The Parts Technician Red Seal exam (240P in Ontario) has 120 multiple-choice questions. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives the pass mark as 70 per cent, which means 84 correct answers, and the writing time as four hours. The questions come from five blocks, which the occupational standard calls major work activities. Warehousing and inventory is the largest at 30 questions, then parts acquisition with 29, customer service with 26, common occupational skills with 19 and business practices with 16. The Red Seal Program puts the mix at 65 to 75 per cent procedural and application, 10 to 20 per cent knowledge and recall and 10 to 15 per cent critical thinking. It publishes no formula sheet for this trade; an acronym list is provided at the sitting. The Red Seal title was Partsperson until 2019 (Manitoba and Yukon still use it), and it is a Red Seal trade in all thirteen provinces and territories.
01What is the Parts Technician Red Seal exam?
It is the national certification exam for the trade the Red Seal Program calls Parts Technician. The Program's description of the trade says the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship approved that title in 2019 and that the previous name was Partsperson; its trade page lists Partsperson as the title Manitoba and Yukon still use. 240P is Ontario's trade code, and Ontario also uses the name Parts Technician. You will also see the exam called the interprovincial (IP) exam or, in Ontario, the certifying or C of Q exam. These all name the same sitting: one interprovincial Red Seal exam.
The content is set nationally. According to the Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide, tradespeople from across Canada decide what goes into the trade's Red Seal Occupational Standard, write and review the exam questions, and decide how many questions each section gets. The exam is then administered by the provincial and territorial apprenticeship and certification authorities; in Ontario that is Skilled Trades Ontario.
The format is the same as every Red Seal exam: multiple choice, four options (A to D), one correct answer and one mark per question. The Parts Technician exam has 120 questions. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives the writing time as four hours, about 2 minutes per question; the exam information page for this trade does not repeat it, so confirm the time when you book. The preparation guide gives the pass mark as 70 per cent, so you need 84 correct answers and can miss 36.
The standard behind the exam is the Red Seal Occupational Standard for Parts Technician published in 2020 (catalogue number Em15-3/27-2020E-PDF), which the Red Seal site listed as the most recent standard for this trade when we checked on October 3, 2026. The preparation guide stresses that the exam covers the trade as it is practised across Canada, not only the work you do. The Program's description of the trade says parts technicians work in industries from automotive service, commercial transport and recreational vehicles to agricultural equipment, marine equipment, mining, plumbing and heating, refrigeration and tool cribs, at wholesale or retail level, and that while the activities are similar in every industry, the product knowledge is very different.
02What is on the Parts Technician exam?
The Red Seal Program publishes how many questions come from each major work activity. For Parts Technician the 120 questions break down like this.
| Block | Major work activity | Questions | Share of exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Performs common occupational skills | 19 | 15.8% |
| B | Performs customer service | 26 | 21.7% |
| C | Performs parts acquisition | 29 | 24.2% |
| D | Performs warehousing and inventory | 30 | 25.0% |
| E | Applies business practices | 16 | 13.3% |
| Total | 120 | 100% | |
Block D, warehousing and inventory, is the heaviest at 30 questions, a quarter of the exam. Block C, parts acquisition, follows at 29 and Block B, customer service, at 26. Those three are 85 of the 120 questions. The lightest are Block A, common occupational skills, at 19 and Block E, business practices, at 16. Seen another way, the parts and warehouse blocks, C and D, carry 59 questions and the customer and business blocks, B and E, carry 42.
The block titles above are the same on the exam information page, in the Self-Assessment Guide and in the 2020 standard. Task A-4 goes by two names: the exam information page, the Self-Assessment Guide and the standard's task matrix call it communicates with others, and the task's own heading in the standard calls it uses communication and mentoring techniques. The exam information page and the Self-Assessment Guide give the same question counts; the standard gives percentages instead, and its block percentages (16, 22, 24, 25 and 13) round to the counts above.
03What does each block cover?
