IDEX California Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: C

1. Buyer is 70, so the period is 5 business days (Civil Code 1689.6).
2. Business days exclude only Sundays and listed holidays; Saturday counts.
3. Count from the Friday signing: Saturday = 1, Monday = 2, Tuesday = 3, Wednesday = 4, Thursday = 5.
4. The right to cancel runs until midnight Thursday.

Tuesday: Applies the three-business-day period for buyers under 65.

Wednesday: Counts five calendar days, including Sunday, which is not a business day.

Thursday: Correct. Civil Code 1689.6 gives a senior citizen (65 or older, Civil Code 1689.5) until midnight of the fifth business day after signing. A business day is every calendar day except Sunday and listed holidays, so counting from Friday: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Friday: Skips Saturday, but Saturday counts as a business day under the Civil Code.

Home solicitation contracts may be cancelled until midnight of the third business day, or the fifth for buyers 65 and older; Saturdays count, Sundays do not.

Answer: D

No, because the total is under $1,000: The dollar limit is only one condition; the no-employee condition also applies.

No, because no building permit is required: The no-permit condition is met, but the employee condition is not.

Yes, because any job over $500 needs a license: Outdated threshold; the minor-work limit has been under $1,000 since January 1, 2025.

Yes, because an employee would assist: Correct. B&P Code 7048 exempts work under $1,000 total (labor, materials and all other items) only if no building permit is required and the person does not employ anyone to perform or assist in the work. Using an employed assistant removes the exemption.

The minor-work exemption needs all three: under $1,000 total, no permit required, and no employees on the work.

Answer: C

Never specify any of the showroom’s products at all: The Code allows the specification once the interest is disclosed; it does not impose a blanket ban.

Disclose the interest only if the client asks: Disclosure is the designer’s own duty and must come before proceeding, not only on request.

Tell the client of the interest before proceeding: Correct. The CCIDC Code of Ethics requires a CID to disclose to the client any financial interest that could affect the designer’s impartiality in specifying goods or services. The disclosure comes before the CID proceeds, so the client can decide; putting it in writing is good practice.

Pass the showroom discount to the client instead: A price benefit does not replace disclosure of the financial interest.

Disclose any financial interest that could affect impartiality to the client before proceeding, so the client can decide whether to accept it.

Answer: A

1. Use the inverse square law: E = I ÷ d².
2. Square the distance: 6 ft × 6 ft = 36.
3. Divide: 3,600 ÷ 36 = 100 footcandles.

100 footcandles: Correct. By the inverse square law, E = I ÷ d² = 3,600 ÷ 36 = 100 footcandles.

300 footcandles: This divides by twice the distance (12 ft) instead of the distance squared.

600 footcandles: This divides by the distance (6 ft) instead of the distance squared (36).

3,600 footcandles: This ignores the distance; candela is intensity at the source, not illuminance on the surface.

For a point source aimed straight down, illuminance (fc) = intensity (cd) ÷ distance (ft) squared; doubling the distance cuts illuminance to one-quarter.

Answer: B

Paint the long side walls a warm, dark color: This brings the long walls visually closer, so the room looks even narrower.

Paint the short end walls a warm, dark color: Correct. Warm, dark colors advance, so the end walls seem closer and the room appears shorter and more square.

Paint all walls the same cool, light color: Cool, light colors recede evenly on every wall, so the room looks larger but keeps its long, narrow proportion.

Paint the ceiling darker than the walls: A darker ceiling makes the ceiling seem lower; it does not change the length-to-width proportion.

Warm, dark and intense colors advance; cool, light colors recede. Apply advancing color to the surfaces you want to bring closer.

Answer: C

Record the change on the as-built drawings at completion: Wrong timing: as-builts record what was built. The change needs approval before it is built.

Obtain the owner's written approval of the change: Wrong party: the owner's consent is a contract matter. It does not replace code approval by the building official.

