Ten free BCIN Legal/Process practice questions for General and Designer.

Ten practice questions for the Ontario Building Code (BCIN) legal exams, General Legal/Process 2024 and Designer Legal/Process 2024, each with four options and one correct answer. Both exams are set by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) and delivered by Humber Polytechnic: 70 multiple-choice questions in three hours, open book, with a pass mark of 70 per cent. They test the Building Code Act, 1992 and the administrative and existing-building Parts of the 2024 Building Code. These are original questions written by TicketPrep from the Act, the Code and MMAH's published syllabi; none of them comes from an exam. They are free to use, print and share, and there is nothing to sign up for on this page.

01How to use these

The questions come from the TicketPrep BCIN Legal/Process bank, one bank written for both legal exams and grouped into seven study units of our own, from Unit A (the Act's framework and who enforces it) to Unit G (change of use and renovation under Parts 10 and 11). The ten are spread across all seven units. MMAH publishes the Act sections and Code provisions each exam covers but no topic weights, so the units and the spread are ours. Three of the ten are scenarios, and one is on the General syllabus only; every question is labelled with the exam or exams it belongs to. Answer each one before opening the explanation. Every explanation covers all four options, because knowing why a wrong answer is wrong is most of the skill.

• Pace. Each exam allows 180 minutes for 70 questions, about 2 minutes 34 seconds a question. Try these at that pace, with your Compendium open.
• Books. Both exams are open book: Humber's candidate rules allow the 2024 Building Code Compendium (Volumes 1 and 2, which include the Building Code Act), MMAH's Code and Construction Guide for Housing and a non-programmable calculator. The questions cite the section of the Act or the Code Article they rest on, so you can practise finding it.
• Print. The printed version shows the questions and the answer key without the explanations, so it works as a handout. The explanations are on the web page. Print this page Download PDF
• Mark. The pass mark is 70 per cent of the whole paper, with no minimum per topic, so score yourself on all ten together, then note which units cost you marks.

02The questions

1. Scenario · Unit A The Act's framework: definitions, roles and enforcement authorities · General and Designer

   A school board buys a used portable classroom that was built in a factory and has stood at another school for six years. The unit will be trucked to a different school and set on new supports there, with no change to the unit itself. Under the BCA s. 1(1) definitions, is setting it up at the new school construction?

   1. Yes; installing a building unit made or moved from elsewhere is construction.
   2. Yes, but only because a move to another school is a change of use.
   3. No; it becomes construction only if the unit is altered or extended there.
   4. No; a factory-built unit is a product, governed by the supplier's role instead.
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Under BCA s. 1(1), to construct means doing anything in erecting, installing, extending, or materially altering or repairing a building, and the definition expressly takes in installing a building unit that was made, or has been moved, from somewhere else. Setting the portable on its new supports is construction, so the Act's permit rules reach it.

   Why not the others

   B. The use does not change here (a classroom stays a classroom), and change of use is a separate matter under BCA s. 10(1). Setting the unit up is construction for another reason: the BCA s. 1(1) definition of construct expressly covers installing a building unit made or moved from elsewhere, whatever its use.

   C. Altering and extending are only two of the activities in the definition. BCA s. 1(1) also counts installation and names units moved from another site, so setting the unchanged portable in place is already construction.

   D. BCA s. 1.1(4) gives manufacturers, suppliers and retailers a role for the products they sell, but it does not take a relocated building unit out of the BCA s. 1(1) definition of construct; installing the unit is construction.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit A: The Act's framework: definitions, roles and enforcement authorities; BCA s. 1(1); BCA s. 10(1)

2. Scenario · Unit B Permits, construction, demolition, design and inspections · General and Designer

   A permit is sought for a three-storey office building whose construction the Professional Engineers Act requires to be designed by a professional engineer. The structural drawings were prepared by a building designer who is neither an engineer nor an architect. The application is otherwise complete and the fees are paid. Which ground in the Building Code Act lets the chief building official refuse the permit?

   1. The drawings have not first been referred to the engineers' association.
   2. The design is not by an engineer as that statute demands.
   3. No engineer has yet been retained to carry out the general review.
   4. A registered code agency has not issued a plans review certificate.
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. BCA s. 8(2)(b.1) makes it a refusal ground when the architects' or engineers' statute calls for professional design of the construction and the drawings did not come from such a professional; structural drawings for this office building by a designer who is neither is that case.

