- The Prov CMC outline lists 100 questions across 13 domains, open-book, computer-delivered.
- Passing standard is 73%; Air Distribution and Vents carries the heaviest weight at 18 items.
- Prov exam fee is $53 per attempt; Board CMC preapproval fee is $50 on top of that.
- Only permanent tabs and advance highlighting are allowed - no handwritten notes or loose papers.
How to Use This Cheat Sheet
This page is built to be printed, bookmarked, or reviewed on your phone the night before your Tennessee Full Mechanical Contractor (CMC) Exam appointment. It is not a substitute for full preparation - for that, work through the TN-CMC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt and the domain-by-domain breakdown in the TN-CMC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas. What follows is the compressed version: the numbers, allowances, and domain weights you need locked in before you sit down at a Prov test center or log into Examroom.ai.
Because the Prov outline referenced here is dated June 15, 2026, treat every figure as provisional until you cross-check it against the current bulletin on the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors site. Rules around scheduling vendors, calculators, and reference materials can shift between outline revisions, and this article tells you exactly where to double-check before you build a timed simulation.
Exam Format & Registration Snapshot
The TN-CMC classification covers both plumbing and HVAC scope under a single full mechanical contractor license issued by the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors. The trade exam itself is administered by Prov and is:
- Computer-delivered, open-book
- 100 questions per the current outline
- Scored against a 73% passing standard
- Available at Prov test centers or via Examroom.ai remote proctoring
Because you're taking the trade exam, you'll also need to plan for the separate Tennessee Business and Law examination required of new contractor applicants. The two exams don't require the same qualifying agent - the person who sits for business-and-law can be different from the person who sits for the CMC trade exam, as long as licensing paperwork reflects the correct qualifying agent for each. For a deeper look at how demanding the trade portion actually is relative to business-and-law, see How Hard Is the TN-CMC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Fee Breakdown at a Glance
Budget for licensing costs in layers - exam fee, preapproval fee, and license fee are three separate line items, not one bundled charge.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Prov CMC exam fee (per attempt) | $53 |
| Board CMC preapproval fee | $50 |
| Initial contractor license fee | $250 |
| Biennial license renewal | $200 |
These figures don't include the Business and Law exam fee, insurance premiums, or bonding costs, which vary by applicant. For the full cost picture - including how the surety-bond alternative to a CPA-reviewed financial statement changes the math starting July 1, 2026 - read TN-CMC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Eligibility Checklist
Before you can even schedule the trade exam, the Board has to approve your preapplication. The core requirements are narrow but strict:
- Applicant must be at least 18 years old
- Applicant must document three years of plumbing experience
- The Board's approval form accepts specified alternative documentation, including qualifying engineering-degree documentation, in place of raw work-history verification
- The qualifying agent listed on the license may be an owner, officer, or full-time employee of the contracting business
Key Takeaway
Submit your preapproval paperwork early - the three-year plumbing experience verification and any alternative documentation take time to process, and you cannot schedule the trade exam without Board sign-off first. Full detail is in TN-CMC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
The 13 Domains and Their Weights
The single most useful number on this whole page is the domain weighting. Sort your study hours by these item counts, not by how comfortable you feel with each topic.
| # | Domain | Items |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Knowledge | 6 |
| 2 | Code Requirements | 5 |
| 3 | Fuel Gas Systems | 8 |
| 4 | Safety | 8 |
| 5 | Controls | 4 |
| 6 | Electrical Concepts | 4 |
| 7 | Piping | 8 |
| 8 | Load Calculations | 5 |
| 9 | Equipment | 10 |
| 10 | Refrigerants and Oils | 10 |
| 11 | Air Distribution and Vents | 18 |
| 12 | Fire Protection | 4 |
| 13 | Sprinkler Systems | 10 |
Air Distribution and Vents
This is the largest domain on the exam by a wide margin, at 18 of 100 questions. Anything soft here costs you more than gaps in any two smaller domains combined.
- Duct sizing and layout principles
- Venting requirements tied to appliance type
- Airflow and distribution troubleshooting scenarios
Equipment, Refrigerants and Oils, and Sprinkler Systems
These three domains each carry 10 items - together they equal more than a quarter of the exam. Treat them as a second-tier priority right behind Air Distribution and Vents.