Submit amended construction documents for building official approval: Correct. CBC Section 107.4 requires work to follow the approved construction documents. Any change made during construction that departs from them must be resubmitted as an amended set and approved before the work proceeds. Moving a corridor wall can affect egress, so it is a field change that needs review.

Get verbal approval from the inspector at the final inspection: Wrong timing and method: changes are approved as amended documents, not verbally after the fact.

A field change to permitted work must be submitted as amended construction documents and approved before construction. Owner consent or as-built notes are not enough.

Answer: C

No separation required: Wrong cell: "N" applies between occupancies in the same group, not between A and B.

1 hour: Sprinklered value: 1 hour is the A–B separation only in a building sprinklered throughout (S column).

2 hours: Correct. In the table, Group A (row A, E) meets Group B (column B, F-1, M, S-1) at 1 / 2. The building is not sprinklered, so the NS value of 2 hours applies.

3 hours: Not in the excerpt: 3-hour separations apply to some high-hazard (H) combinations, not A–B.

Read Table 508.4 at the row and column of the two groups, then choose S or NS. Sprinklering usually lowers the separation by 1 hour.

Answer: C

1. Current design: Type VB, NS, allowable 9,000 sq ft, below 20,000 sq ft, so it does not comply.
2. Type VA NS = 18,000 and Type IIIB NS = 19,000, both below 20,000, so neither works.
3. Reducing to 12,000 sq ft is still above 9,000, so it does not work.
4. Sprinklered one-story (S1) Type VB = 36,000, at least 20,000, so it complies.

Change to Type IIIB, without sprinklers: Not enough: Type IIIB NS allows 19,000 sq ft, still under 20,000 sq ft.

Change to Type VA, without sprinklers: Not enough: Type VA NS allows 18,000 sq ft, still under 20,000 sq ft.

Install an NFPA 13 sprinkler system throughout: Correct. Type VB nonsprinklered allows only 9,000 sq ft. With an NFPA 13 system, a one-story building uses the S1 value: 36,000 sq ft, which exceeds 20,000 sq ft.

Reduce the building to 12,000 sq ft: Not enough: the Type VB nonsprinklered limit is 9,000 sq ft, so 12,000 sq ft still exceeds it.

Find the occupancy row, the construction type column and the sprinkler condition (NS, S1 or SM) in Table 506.2. An NFPA 13 system typically quadruples a one-story building's tabular area.

Answer: A

Reject it, because the smoke-developed index exceeds 450: Correct. Under the CBC ASTM E84/UL 723 classification, Class A, B and C all require a smoke-developed index of 450 or less. With an index of 500, the panel cannot be classified, so it cannot be used as a Class B finish.

Accept it as Class C, since the flame spread index is under 200: Class C also caps the smoke-developed index at 450, and the corridor needs Class B anyway.

Accept it, because sprinklers waive the smoke limit: Sprinklers can relax the required class where the table allows, but they never waive the 450 smoke-developed limit.

Accept it as Class B, because the flame spread index is 26–75: The flame spread fits Class B, but every class also requires a smoke-developed index of 450 or less; this panel fails that limit.

A flame spread class is valid only when the smoke-developed index is 450 or less; check both numbers on every finish submittal.

Answer: B

Only if the filling is treated with a flame-retardant chemical: TB 117-2013 has no flame-retardant chemical pathway; it was written so that smolder resistance can be met without added chemicals.

Only with a passing barrier between fabric and filling: Correct. TB 117-2013 allows a cover fabric that fails its test to be used when a barrier (interliner) that passes the barrier test is placed between the cover and the resilient filling, covering the cushion sides and top.

Only if the fabric is topically treated after sewing: A topical treatment does not change the TB 117-2013 result; the standard offers the barrier route for failing fabrics.

Only if the chair carries an ASTM E84 Class C label: ASTM E84 classifies wall and ceiling finishes, not upholstery assemblies.