The task names below are the ones the 2020 standard lists under each major work activity, with the number of questions the Red Seal Program assigns to each. The standard has 16 tasks and 52 sub-tasks, and questions are written to the sub-tasks. Every task carries questions, from 4 to 16. The largest single task is identifying parts (C-9) with 16 questions, then sourcing parts (C-10) with 13, handling parts and materials (D-11) with 12 and performing inventory control (D-12) with 10.
Block A: Common occupational skills (19 questions)
Four tasks. Performs safety-related functions (4 questions) covers maintaining a safe work environment and using PPE and safety equipment, with WHMIS, TDG and occupational health and safety named among the codes and regulations. Uses tools and equipment (6) covers catalogs and price lists, hand tools, power tools, warehouse tools and equipment such as forklifts, pallet jacks, order pickers and carousels, measuring and testing tools, business machines, and computers and digital devices. Organizes work (5) covers work-related documents, from safety data sheets, technical service bulletins, warranties and recalls to packing slips, purchase orders and bills of lading, and prioritizing tasks. Uses communication and mentoring techniques (4) covers communicating at work and teaching skills to apprentices.
Free block A practice questions: Safety, Tools & Communication →
Block B: Customer service (26 questions)
Four tasks. Provides services to retail customers (6 questions): identifying their needs and giving technical information. Provides services to wholesale customers (6): identifying their needs and providing training opportunities and technical information, such as installation instructions and wiring diagrams, along with technical bulletins and the specialty installation tools a job needs. Provides services to internal customers (5): identifying internal customers' needs and maintaining inventory and records for them, including shop tools, equipment and supplies. Provides general customer service and support (9): preparing customer quotes, providing no-fee value-added services such as testing parts and batteries or on-site inventory management, recording customer information, and implementing product improvement programs, which the standard says include renumbered part numbers, recalls and supersessions.
Free block B practice questions: Customer Service & Quotes →
Block C: Parts acquisition (29 questions)
Two tasks. Identifies parts (16 questions) covers a part's function, its application and its part number, using the model or model number, casting number, year, make and VIN, measuring dimensions, cross-reference information and supersessions, across small engine, automotive, agricultural, recreational, industrial and marine equipment. Sources parts (13) covers searching inventory, identifying suppliers (OEM, aftermarket, remanufacturers, rebuilders and recyclers, and alternative sources such as machine shops and online distributors), purchasing parts and arranging shipment of special orders by land, sea or air.
Free block C practice questions: Identifying & Sourcing Parts →
Block D: Warehousing and inventory (30 questions)
Three tasks. Handles parts and materials (12 questions) covers the storage design layout, sensitive products such as chemicals, electronics, batteries, paint and dangerous goods, rotating inventory and placing it in designated locations. Performs inventory control (10) covers core and warranty inventory, parts inventory recalls, maintaining inventory levels and periodic physical inventory counts. Performs shipping and receiving duties (8) covers verifying the estimated time of arrival, receiving incoming shipments, resolving order discrepancies and preparing for shipment, with waybills, packing slips, bills of lading and customs documentation.
Free block D practice questions: Warehousing & Inventory →
Block E: Business practices (16 questions)
Three tasks. Promotes products and services (4 questions) covers displays and literature, digital marketing, and recommending parts, products and services. Implements pricing formula (5) covers calculating additional costs, where the standard lists shipping, environmental charges, taxes, customs, duty, freight, brokerage, currency exchange, labour and downtime, and overriding prices. Processes financial transactions (7) covers generating invoices, accepting payments, processing customer returns and processing day-end reports.
Free block E practice questions: Pricing, Invoicing & Payments →
04What kind of questions are they?
The Red Seal Program describes the Parts Technician question mix as knowledge and recall 10 to 20 per cent, procedural and application 65 to 75 per cent and critical thinking 10 to 15 per cent. On 120 questions that is roughly 12 to 24 recall questions, 78 to 90 procedural and 12 to 18 critical thinking. Of the fifteen trades we cover, only Carpenter (403A) and Hairstylist (332A) put a bigger share on procedural and application questions.
