The Red Seal exam is a four-hour multiple-choice exam with a pass mark of 70%. In the seven trades covered here it has 100 to 135 questions, so you need 70 to 95 correct answers, at an average of 1.8 to 2.4 minutes a question. The Red Seal Program says there are no trick questions. What makes it demanding is breadth: every question is written to a sub-task in the trade's occupational standard, the number of questions per section is published in advance, and the exam covers the trade as it is practised across Canada, not just the work you do at your shop. We found no pass rate published by the Red Seal Program itself. Provincial figures exist but are counted in different ways, so they cannot be compared with each other: Newfoundland and Labrador reports that 51% of 804 attempts passed in 2025, and Saskatchewan reports 65.7% for 2024-25.
01Is the Red Seal exam hard?
It is a different kind of exam from the ones you wrote in training. The Red Seal Program's Exam Preparation Guide says the exam "is not the same" as those: it "covers the scope of the trade across Canada" and is "based on the work and knowledge expected at the journeyperson level in your trade." The guide says that in many ways it is the "final exam" for tradespeople.
The pass mark is 70%. Every question is multiple choice with four options and one correct answer, each is worth one mark, and the guide tells you to answer every question, even if you have to guess. The writing time is four hours. The number of questions, and how many come from each section of the trade, is published on the Red Seal Program's exam information page for the trade.
The sections below cover three features of that format: the breadth of the standard, the mix of question types and the pace. Then come the official pass rates we found, with what each one counts.
02What are the numbers for your trade?
| Trade | Questions | Correct answers needed | Minutes per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| 310S Automotive Service Technician | 125 | 88 | 1.9 |
| 310T Truck and Transport Mechanic | 135 | 95 | 1.8 |
| 309A Construction Electrician | 100 | 70 | 2.4 |
| 403A Carpenter | 100 | 70 | 2.4 |
| 421A Heavy Duty Equipment Technician | 135 | 95 | 1.8 |
| 332A Hairstylist | 120 | 84 | 2.0 |
| 433A Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) | 135 | 95 | 1.8 |
The correct-answers column is 70% of the question count, rounded up to the next whole question: 70% of 125 is 87.5, so 88; 70% of 135 is 94.5, so 95; 70% of 120 is exactly 84. The minutes column is 240 divided by the question count, which is the calculation the Exam Preparation Guide asks you to do for yourself.
Put the other way, you can get 30 questions wrong on the 309A or 403A, 36 on the 332A, 37 on the 310S, and 40 on the 310T, 421A or 433A, and still pass. That margin is real, but one weak section spends it fast. On the 309A, wiring systems alone is 30 questions. The full block-by-block counts are in how many questions are on the Red Seal exam.
03What kinds of questions are on the exam?
The Program's exam information page for each trade names three question types and gives the rough share of the exam each takes. Knowledge and recall questions test your ability to "recall and understand definitions, facts and principles." Procedural and application questions test "your ability to apply your knowledge of procedures to a situation." Critical thinking questions test "your ability to interpret data, solve problems and arrive at valid conclusions."
| Trade | Knowledge and recall | Procedural and application | Critical thinking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 310S Automotive Service Technician | 5 to 15% | 40 to 50% | 40 to 50% |
| 310T Truck and Transport Mechanic | under 10% | 50 to 60% | 35 to 45% |
| 309A Construction Electrician | 5 to 15% | 60 to 70% | 20 to 30% |
| 403A Carpenter | 5 to 15% | 75 to 85% | under 10% |
| 421A Heavy Duty Equipment Technician | 5 to 15% | 45 to 55% | 35 to 45% |
| 332A Hairstylist | 10 to 20% | 75 to 85% | under 10% |
| 433A Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) | 30 to 40% | 40 to 50% | 20 to 30% |
In six of the seven trades, recall is at most 20% of the paper. The rest tests procedures and problem solving, which the guide says can involve calculations, diagrams and code books. The guide is careful about how hard that is meant to be. The questions "are not misleading or trick questions, but the incorrect options are not always obvious," and "someone who is skilled and experienced should be able to pick the correct answer from the options." It says some critical thinking questions are complex and "require an analysis of the situation and multiple calculations."
04Why does it feel harder than shop tests?
Because the whole standard is in play, weighted in advance. Every question is linked to a sub-task in the Red Seal Occupational Standard, and tradespeople from across Canada decide how many questions each section gets. A sub-task is testable when at least 70% of provinces and territories say journeypersons in the trade perform it. So the exam includes work that is common nationally but that you may never have done, and the guide says as much: "everyone has different trade experience and there may be some questions about activities that you are less familiar with."
