- Exam Overview and Format
- The 11 Domains and Their Weight
- Domains 1-3: Structures, Sitework, and Excavation
- Domains 4-6: Utilities, Equipment, and Water Control
- Domains 7-9: Pavement, Estimating, and Steel
- Domains 10-11: Safety and Barriers
- Study References Behind the Domains
- Scheduling Study Time Around Domain Weight
- Who Actually Uses This Domain Knowledge
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Excavation including Blasting carries the most questions at 13 of 100 scored items.
- Sitework including Layout and Surveying, Utilities, and Asphalt and Concrete Pavement each carry 12 questions.
- Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences is tested with just 1 question - don't over-invest there.
- The exam totals 100 scored questions plus up to 10 unscored pretest items in 240 minutes.
Exam Overview and Format
Before breaking down the content areas, it helps to understand exactly what you're sitting for. The HI-GEC exam is the official A - General Engineering Contractor examination administered on behalf of the Hawaii Contractors License Board (a division of DCCA PVL) by PSI Services LLC. This is not a professional-engineer license - Class A governs heavy-civil construction and other fixed-works projects, which is why the domain list below leans so heavily on earthwork, structures, and infrastructure rather than design theory.
Candidates answer 100 scored questions in a closed-book, computer-based format, with up to 10 additional unscored experimental questions mixed in (time spent on those doesn't count against your clock). You get 240 minutes total for the scored portion, and a passing result requires 75%. PSI offers both in-person testing at a physical test center and remote-proctored delivery, so you can choose whichever fits your schedule. For a deeper walkthrough of registration mechanics, cost stacking, and eligibility windows, see our full HI-GEC Requirements guide.
The 11 Domains and Their Weight
The current PSI candidate bulletin (dated January 20, 2026) publishes an exact question allocation across all 11 content areas. Nothing here is estimated - these are the official counts out of 100 scored questions.
| Domain | Content Area | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridges/Miscellaneous Structures | 10 |
| 2 | Sitework including Layout and Surveying | 12 |
| 3 | Excavation including Blasting | 13 |
| 4 | Utilities | 12 |
| 5 | Heavy Equipment and Sitework | 10 |
| 6 | Canals, Reservoirs and Flood Control | 10 |
| 7 | Asphalt and Concrete Pavement | 12 |
| 8 | Estimating and Plan Reading | 6 |
| 9 | Steel Erecting and Welding | 8 |
| 10 | Safety OSHA | 6 |
| 11 | Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences | 1 |
Notice how four domains - Excavation including Blasting, Sitework including Layout and Surveying, Utilities, and Asphalt and Concrete Pavement - together account for 49 of the 100 scored questions. That's essentially half the exam concentrated in four areas. Meanwhile, Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences is worth a single question. If you're mapping out study time, this table alone should drive most of your allocation decisions. For a numbers-only quick reference you can print, check the HI-GEC Cheat Sheet.
Domains 1-3: Structures, Sitework, and Excavation
Domain 1: Bridges/Miscellaneous Structures (10 questions)
This domain covers the structural fundamentals a General Engineering contractor must understand when bridges, retaining walls, culverts, or other fixed works are part of a project scope. Expect questions that test conceptual understanding of structural components and construction sequencing rather than detailed structural design calculations - design work belongs to licensed engineers, not the contractor performing the work.
- Basic bridge and structure terminology and components
- Construction sequencing for miscellaneous fixed structures
- Coordination points between structural work and surrounding sitework
Domain 2: Sitework including Layout and Surveying (12 questions)
This is one of the four heaviest domains, and it rewards candidates who understand practical field layout - not just theory. Surveying references, grade stakes, benchmarks, and how layout translates from plans to the actual ground are all fair game.
- Reading and applying layout and survey data from plan sets
- Establishing grades, lines, and elevations for construction
- General sitework sequencing and preparation before excavation begins
Domain 3: Excavation including Blasting (13 questions)
The single largest domain on the exam. Excavation is core to nearly every heavy-civil project, and blasting introduces a distinct set of safety and procedural knowledge that candidates cannot skip. Expect this domain to reward candidates who understand both routine earthwork practices and the specialized precautions blasting requires.
- Excavation methods, slope stability, and shoring basics
- Blasting safety procedures and site controls
- Soil classification and its effect on excavation approach
Key Takeaway
Because Excavation including Blasting is worth more than any other domain, treat it as your anchor topic - build your study calendar around it first, then layer in the remaining domains.
Domains 4-6: Utilities, Equipment, and Water Control
Domain 4: Utilities (12 questions)
Utility work - water, sewer, storm drainage, and related underground infrastructure - is another heavily weighted domain. Candidates should be comfortable with installation sequencing, trenching considerations tied to utility placement, and how utility work interfaces with the rest of a civil site.
- Underground utility installation practices and sequencing
- Trench and pipeline placement considerations
- Coordination between utility trades and general sitework
Domain 5: Heavy Equipment and Sitework (10 questions)
This domain tests practical knowledge of the equipment fleet used on heavy-civil jobs and how that equipment is applied correctly across different sitework tasks.
- Appropriate equipment selection for grading, excavation, and hauling
- Equipment operation basics relevant to safe and efficient sitework
- How equipment choices affect schedule and site logistics
Domain 6: Canals, Reservoirs and Flood Control (10 questions)
A distinctly Hawaii-relevant domain given the islands' drainage, flood management, and water-conveyance infrastructure needs. Expect questions on the construction practices used for water-control structures.
- Canal and reservoir construction methods
- Flood control structure fundamentals
- Erosion and drainage control tied to water-conveyance projects
Domains 7-9: Pavement, Estimating, and Steel
Domain 7: Asphalt and Concrete Pavement (12 questions)
Tied for the second-heaviest domain, pavement work spans both asphalt and concrete methods. Candidates should know placement, compaction, and curing practices for each material, plus how pavement specifications tie back into referenced standards like Hawaii's road and bridge construction specifications.