The exam information page gives one example of each type. The recall example is about storing flammable liquids, the procedural example is about a part number from another supplier, and the critical thinking example is a pricing calculation with tax and discounts.
The exam information page says procedural and application questions test your ability to apply your knowledge of procedures to a situation. The preparation guide adds that procedural questions might include calculations, and that some critical thinking questions are complex and need an analysis of the situation and more than one calculation. For this trade, practise the next step with a part, a document or a customer in front of you: which catalogue, cross-reference or supersession record settles a listing, how a core or warranty return is handled, what to do with a short shipment, and how a price is worked out. The exam information page says there are no trick questions, but the incorrect options are not always obvious.
05What do you get in the exam room?
The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide lists what you are provided with: an exam booklet, a diagram booklet if one is required, a pencil and eraser, a calculator if needed, and a bubble sheet to record your answers. It also lists other reference material "if required": an acronym list, math formulas and code book information. Scrap paper is provided too.
For Parts Technician the exam information page publishes an acronym list and says it will be provided with the exam sitting. It lists 27 terms, among them CASL, COD, DMS, DNCL, OEM, PO, RGA, SDS, TDG, TSB and VIN. You get the meaning of each acronym; you still need to know how each one applies at the counter. The page publishes no formula sheet for this trade, and it does not mention a code book.
The guide's rules say no materials, bags, phones, watches or personal calculators in the room (a calculator is provided if you need one), and your province or territory may have rules of its own. More on the day itself is in what to expect on exam day.
06No formula sheet is published: what maths do you need?
The Red Seal Program publishes a formula sheet for several of the trades we cover, among them Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, Machinist and Plumber. For Parts Technician it publishes none: the exam information page lists only the acronym list for the sitting. The maths in this trade is counter and stockroom arithmetic, and you work it with the calculator provided.
The standard says where that arithmetic sits. Its pricing sub-task, calculates additional costs (E-15.01), asks you to calculate net cost, landed and dead, and the customer price, and its learning objectives include explaining the difference between margin and markup and pricing discontinued items. Overriding a price (E-15.02) covers quantity and promotional pricing and damaged items. Inventory control covers maintaining inventory levels, and the tools task includes measuring with scales, calipers, micrometers, thread pitch gauges and belt measuring tools. The official critical thinking example, a price after tax and discounts, is a calculation of this kind.
Practise these by hand until the method is automatic: chaining discounts one after another, turning a margin into a markup and back, adding freight, duty and brokerage to reach a landed cost, crediting a core charge, and working a reorder quantity from usage. Our free Parts Technician practice questions include worked examples.
07Is Parts Technician a Red Seal trade in every province?
Yes. The Red Seal Program lists Parts Technician as a designated Red Seal trade in all thirteen provinces and territories: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon. It gives the trade title as Parts Technician in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan; Manitoba and Yukon use Partsperson, and the Northwest Territories uses Parts Technician – Parts. The Program designated the trade in 1991, and its NOC code is 14401. The 2020 standard's validation table marks Quebec as not designated at the time; the trade page now lists Quebec but gives no Quebec title, so confirm the details with Quebec's apprenticeship authority.
Each province and territory administers the exam and sets eligibility, fees and rewrite rules. See the Ontario Red Seal exam guide, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan or the guides by province, compare Red Seal exam fees by province, and read what happens if you fail the Red Seal exam before you book. If you have the experience but no apprenticeship, see how to challenge the Red Seal exam.
08How do you become a Red Seal parts technician in Ontario?