Because the weights are fixed, a gap in your experience costs a predictable number of marks. A 421A technician who has never worked on hydraulic, hydrostatic and pneumatic systems is facing 25 of 135 questions, more than half of the 40 they can afford to miss. The guide's advice follows from that: be "familiar with the entire occupational standard," and remember that "textbooks can be helpful study resources, but they are not the basis of the exam; the occupational standard is the basis of the exam."
The Program publishes a self-assessment tool for each trade that lists every task and sub-task and asks how well you know each one. It "is not intended to accurately predict how well you will do," but it shows where your experience is thinnest.
05What is the Red Seal exam pass rate?
We found no pass rate published by the Red Seal Program or by the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA), which is responsible for the program. The exams are administered by the provinces and territories, and the figures that exist come from them. They cannot be compared with each other, because each counts something different: attempts or candidates, with or without rewrites, apprentices and trade qualifiers together or apart, Red Seal exams alone or with other certifying exams.
| Jurisdiction and period | Published figure | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Canada, 2021 | 54% | Not published by the Red Seal Program. A Newfoundland and Labrador government news release of October 24, 2022 says the national pass rate "decreased by one per cent to 54 per cent" in 2021, and puts the province's own 2021 rate for provincial apprentices at 63%. The release does not say how the national figure was calculated or who it covers. It is the only national figure we found in an official source. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador, 2025 | 51% | 804 attempts at Red Seal exams in the calendar year, counting first attempts, rewrites, online and paper exams. |
| Saskatchewan, 2024-25 | 65.7% | The "Red Seal Exam Pass Rate" measure in the SATCC annual report, down from 69.4% in 2023-24 and short of the 75% target. The report does not define it; it refers readers to a separate reference table, which we did not check. |
| Nova Scotia, 2024-25 | 47% for trade qualifiers | The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency's statistics report says Red Seal results improved on the year before but overall pass rates "remain below the historical average," and that the trade qualifier pass rate "remains stable at 47%." The text gives no definition. |
| Ontario, 2023-24 | 44.5% | Skilled Trades Ontario's "Overall Exam Pass Rate," defined as the average pass rate across Red Seal and non-Red Seal trades with a certifying exam. It is not a Red Seal figure on its own. |
| British Columbia, 2000 to 2019 | 78% to 85% a year | A records-request release published by SkilledTradesBC. It counts apprenticeship candidates who wrote a Red Seal exam in the year, not attempts, and counts a candidate as passed on any attempt. Trade qualifiers are not in it. In 2019, 5,265 apprenticeship candidates wrote, 4,175 passed, and 3,536 of those passed on their first attempt. |
Newfoundland and Labrador is the one authority we found that publishes results by trade. Its 2025 figures for the trades on this site are below, on the same basis as its 51% overall figure. Attempt counts are small (the hairstylist figure rests on six), so a few candidates can move a trade's result a long way. The figures describe one province in one year and are not a ranking of how hard each trade's exam is.
| Trade | Attempts | Passed |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive Service Technician | 57 | 86% |
| Truck and Transport Mechanic | 48 | 38% |
| Construction Electrician | 106 | 48% |
| Carpenter | 73 | 49% |
| Heavy Duty Equipment Technician | 83 | 46% |
| Hairstylist | 6 | 83% |
| Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) | 71 | 46% |
| Overall, all trades | 804 | 51% |
None of these sources says who fails or why. We have not used any pass rate we could not tie to a year, a jurisdiction and an official source.
06Is it harder for trade qualifiers?
The Red Seal Program publishes one exam breakdown per trade, and nothing on its pages describes a different exam for trade qualifiers. What differs is eligibility. The Exam Preparation Guide says the apprenticeship and certification authority in each province and territory decides who can write, that the requirements "differ by trade and by type of tradesperson (e.g. apprentice or trade qualifier)," and that "you have to be experienced in the full scope of your trade." It also says the exam "is not just based on what you do in your job or what is done in your province or territory."
Nova Scotia is the one authority we found that states a trade qualifier pass rate: 47% in 2024-25, which its report describes as stable. That is one province and one year, and the report's text gives no apprentice rate to set beside it, so it does not show whether the exam is harder for either group. Eligibility by province is in how to challenge the Red Seal exam.
07What do you get in the exam room?
The Exam Preparation Guide lists what is provided: an exam booklet, a diagram booklet if required, other reference material if required (an acronym list, math formulas, code book information), a pencil and eraser, a calculator if needed, and a bubble sheet. Its general exam room rules say not to bring any materials into the room, to have anything else, such as water or food, approved by the examiner, to remove outerwear, and not to bring bags or any electronic device, including calculators and watches; "if you need one, it will be provided." You use only the pencils, erasers, calculators and scrap paper provided. The guide adds that your province or territory may have its own rules.