- Asphalt paving methods, compaction, and joint construction
- Concrete pavement placement, finishing, and curing
- Common pavement defects and their causes
Domain 8: Estimating and Plan Reading (6 questions)
Fewer questions here, but don't dismiss it - plan-reading skills quietly support your performance across nearly every other domain since the exam frequently references plan sets, specifications, and quantity takeoffs.
- Interpreting civil plan sets and specifications
- Quantity takeoff and basic cost-estimating logic
- Cross-referencing plan details with field conditions
Domain 9: Steel Erecting and Welding (8 questions)
Structural steel and welding practices round out the mid-weight domains. This is one of the few areas with a directly named study reference - welding fundamentals are drawn from established welding texts.
- Structural steel erection sequencing and safety
- Welding processes, joint types, and quality checks
- Steel connection basics relevant to civil structures
Domains 10-11: Safety and Barriers
Domain 10: Safety OSHA (6 questions)
Job-site safety earns a dedicated domain, reflecting the risk profile of heavy-civil work - excavation, blasting, equipment operation, and structural work all carry real hazards. Expect general OSHA-aligned safety principles applied to construction site conditions.
- General site safety practices for excavation and equipment
- Hazard recognition and mitigation on active job sites
- Safety responsibilities tied to supervisory roles
Domain 11: Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences (1 question)
The smallest domain by far. This covers traffic-control hardware and site barriers - guardrails, striping, signage, and fencing - often tied to roadway work referenced in traffic control device standards. With just one question, spend only light review time here after your higher-weight domains are solid.
- Basic guardrail and barrier installation
- Pavement striping and signage placement principles
- Fencing as it relates to site and roadway projects
Study References Behind the Domains
The PSI candidate bulletin lists several source publications that inform the exam content. These are study references, not materials you can bring into the testing room - the exam itself is closed-book. The listed references include the International Building Code (2018), the Hawaii Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction (2005), the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (2009), and Modern Welding, 11th Edition (2013).
Mapping these to the domains above: road and bridge specifications tie most directly to Sitework, Excavation, and Asphalt and Concrete Pavement; the traffic control manual supports Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences; and the welding text supports Steel Erecting and Welding. The building code provides broader structural context relevant to Bridges/Miscellaneous Structures. For a full walkthrough of how to build a study plan around these sources, see the HI-GEC Study Guide.
Scheduling Study Time Around Domain Weight
Rather than studying all 11 domains in equal proportion, allocate time roughly in line with question weight. A simple approach: spend the most hours on Excavation including Blasting, Sitework including Layout and Surveying, Utilities, and Asphalt and Concrete Pavement - the four domains worth 12-13 questions each - before moving to the mid-weight domains, and finish with light review of Estimating and Plan Reading, Steel Erecting and Welding, Safety OSHA, and the single-question Metal Barriers domain.
Heaviest Domains First
- Excavation including Blasting (13 questions)
- Sitework including Layout and Surveying (12 questions)
Second Tier
- Utilities (12 questions)
- Asphalt and Concrete Pavement (12 questions)
Mid-Weight Domains
- Heavy Equipment and Sitework (10 questions)
- Canals, Reservoirs and Flood Control (10 questions)
- Bridges/Miscellaneous Structures (10 questions)
Lower-Weight Domains and Review
- Steel Erecting and Welding (8 questions)
- Estimating and Plan Reading (6 questions)
- Safety OSHA (6 questions)
- Metal Barriers, Striping, Signs, and Fences (1 question)
Once you've cycled through all 11 domains, spend remaining time on full-length practice sessions through our practice test platform to simulate the 240-minute format and get comfortable with question pacing before test day. If you want a sense of how challenging candidates generally find each section, our HI-GEC difficulty guide goes deeper on that topic.
Who Actually Uses This Domain Knowledge
The content areas above aren't academic - they map directly to the day-to-day supervisory work required of General Engineering contractors in Hawaii. Whether you're applying as a sole proprietor or as a Responsible Managing Employee (RME), the Board requires documentation of four years of qualifying on-site supervisory experience within the preceding ten years, along with notarized experience certificates and a chronological project list. The domains tested - excavation, utilities, pavement, structures, and safety - reflect exactly the kind of hands-on supervisory work that experience documentation is meant to verify.
This is also why the exam pairs the GEC content with a separate Business and Law exam for new applicants: technical domain knowledge alone doesn't cover the licensing, tax-clearance, insurance, and financial requirements that come with running or managing a contracting operation. For the fuller eligibility picture, including RME employment requirements, see HI-GEC Requirements. If you're still deciding whether pursuing this path makes sense for your career, our ROI analysis and HI-GEC Jobs overview cover the practical upside, and the salary guide discusses earnings considerations.
For readers who are earlier in their research and still confirming basic terminology and exam logistics, our companion pieces - What Is HI-GEC?, HI-GEC Meaning, and HI-GEC Exam Dates - cover foundational context, while HI-GEC Passing Score breaks down exactly what the 75% threshold means in practice across 100 scored questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 11 content domains covering 100 scored questions, plus up to 10 additional unscored experimental questions that don't count toward your result.
Excavation including Blasting carries the most weight at 13 questions, making it the single most valuable domain to master early in your study plan.
It's worth only 1 of 100 scored questions, so a light review pass after covering the heavier domains is a reasonable use of your time.
No. The listed references are study sources only. The exam is closed-book, though PSI provides an on-screen calculator and allows a qualifying personal calculator at test centers.
No - passing requires 75% overall across all 100 scored questions regardless of how those questions are distributed among the 11 domains.