In Ontario the trade is Parts Technician (240P). Skilled Trades Ontario lists it as non-compulsory, so the Certificate of Qualification does not have to be renewed. Its trade page gives the apprenticeship as 6,000 hours, approximately three years: 5,460 hours of on-the-job work experience and 540 hours of in-school training over two levels. Its 2025 trade report gives the same split, 5,460 hours on the job and 540 hours of technical training (five months across two levels), with Grade 12 as the academic entry level. Passing the certifying exam earns the Certificate of Qualification, and the trade page says the trade is part of the Red Seal Program under the title Parts Technician. The 2025 report counts 12 Parts Technician Certificates of Qualification issued. Experienced workers who have not completed an Ontario apprenticeship but have equivalent qualifications or experience can use Skilled Trades Ontario's Trade Equivalency Assessment; see how to challenge the Red Seal exam.
The national standard recommends three levels of technical training and 5,400 total training hours, and notes that each jurisdiction implements this in its own way; Ontario's are the figures above.
09How hard is the Parts Technician Red Seal exam?
It is demanding in three ways. First, the procedure: 65 to 75 per cent of the questions are procedural, so knowing a term is rarely enough; you have to know what to do with it. Second, the scope: the standard covers retail, wholesale and internal customers, parts for small engine, automotive, agricultural, recreational, industrial and marine equipment, warehousing, shipping and receiving, and the business side of the counter, at the level of a journeyperson anywhere in Canada. If you mostly work the counter, the 30 warehousing and inventory questions may be the part you do least; if you run the warehouse, the 42 on customer service and business practices may be. Third, the arithmetic: the Program's exam page for this trade lists only an acronym list, no formula sheet, so pricing and inventory calculations rely on method you bring with you.
We found no pass rate published by the Red Seal Program, for this trade or any other, and no ranking of the trades by difficulty. The provincial figures we found, each counted a different way, are set out in how hard is the Red Seal exam. What the published breakdown does tell you is where the risk sits: blocks D, C and B are 85 of the 120 questions.
10How much does a Red Seal parts technician make?
For Ontario, Skilled Trades Ontario's 2025 trade report for Parts Technician (240P) gives an annual range of $43,000 to $80,000 and an hourly range of $22 to $41, from Workforce Planning Ontario's Labour Market Insights Report 2025. The report notes that its figures apply to the National Occupational Classification code 14401 and that other trades or occupations may be included, so they describe the occupation in Ontario, not Red Seal holders alone. Pay elsewhere in Canada is not covered by that report.
11How should you prepare?
Follow the weights. In order: D (30), C (29), B (26), A (19) and E (16). Blocks D, C and B together are 85 of 120 questions. The four largest tasks, identifying parts (16), sourcing parts (13), handling parts and materials (12) and inventory control (10), hold 51 of the 120.
You need 84 correct answers. A more realistic 64 of the 85 questions in D, C and B, about three in four, means you need 20 of the other 35, so the smaller blocks still matter: common occupational skills is 19 questions and business practices 16. Give D, C and B about 70 per cent of your time.
Rate yourself on each of the 16 tasks with the three levels in the Red Seal Self-Assessment Guide for Parts Technician and write down how many questions you expect to get right; a low rating on a large task is your first priority. Learn the 27 acronyms on the exam list. Practise the counter maths by hand, since the exam page lists no formula sheet. The preparation guide tells you to answer every question, even if you have to guess. For a full method, see how to study for the Red Seal exam.
Official links: the Parts Technician Red Seal Occupational Standard page, the 2020 standard as a PDF, the exam information page (the breakdown, the question mix with the three examples and the acronym list) and the Self-Assessment Guide.
12Questions people ask
- How many questions are on the Parts Technician Red Seal exam?
- The Parts Technician Red Seal exam (240P in Ontario) has 120 multiple-choice questions. Each has four options and one correct answer. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives the pass mark as 70 per cent, which means 84 correct answers, and a four-hour writing time, about 2 minutes per question. The questions come from five blocks: warehousing and inventory 30, parts acquisition 29, customer service 26, common occupational skills 19 and business practices 16.
- Is there a formula sheet on the Parts Technician Red Seal exam?