   Why not the others

   A. Referring drawings to the engineers' association (BCA s. 8(9)) is a power the chief building official may use on reasonable grounds, or must use when the association asks (BCA s. 8(9.1)); it is not a step the applicant must complete and is not a refusal ground in BCA s. 8(2).

   C. Retaining a reviewer under Div. C 1.2.2.1.(2) concerns the construction once it proceeds; it is not a ground in BCA s. 8(2), and a reviewer cannot stand in for the professional design the statute requires.

   D. A plans review certificate matters only where one is required for the application (BCA s. 8(2)(d)); nothing in the facts calls for one, so its absence is not the ground here.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit B: Permits, construction, demolition, design and inspections; BCA s. 8(2); BCA s. 8(9)

3. Direct response · Unit C Unsafe buildings, maintenance inspections, enforcement powers and offences · General and Designer

   An inspector wants to go into a vacant warehouse without a warrant, relying on the unsafe building entry power in BCA s. 15.9(1). Nobody lives in the building. For which of these purposes does that power allow the entry?

   1. To see whether the building is unsafe or an unsafe order has been obeyed.
   2. To search the building for evidence of an offence and seize what is found.
   3. To carry out the repairs that remove an unsafe condition the owner ignored.
   4. To check whether the property meets the municipality's property standards.
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. BCA s. 15.9(1) lets an inspector enter land and buildings at any reasonable time, without a warrant, for two purposes: to determine whether a building is unsafe, and to check whether an unsafe building order has been complied with.

   Why not the others

   B. Searching for and seizing evidence of an offence is what a search warrant from a provincial judge or justice of the peace authorizes. The warrantless entry in BCA s. 15.9(1) is limited to determining unsafe status and checking compliance with an unsafe order.

   C. Entry to do the repair work itself follows the chief building official's decision to act once an unsafe order is ignored, under a separate power for the official, inspectors and their agents. BCA s. 15.9(1) covers inspecting, not doing the work.

   D. Property standards inspections are made by property standards officers under a different part of the Act. BCA s. 15.9(1) lets an inspector enter to find out whether a building is unsafe or whether an unsafe order has been obeyed.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit C: Unsafe buildings, maintenance inspections, enforcement powers and offences; BCA s. 15.9(1)

4. Direct response · Unit C Unsafe buildings, maintenance inspections, enforcement powers and offences · General only

   On a complaint visit, an inspector finds that a house's septic tank and leaching bed are structurally sound, but the owner has not maintained or operated the system as the Building Code requires. Can the inspector treat the sewage system as unsafe under the unsafe building provisions of the Building Code Act?

   1. No: a building is unsafe only if it is structurally inadequate or faulty.
   2. Yes: poor maintenance or operation alone is enough to make it unsafe.
   3. No: a maintenance lapse can be dealt with only by a maintenance inspection order.
   4. Yes, but only if the lapse poses an immediate danger to someone's health.
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. Beyond the two general tests in BCA s. 15.9(2) (structural inadequacy, or a condition that could harm people using or near the building), BCA s. 15.9(3) makes a sewage system unsafe if it is not maintained or operated as the Act and the Building Code require. The inspector may then make an unsafe order under BCA s. 15.9(4).

   Why not the others

   A. Structural inadequacy is only one of the tests in BCA s. 15.9(2). BCA s. 15.9(3) adds a test for sewage systems alone: a system not maintained or operated as the Act and the Building Code require is unsafe even when it is structurally sound.

   C. A maintenance inspection order under BCA s. 15.10.1(2) is one route where a maintenance inspection program exists, but not the only one. BCA s. 15.9(3) separately makes a badly maintained or operated sewage system unsafe, so the unsafe building powers apply.

   D. Immediate danger is the trigger for the chief building official's emergency order under BCA s. 15.10(1), not for unsafe status. Under BCA s. 15.9(3), a lack of proper maintenance or operation is enough to make a sewage system unsafe.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit C: Unsafe buildings, maintenance inspections, enforcement powers and offences; BCA s. 15.9(2); BCA s. 15.9(3); BCA s. 15.9(4)

5. Direct response · Unit D Qualifications, registration, insurance and registered code agencies · General and Designer

   Ravi holds a licence under the Professional Engineers Act but is not registered with the director as a designer. He prepares the drawings for a permit application for a two-storey office building. Under the Act's designer qualification rule, must he hold the designer qualifications that the Building Code sets?