- Equipment selection and installation clearances
- Refrigerant handling and oil compatibility rules
- Sprinkler system components and basic layout logic
For a full walkthrough of what each domain actually tests - not just how many questions it carries - go through TN-CMC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.
What You Can Bring Into the Testing Room
The TN-CMC exam is open-book, but "open-book" has specific limits under the Prov outline. Get this wrong and you could lose your reference materials at check-in.
- Allowed: advance highlighting in your code books, permanent tabs
- Allowed: a simple four-function calculator
- Not allowed: handwritten reference notes
- Not allowed: loose papers
- Not allowed: movable tabs
The listed reference texts on the June 15, 2026 outline are IMC 2021, IFGC 2021, and HVAC Basics for Contractors, fourth edition. Tab and highlight these in advance - during the exam you won't have time to hunt for a section you haven't already marked. Books referenced in your study plan should match this list; see the study guide for how to structure book-based review sessions around these three texts.
Facts You Must Have Memorized
If you only remember five things from this article, make it these:
- Passing score: 73%. Not a percentile, not a scaled score - a straight 73% threshold. Details on how that's calculated are in TN-CMC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
- Question count: 100 items per the current Prov outline.
- Results validity: exam results are typically accepted for two years, so don't let a passing score sit unused while you finish other licensing paperwork.
- License threshold: a license is required before bidding or contracting on covered projects of $25,000 or more.
- Continuing education: the eight-hour continuing-education requirement for specified residential classifications does not apply to a CMC-only license, so don't budget CE hours you don't need.
Key Takeaway
Because results are typically valid for two years, sequence your Business and Law exam and your Board paperwork so you don't let your trade exam score expire while waiting on financial or insurance documentation.
Final-Week Review Timeline
In the last week before your appointment, stop learning new material and start reinforcing weighted domains. This is the one place in this cheat sheet where general review technique matters - but it only matters mapped to TN-CMC's specific weighting.
Air Distribution and Vents (18 items) + Equipment (10 items)
- Re-tab IMC 2021 sections on duct sizing and venting
- Drill equipment clearance and installation scenarios
Refrigerants and Oils (10) + Sprinkler Systems (10) + Piping (8)
- Review oil-refrigerant compatibility charts
- Walk through sprinkler component layouts
- Confirm piping material and joining method rules
Fuel Gas Systems (8) + Safety (8)
- IFGC 2021 venting and appliance clearance sections
- Safety shutoff and lockout scenarios
Remaining domains + logistics
- Quick pass on General Knowledge, Code Requirements, Load Calculations, Controls, Electrical Concepts, Fire Protection
- Confirm Prov or Examroom.ai appointment details and calculator
- Verify your tabs and highlights are set - no last-minute rewrites
After You Pass: Licensing Steps
Passing the trade exam is a milestone, not the finish line. Full contractor licensure also requires:
- Passing the separate Tennessee Business and Law examination
- Financial qualification review by the Board
- Business and reference documentation
- General-liability insurance
- Workers-compensation coverage, or an applicable exemption
Starting July 1, 2026, the Board permits a contractor surety bond as an alternative to a CPA-reviewed or CPA-audited financial statement - a meaningful option for applicants who don't want to commission a formal financial review. Once licensed, renewal happens every two years at $200, and remember that CMC-only licensees are exempt from the eight-hour CE requirement that applies to certain residential classifications. Details on renewal timing live on the Board's own site, but the practical planning question - is this credential worth the ongoing cost and effort - is covered in Is the TN-CMC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026.
If you're weighing the license against job opportunities in Tennessee's mechanical trades, browse TN-CMC Jobs for a sense of where full mechanical contractor licensure opens doors versus a narrower trade-only credential.
Ready to turn this cheat sheet into real exam performance? Run timed, domain-weighted practice sessions on our TN-CMC practice test platform so the 18-question Air Distribution and Vents domain feels familiar long before test day.
FAQ
Yes. It's computer-delivered and open-book, but you can only bring in materials with advance highlighting and permanent tabs - no handwritten notes, loose papers, or movable tabs.
The passing standard on the current outline is 73%, based on a 100-question exam.
The Prov exam fee is $53 per attempt, separate from the $50 Board CMC preapproval fee and the $250 initial license fee.
Air Distribution and Vents, with 18 of 100 items, is the single largest domain and deserves the most review time.
Prov handles new scheduling beginning July 1, 2026. Appointments already booked through PSI are honored through September 2026.