If your trade has a code book, the exam references the national code book, and the questions "will not explicitly state that a question refers to Code." Formulas may be supplied, but choosing the right one is on you: "the key to knowing your formulas is knowing when to use which formula." The day itself, from ID to results, is covered in Red Seal exam day.
08How do you prepare for it?
- Do the self-assessment for your trade. Mark every task where you have little or no experience.
- Read the exam breakdown. Add up the questions attached to your weak tasks. That is your risk in marks, and it decides where the hours go.
- Study the occupational standard, not a textbook. Read the sub-tasks, their skills and knowledge statements, and the range of variables. The guide suggests index cards for the range of variables, sticky notes for procedures, and a poster of every formula the trade uses.
- Work the sample questions on the Red Seal website. They are "written by the same people, in the same format as real exam questions."
- Use practice questions as a gauge, not a script. The guide says memorizing them "may not be helpful," and that for every question you should ask "why is the right answer the right answer? Why are the wrong choices wrong?"
- Get the experience. "The best way to learn these tasks is by doing them!" Ask your employer or mentor for time on the work you have not done.
On the day, the guide says to answer every question, even if you have to guess; to check at the halfway point that half the exam is done; and to skip a hard question and come back to it. Building the plan from the breakdown is the subject of how to study for the Red Seal exam, and the rewrite rules if it does not go your way are in what happens if you fail.
09Sources
- Red Seal Program: Exam Preparation Guide: the 70% pass mark, four hours, one mark per question, four options and one correct answer, no trick questions, common core, and the self-assessment tool.
- Red Seal Program: Exam Preparation Guide (PDF): the 240-minute calculation, the question types, exam supplies, the exam room rules, the code book and formula advice, the study methods and the tips for multiple-choice exams quoted above.
- Red Seal Program: About the program: provinces and territories administer the exams; the CCDA is responsible for the program.
- Red Seal Program: Register for your Red Seal examination: Red Seal examinations are administered by provincial and territorial authorities, and eligibility can differ by trade and by apprentice or trade qualifier.
- Red Seal Program: Automotive Service Technician exam information: 125 questions and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Truck and Transport Mechanic exam information: 135 questions and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Construction Electrician exam information: 100 questions, 30 in wiring systems, and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Carpenter exam information: 100 questions and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Heavy Duty Equipment Technician exam information: 135 questions, 25 in hydraulic, hydrostatic and pneumatic systems, and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Hairstylist exam information: 120 questions and the question-type mix.
- Red Seal Program: Industrial Mechanic (Millwright) exam information: 135 questions and the question-type mix.
- Newfoundland and Labrador ATCD: Red Seal Exam Results: the 2025 attempts and pass percentages by trade and overall, and the note that they include first attempts, rewrites, online and paper exams.
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: news release, October 24, 2022: the national figure of 54% for 2021 and the provincial apprentice rate of 63%; the release does not define the national figure.
- SATCC: 2024-25 Annual Report (PDF): the Red Seal Exam Pass Rate of 65.7% in 2024-25, 69.4% in 2023-24 and the 75% target.
- Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency: Statistics Report 2024-2025 (PDF): the 47% trade qualifier pass rate and the comment on overall results.
- Skilled Trades Ontario: Annual Report 2023-24 (PDF): the 44.5% overall exam pass rate and its definition as an average across Red Seal and non-Red Seal trades with a certifying exam.
- SkilledTradesBC: General Record Request 41-2020, apprenticeship candidates by number of Red Seal exam attempts, 2000 to 2019 (PDF): the candidate pass rates, their definition, and the 2019 first-attempt count.
On September 23, 2026 we checked every pass rate on this page against the official document cited for it: the Newfoundland and Labrador results page and news release, the SATCC, Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency and Skilled Trades Ontario reports, and the SkilledTradesBC record. The same day we checked each trade's question total, section counts and question-type mix on the Red Seal Program's exam information pages, and the quotations against the Exam Preparation Guide. Each new report or results table can change these figures. If you find something out of date, tell us.
Related: all guides · the 70% pass mark · how many questions · how to study · exam day · if you fail · challenging the exam
10Practice for this exam
The hard part of the Red Seal exam is breadth, and breadth is what a weighted practice test measures. TicketPrep practice tests follow the Red Seal Program's published breakdown for each trade, so the sections you have never worked in get the same share of questions they will get on the day. Every answer is explained, and there are free sample questions to try first.
Ten free questions per trade, no account: free practice questions. How our questions are written and checked: how our questions are made.