   1. Yes; anyone whose drawings go with a permit application needs the designer qualification.
   2. No; the designer qualification rule does not apply to a licence holder under that Act.
   3. Yes, unless the building is small enough to be designed under Part 9 of Division B.
   4. No, but only if another engineer with a licence reviews his drawings and takes responsibility.
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. BCA s. 15.11(8) says the designer rule in BCA s. 15.11(5) does not apply to anyone holding a licence or certificate under the Architects Act or the Professional Engineers Act. Ravi's licence takes him outside the rule for these drawings.

   Why not the others

   A. This is the general rule of BCA s. 15.11(5) without its carve-out. BCA s. 15.11(8) puts holders of a licence or certificate under the Architects Act or the Professional Engineers Act outside that rule, so Ravi needs no designer qualification.

   C. Building size plays no part in the carve-out. BCA s. 15.11(8) takes licence and certificate holders under the Professional Engineers Act out of BCA s. 15.11(5) for any building, so Ravi needs no designer qualification.

   D. No second reviewer is needed. Review and responsibility by a qualified person is a Code exemption for unregistered individual designers, not a condition on engineers; BCA s. 15.11(8) exempts Ravi on the strength of his licence alone.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit D: Qualifications, registration, insurance and registered code agencies; BCA s. 15.11(8); BCA s. 15.11(5)

6. Scenario · Unit E Disputes, appeals, alternative solutions, rulings and general provisions · General and Designer

   An inspector makes an order under BCA s. 12(2) requiring an owner to correct a framing defect within 3 days. The owner says that time is far too short and raises it with the municipality's chief building official the next morning. Under the Building Code Act, what may the chief building official do with the inspector's order?

   1. Review it and, if warranted, amend the time or rescind the order.
   2. Nothing directly; only the Building Code Commission can vary an inspector's order.
   3. Confirm it only, since changing it is reserved to a Superior Court judge.
   4. Refer it to council, which may vary the order by resolution.
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. BCA s. 22(1) lets the chief building official review an order an inspector has made and amend or rescind it. Changing the compliance time is an amendment the official may make; the owner separately keeps the right to appeal the order to the Superior Court of Justice under BCA s. 25(1).

   Why not the others

   B. The Building Code Commission resolves the disputes listed in BCA s. 24(1), such as whether technical requirements are sufficiently met. It is not the only body that can change an inspector's order: BCA s. 22(1) gives the chief building official the power to review, amend or rescind it.

   C. A judge may affirm or rescind an order on an appeal under BCA s. 25(4), but that does not take the power away from the chief building official, who may review, amend or rescind an inspector's order under BCA s. 22(1).

   D. The Act gives council no power to vary an inspector's order. The review power belongs to the chief building official under BCA s. 22(1).

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit E: Disputes, appeals, alternative solutions, rulings and general provisions; BCA s. 22(1); BCA s. 12(2); BCA s. 25(1)

7. Direct response · Unit E Disputes, appeals, alternative solutions, rulings and general provisions · General and Designer

   A plans examiner employed by a town is nominated for appointment to the Building Code Commission. Her town is not a party to any dispute now before the Commission. Under the Building Code Act, may she be appointed a member?

   1. Yes, provided she steps aside from any hearing involving her town.
   2. No; an employee of any municipality is barred from membership.
   3. Yes, if the Lieutenant Governor in Council is told of her employment.
   4. No, unless the Minister approves the appointment in writing.
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. BCA s. 23(3)(c) makes an employee of a municipality ineligible to be a member of the Commission. The bar turns on the employment itself, not on whether her own town is involved in a pending dispute.

   Why not the others

   A. Stepping aside from her own town's hearings does not cure the bar. BCA s. 23(3)(c) makes a municipal employee ineligible to be a member at all.

   C. Members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under BCA s. 23(1), but disclosure does not overcome the eligibility rule in BCA s. 23(3)(c), which bars municipal employees.

   D. The Act provides no ministerial waiver. Under BCA s. 23(3)(c) a municipal employee is simply not eligible to be a member.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit E: Disputes, appeals, alternative solutions, rulings and general provisions; BCA s. 23(3)(c); BCA s. 23(1)

8. Direct response · Unit F Building Code gateways: referenced documents, farm buildings, radon, flood plains and definitions · General and Designer

   A designer finds that a standard referenced in Division B would permit a detail that the Division B requirement citing it does not allow. Which governs the design?