- The Red Seal Program publishes no formula sheet for Parts Technician. Its exam information page lists only an acronym list of 27 terms, which is provided at the sitting. The standard's pricing sub-task covers calculating net cost, landed and dead, and the customer price, and explaining margin and markup, so you need those methods without a sheet to look them up on. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide says a calculator is provided if you need one.
- Is Partsperson the same as Parts Technician?
- Yes. Parts Technician is the trade's official Red Seal title; the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship approved it in 2019, and the previous name was Partsperson. The Red Seal Program lists the older name as the title still used in Manitoba and Yukon, and Parts Technician – Parts in the Northwest Territories. It is the same trade and the same Red Seal exam.
- Is Parts Technician a Red Seal trade in every province?
- Yes. The Red Seal Program lists Parts Technician as a designated Red Seal trade in all thirteen provinces and territories. Each province or territory administers the exam and sets its own eligibility, fees and rewrite rules, so check with the apprenticeship authority where you will write.
- How long is the Parts Technician apprenticeship in Ontario?
- Skilled Trades Ontario gives the Parts Technician (240P) apprenticeship as 6,000 hours, approximately three years: 5,460 hours on the job and 540 hours of in-school training over two levels. The academic entry level is Grade 12. The trade is non-compulsory in Ontario, and passing the certifying exam earns a Certificate of Qualification that does not have to be renewed.
13Sources
- Red Seal Program: Parts Technician exam information: 120 questions, the question count for each major work activity and task, the question mix with one example of each question type, and the acronym list provided with the exam.
- Red Seal Program: Parts Technician trade page: the provinces and territories where the trade is designated Red Seal, the trade titles they use, the designation year and the NOC code.
- Red Seal Program: description of the Parts Technician trade: the 2019 change of title from Partsperson, and the industries parts technicians work in.
- Red Seal Occupational Standard: Parts Technician (2020, PDF): the 5 major work activities, 16 tasks and 52 sub-tasks, the range of variables and learning objectives, and the harmonization recommendations.
- Red Seal Program: Parts Technician acronyms (PDF): the acronym list provided with the exam.
- Red Seal Exam Self-Assessment Guide: Parts Technician (PDF): the question count per major work activity and task, and the three-level self-rating used in the preparation section.
- Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide: exam format, pass mark, writing time, question types, exam supplies and exam room rules.
- Skilled Trades Ontario: Parts Technician: the trade's non-compulsory status, the apprenticeship hours and levels, the certifying exam and Certificate of Qualification.
- Skilled Trades Ontario: Parts Technician (240P) 2025 trade report: the entry level, the apprenticeship hours, the certificates issued and the pay ranges.
- Skilled Trades Ontario: Trade Equivalency Assessment: the Ontario route for experienced workers who did not complete an Ontario apprenticeship.
The question counts were checked against the Red Seal Program's exam information page and Self-Assessment Guide for Parts Technician, and the task lists and range of variables come from the 2020 Red Seal Occupational Standard; all were read on October 3, 2026 and re-checked unchanged on October 4, 2026. The provinces and territories where the trade is designated, the provincial titles and the designation year come from the Program's trade page, and the change of title from Partsperson from its description of the trade. The Ontario status and hours come from Skilled Trades Ontario's trade page; the entry level, certificate count and pay ranges from its 2025 trade report. The four-hour writing time and the 70 per cent pass mark are the Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide's. If the Red Seal Program changes the breakdown, its page is the final word. If you find one of ours out of date, tell us.
Related: Parts Technician Red Seal practice exam (240P) · Free Parts Technician Red Seal practice questions (240P) · How many questions are on the Red Seal exam · Red Seal exam pass mark · Red Seal exam day · Red Seal exam fees by province · All guides
14Practice for this exam
TicketPrep 240P practice tests are weighted to the breakdown above, block by block, and every answer is explained, all four options. You can try five sample questions with no account.
Ten free questions per trade, no account: free practice questions. How our questions are written and checked: how our questions are made.