Under TB 117-2013, a failing cover fabric (or filling) can be used with a passing barrier (interliner) material.

Answer: D

1. Maximum overall diagonal = 150 ft (shown; 90-120-150 is a 3-4-5 triangle).
2. Nonsprinklered → one-half the diagonal.
3. 150 ÷ 2 = 75 ft.

45 ft: Wrong dimension: 45 ft is half of the 90-ft short side; the rule uses the maximum overall diagonal.

50 ft: Sprinklered rule: one-third of the diagonal (150 ÷ 3 = 50 ft) is permitted only in a building sprinklered throughout.

60 ft: Wrong dimension: 60 ft is half of the 120-ft long side, not half of the diagonal.

75 ft: Correct. CBC 1007.1.1: two required exits must be separated by at least one-half the maximum overall diagonal of the area served. 150 ÷ 2 = 75 ft. The one-third reduction needs sprinklers throughout, which this building lacks.

Exit separation = 1/2 of the maximum overall diagonal (1/3 if the building is sprinklered throughout), measured in a straight line between the exits.

Answer: C

1. Sales floor: mercantile, 60 gross → 3,000 ÷ 60 = 50.
2. Stockroom: storage, stock, shipping, 300 gross → 600 ÷ 300 = 2.
3. Total = 50 + 2 = 52.

12: Wrong factor: 3,600 ÷ 300 = 12 applies the stockroom factor to the whole shop.

50: Incomplete: this counts only the sales floor (3,000 ÷ 60) and leaves out the stockroom occupants.

52: Correct. Each area takes the factor for its own function (CBC Table 1004.5): sales floor 3,000 ÷ 60 = 50; stockroom 600 ÷ 300 = 2; total 50 + 2 = 52.

60: Wrong method: 3,600 ÷ 60 = 60 applies the mercantile factor to the stockroom too.

Where one space contains different functions, calculate each area with its own factor and add the results.

Answer: D

1: Outdated idea: providing only one accessible primary entrance does not meet CBC scoping.

2: Too few: half of the entrances does not meet either the CBC or the federal ADA.

3: Federal ADA value: the ADA requires at least 60% of public entrances (4 × 0.6 = 2.4, so 3). The CBC is stricter.

4: Correct. CBC 11B-206.4.1: all entrances and exterior ground-floor exits must comply with the accessible door requirements, so all four public entrances must be accessible.

California requires all entrances to be accessible, stricter than the federal ADA’s 60% of public entrances.

Answer: D

Lower the main counter to 36 in: Not required: only the accessible portion must meet the length and height limits; the rest of the counter may stay at 42 in. A 36-in height is the federal ADA parallel-approach maximum, not the CBC value.

Lower the section to 28 in: Not required: the lowered section is already at the 34-in maximum; 28 in is the lower limit for dining and work surfaces.

Add knee and toe space below it: Wrong approach: knee and toe space is required for a forward approach. This counter is used by a parallel approach.

Lengthen the section to 36 in: Correct. CBC 11B-904.4.1: a parallel-approach counter needs a portion 36 in long minimum and 34 in high maximum, extending the full counter depth. The 34-in height complies, but the 30-in length is too short.

A CBC 11B sales counter needs an accessible portion at least 36 in long and no more than 34 in high, the full depth of the counter, for either approach.

Answer: B

1. Women = 160 ÷ 2 = 80.
2. Female water closets: 51–100 → 3.

2: Wrong column: 80 men need 2 water closets; the women’s column is stricter.

3: Correct. Half of 160 = 80 women. In the female column, 80 falls in the 51–100 range, which requires 3 water closets.

4: Whole load used: 160 in the female column gives 4, but only the women’s half (80) is counted.

5: Combined total: 5 is the women’s 3 plus the men’s 2 for the whole restaurant.

Split the occupant load by sex first, then read each sex’s column of the plumbing fixture table.