   1. The Building Code's own provision.
   2. The referenced standard's provision.
   3. The less restrictive of the two.
   4. The more recently published of the two.
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Div. A 1.5.1.2.(1) settles a conflict between the Code and a document it references in favour of the Code.

   Why not the others

   B. The referenced standard does not override the Code that adopts it. Under Div. A 1.5.1.2.(1) the Code's provision governs over a conflicting provision of a referenced document.

   C. The Code does not let the designer pick the easier rule. Div. A 1.5.1.2.(1) makes the Code govern in any conflict with a referenced document.

   D. Publication dates do not decide conflicts; the edition of a referenced document is fixed by the Code (Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1)), and in a conflict the Code governs (Div. A 1.5.1.2.(1)).

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit F: Building Code gateways: referenced documents, farm buildings, radon, flood plains and definitions; Div. A 1.5.1.2.(1)

9. Direct response · Unit F Building Code gateways: referenced documents, farm buildings, radon, flood plains and definitions · General and Designer

   An issuing body publishes a new edition of a standard that the Building Code references. A designer wants to design to the new edition right away. Under Division A, which edition must the design follow?

   1. The newest edition, once the issuing body publishes it.
   2. The edition the Code itself designates for that document.
   3. The edition named on the product's certification label.
   4. Any edition the chief building official agrees to accept.
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1) fixes the editions of referenced documents as those designated in Div. B Subsection 1.3.1.; a newer edition published by the issuing body does not replace the designated one.

   Why not the others

   A. Publication by the issuing body does not change the Code. Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1) points to the edition designated in Div. B Subsection 1.3.1.

   C. A certification label does not set the governing edition. Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1) uses the edition designated in Div. B Subsection 1.3.1.

   D. The edition is not left to the official's discretion: Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1) calls for the edition designated in Div. B Subsection 1.3.1.

   Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit F: Building Code gateways: referenced documents, farm buildings, radon, flood plains and definitions; Div. A 1.5.1.3.(1)

10. Direct response · Unit G Change of use and renovation of existing buildings (Div. B Parts 10-11) · General and Designer

    A farm storage barn classified as Group G, Division 2 is to be used for a high-hazard agricultural process, which puts it in Group G, Division 1. The owner argues that Part 10's performance-level rules do not apply because the building stays in Group G. How does Part 10 treat this change?

    1. As no change in major occupancy, because the Group stays the same and only the Division changes.
    2. As a change in major occupancy, because Part 10 deems a farm building's move into G1 to be one.
    3. As a change in major occupancy only where the barn is more than 600 m² in building area.
    4. As outside Part 10 altogether, because farm buildings are dealt with only in Part 2.
    Show the answer

    B. Correct. Div. B 10.1.1.2.(1) lists changes that Part 10 counts as a change in major occupancy even where the Group may not change, and a farm building (or part of one) changed to Group G, Division 1 is on the list. The performance level rules of Div. B 10.3.2. therefore apply to the barn.

    Why not the others

    A. Staying in Group G does not settle it: Div. B 10.1.1.2.(1) expressly deems a change of a farm building (or part of one) to Group G, Division 1 to be a change in major occupancy for Part 10, so the owner's argument fails.

    C. 600 m² is a farm-building size figure used elsewhere in the Building Code to decide which farm rules apply, not a Part 10 condition; the deemed change in Div. B 10.1.1.2.(1) carries no size condition.

    D. Part 10 reaches farm buildings too: two of the deemed changes in Div. B 10.1.1.2.(1) are farm-building changes, so the barn is assessed under Part 10.

    Source: Building Code Act, 1992 and 2024 Ontario Building Code, our Unit G: Change of use and renovation of existing buildings (Div. B Parts 10-11); Div. B 10.1.1.2.(1)

03Answer key

04More free questions

For the exams themselves, the BCIN Legal/Process exam guide covers the format, the pass mark, who needs which exam, what you may bring, booking and fees, and the BCIN Legal/Process practice test page has five more sample questions and describes the full TicketPrep bank. Writing a technical exam as well? The free BCIN House and Small Buildings questions cover the Part 9 exams.

How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it. TicketPrep is an independent study site; it is not affiliated with MMAH, Humber Polytechnic or the National Research Council of Canada. Nothing here is taken from an exam, and neither the Building Code Act nor the Building Code is reproduced: the questions cite section and Article numbers and explain each requirement in their own words.