. 2.9, 2.10.12, 3.8; safe use of saws, nailers and lifting equipment; safe assembly techniques specific to wood-frame work.

4. Documents at the exam — mixed-book format

Provided at the exam (open book — 3 documents)

• Code de construction (RLRQ, B-1.1, r.2) — Chapter I, Building 1995, including National Building Code (NBC) 2015 with Quebec modifications
• Code de sécurité pour les travaux de construction (RLRQ, S-2.1, r.4) — Safety code for construction work
• Construction de maison à ossature de bois — Canada (CMHC / SCHL Wood-Frame House Construction Canada) — practical companion manual with illustrated span tables, fastening details, and step-by-step assembly procedures. Unique to RBQ 6.1: very few RBQ exams allow a practical manual at the desk.

Recommended reading only (closed book — 3 documents)

• Loi sur le bâtiment (RLRQ, B-1.1) — Building Act
• Règlement sur la qualification professionnelle des entrepreneurs et des constructeurs-propriétaires (RLRQ, B-1.1, r.9) — sub-category 6.1 scope, Annex III
• Loi sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (RLRQ, S-2.1) — Act respecting occupational health and safety

Several Quebec documents are available free of charge on publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca. The CMHC Wood-Frame House Construction manual is available from CMHC.

5. Material provided at the exam

The calculator, ruler, paper and pencil needed for the exam are supplied on site. Only the documents and material handed out by the exam supervisor may be used during the session — personal copies, notes, electronic devices, and additional reference material are not allowed.

6. What makes the RBQ 6.1 exam different

The RBQ 6.1 contractor licence is built around wood-frame construction — the framing of buildings in light wood frame, post-and-beam, glulam, and engineered wood (LVL, I-joists, parallel strand lumber), plus the assembly of prefabricated wood components. Two characteristics make this exam stand apart from the other structural sub-categories.

The lightest closed-book load of all the RBQ structural sub-categories. Only three legal/regulatory texts to memorize, against 6 to 12 for licences such as concrete structures (3.1), masonry (4.1) or metallic structures (5.1). No closed-book CSA standards, no closed-book design code. That dramatically reduces the volume of pure memorization.

A practical manual open at the desk. The CMHC Wood-Frame House Construction Canada guide is a step-by-step practical reference — not just a regulation. It includes illustrated tables, span charts, and assembly details. RBQ 6.1 is one of the few licences that allows this kind of reference at the exam. Candidates who know its tables and details well can resolve span, fastening, and bracing questions in seconds — but only if they have practised navigating it before exam day.

Module 4 dominates the exam. 52 of the 82 skill statements live in Module 4, and EC 8 (execution) alone carries 34 of those statements. That makes EC 8 the largest single competency element in the entire RBQ profile system. Our course time allocation reflects this: roughly 60% of study time goes to Module 4, with the heaviest emphasis on EC 8 and its NBC 9.23.x article-by-article walk-through.

The exam tests code navigation as much as code memorization. The candidate must locate a specific NBC 9.23 article — fastening (9.23.3.4), spans (9.23.4), notching (9.23.5), anchorage (9.23.6), sill plates (9.23.7), floor beams (9.23.8), floor joists (9.23.9), wall studs (9.23.10), plates (9.23.11), lintels (9.23.12), or roof framing (9.23.13) — in under 30 seconds during the open-book exam. The CMHC manual frequently illustrates the same content in a faster-to-read form: speed comes from knowing which document to open first.

7. Recommended preparation strategy

1. Master the NBC 9.23 article family. 9.23.3.4 (fastening), 9.23.4 (rafter/joist/lintel spans, concrete topping, roofing loads), 9.23.5 (notching and drilling), 9.23.6 (anchorage to foundations), 9.23.7 (sill plates), 9.23.8 (floor beams), 9.23.9 (floor joists), 9.23.10 (wall studs), 9.23.11 (plates), 9.23.12 (lintels), 9.23.13 (roof and ceiling framing). Plus 9.3.2 (wood quality) and 9.4.3 (deflection). These are open-book — practice locating them, don't memorize them.
2. Master the CMHC Wood-Frame manual navigation. The manual is open at the exam, but it's only useful if you can find the right span table or detail page in seconds. Drill manual navigation alongside NBC navigation — whichever you can locate fastest wins.
3. Memorize the closed-book triad. Building Act (B-1.1), Professional Qualification Regulation (B-1.1, r.9), Act respecting occupational health and safety (S-2.1). Only three documents — focus on the scope clauses (especially 6.1 in Annex III of B-1.1, r.9) and on the general OHS obligations of employer and worker.
4. Master lumber grading and the MER mark. Candidates must distinguish No.1 and No.2 grades and recognize the MER (Marquage des bois de construction) certification. SPF, OSB, plywood species and grades, and the four CSA wood standards (O86, O121, O151, O325) must all be familiar.
5. Master engineered wood vocabulary. Glulam, LVL (laminated veneer lumber), I-joists, parallel strand lumber. Know what each looks like, where each is used, and that engineered products are placed per fabricator-supplied drawings.
6. Anchor preparation around Module 4 (52 skill statements). EC 8 has 34 statements; reading them as a sequenced execution workflow — from material delivery through sheathing fastening — is the most efficient way to retain them.
7. Master the S-2.1 r.4 safety articles. 2.9, 2.10.12, 3.8 (fall protection). Falls are the leading cause of severe injuries on residential wood-frame sites; expect at least three to five exam questions on fall protection alone.
8. Master the 17-division / 49-division MasterFormat systems. The exam can present plans labelled in either system. Wood structures typically appear in Division 6 (1995) or Division 06 (2004).
9. Take at least two full mock exams under real conditions (3 hours, only the Quebec Construction Code Chapter I, S-2.1 r.4, and the CMHC manual on the desk, single sitting) before scheduling the real exam.
10. Review every wrong answer. The Prof-RBQ.ca platform shows the reasoning behind each correct answer — read every explanation, even on questions you got right.

8. Why Prof-RBQ.ca for the RBQ 6.1 exam

• Aligned with the official RBQ structure — content mapped one-to-one to the four modules and their 11 competency elements, with extra depth on Module 4 (52 skill statements) and the NBC 9.23.x articles the Profil cites by number.
• CMHC manual navigation drills — practice finding the right span table, fastening detail, or assembly section in seconds, so the manual works for you on exam day.
• EC 8 execution-sequence drilling — 34 skill statements walked through as a sequence (material delivery → sill plate → joists → studs → plates → roof framing → sheathing), not isolated facts.
• Lumber and engineered wood vocabulary focus — No.1 / No.2 grades, MER mark, SPF, OSB, glulam, LVL, I-joists, parallel strand lumber — repeated until automatic.
• Closed-book training methodology — flashcards and spaced practice for the three closed-book documents, with navigation drills for the three open-book references (Quebec Construction Code Chapter I, S-2.1 r.4, CMHC manual).
• Mock exams in RBQ format — multiple choice, 3-hour timing, 60% passing grade — so exam day feels familiar.
• Detailed answer explanations — every question, right or wrong, comes with a written rationale citing the underlying article, code, or standard.
• Bilingual — full course in English and French. The RBQ exam itself is offered in both languages.
• A free section is available so you can try the platform before committing.

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