The Plumber Red Seal exam is 125 multiple-choice questions, and one task, interior DWV, is worth 20 of them. Here's the official breakdown in one table, what it means for your study order, and what booking, ID, fees and rewrites look like in BC.
The Red Seal program publishes how many questions each part of the Plumber standard gets. The exam has 125 questions, split across seven Major Work Activities (MWAs) and 21 tasks. The counts below come from the red-seal.ca Plumber Exam Information page; the percentage column is our own arithmetic (count ÷ 125), so it can differ by a point from the rounded figures on the red-seal.ca Examination Weightings page.
| Code | Area (short name) | Questions | Share of exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| MWA A | Performs common occupational skills | 14 | 11.2% |
| A-1 | Safety-related functions | 3 | 2.4% |
| A-2 | Uses and maintains tools and equipment | 3 | 2.4% |
| A-3 | Organizes work | 3 | 2.4% |
| A-4 | Routine trade activities | 5 | 4.0% |
| A-5 | Communication and mentoring | 0 | 0.0% |
| MWA B | Prepares and assembles tube, tubing and pipe | 13 | 10.4% |
| B-6 | Prepares tube, tubing and pipe | 6 | 4.8% |
| B-7 | Joins tube, tubing and pipe | 7 | 5.6% |
| MWA C | Sewers, sewage treatment and DWV systems | 32 | 25.6% |
| C-8 | Sewers | 7 | 5.6% |
| C-9 | Sewage treatment systems | 5 | 4.0% |
| C-10 | Interior drainage, waste and vent (DWV) | 20 | 16.0% |
| MWA D | Water service and distribution | 24 | 19.2% |
| D-11 | Water service | 6 | 4.8% |
| D-12 | Potable water distribution | 12 | 9.6% |
| D-13 | Private water pressure systems | 6 | 4.8% |
| MWA E | Fixtures, appliances and water treatment | 17 | 13.6% |
| E-14 | Plumbing fixtures and appliances | 11 | 8.8% |
| E-15 | Water treatment systems | 6 | 4.8% |
| MWA F | Low-pressure steam and hydronic systems | 16 | 12.8% |
| F-16 | Low-pressure steam (not common core) | 0 | 0.0% |
| F-17 | Hydronic piping and components | 9 | 7.2% |
| F-18 | Hydronic heating and cooling equipment | 7 | 5.6% |
| MWA G | Specialized systems | 9 | 7.2% |
| G-19 | Process piping | 5 | 4.0% |
| G-20 | Potable water fire protection (not common core) | 0 | 0.0% |
| G-21 | Other specialized systems | 4 | 3.2% |
| Total | 125 | 100% |
Source: Red Seal Program, Plumber – Exam Information, “Exam Breakdown”. Checked October 21, 2026. Area names are shortened; see the official page for full task titles. Red Seal notes that question counts come from input by people in the trade across Canada and can change, so check the page before you start studying.
Two tasks are marked “not common core” and carry zero questions: F-16 (low-pressure steam) and G-20 (potable water fire protection). A-5 (communication and mentoring) also has zero. That does not mean the skills don't matter on the job. It means they won't be scored on this exam.
The table is a study plan if you read it right. The pass mark in BC is 70% (more on that below), which on 125 questions works out to roughly 87 correct. Here's how we'd order the work, using nothing but the official counts:
Put differently: MWA C and MWA D together are 56 of 125 questions, about 45% of the exam. Get those two solid first, then widen out. If you've already written once and failed, our rewrite plan builder ranks your weak blocks using these same counts and the topic marks on your results letter.
According to the red-seal.ca Plumber page, every question is multiple choice with four options and exactly one right answer. Red Seal says the questions are not meant to trick you, but the wrong answers are not always obviously wrong. They group questions into three types and give a range for each on the Plumber exam:
| Type | What it tests (paraphrased) | Share of the Plumber exam |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and recall | Remembering and understanding definitions, facts and principles | 15–25% |
| Procedural and application | Applying a procedure you know to a given situation | 60–70% |
| Critical thinking | Reading data, working out a problem, and reaching a sound conclusion | 10–20% |
Source: Red Seal Program, Plumber – Exam Information, “Types of Exam Questions”. Checked October 21, 2026.
What that means in plain talk: most of this exam asks “what do you do here?”, not “what is this called?” Flashcards alone won't carry you. Practise by talking through the steps of a job, from start to test, and ask yourself why each step is done that way. Red Seal posts one sample question for each type on the same page. Look at them before you study so you know the style: see the official sample questions. We don't copy them here.
| Step | What SkilledTradesBC publishes | Official page |
|---|---|---|
| Route in | Apprentices finish their technical training and work-based hours first (the Plumber page lists 6,300 work-based training hours). Experienced workers who were never certified can apply to challenge as a Trade Qualifier; hour and task requirements are in the Program Profile and declaration forms on the trade page. | Plumber · Challenge a Certification Exam |
| Challenge application | $120 application fee paid in the Portal. Typical processing is about 10 to 12 weeks, longer with work experience outside Canada. Once approved, you have 24 months to schedule and pass. | Challenge a Certification Exam |
| First attempt fee | Apprentices: no fee for the first or second attempt. Trade Qualifiers: $120 for the first attempt (the application fee above), no fee for the second. | Exam Rewrites |
| Booking | Book through the SkilledTradesBC Portal. Regular sessions run in 15 BC locations in 2026, and you can arrange to write at a Service BC office if none of those works. Missing your exam, or cancelling within 30 days, means a rescheduling fee. | Exam Schedule |
| ID | One original, valid, unexpired photo ID: for example a Canadian driver's licence, passport, PR card, BC Services Card or NEXUS card (full list on the page). No ID, no exam, and you pay to reschedule. Arrive 30 minutes early. | What to Expect on Exam Day |
| Results | Pass mark is 70%, and results are rounded up, so 69.5% passes. The results letter arrives by email within 30 business days and shows a mark for each topic area. | Exam Results |
| Rewrites | 30-day wait after each attempt. Apprentices: 3rd attempt needs an approved study plan, 4th needs proof of upgrading, $100 each from the 3rd attempt on. Trade Qualifiers: a maximum of four attempts; 3rd ($100) needs advisor approval, 4th ($100) needs proof of upgrading. | Exam Rewrites |
One more trap from the Exam Results page: if you file a Request for Review of a mark, you can't rebook that exam until the review is done, and SkilledTradesBC says that can take up to 120 days. Talk to an Apprenticeship Advisor first.
Plumbing is not on BC's list of compulsory (Skilled Trades Certification) trades, so you don't need a Temporary Authorization to keep working while you challenge. Gas work is a separate question: SkilledTradesBC's Skilled Trades Certification page says a certified plumber can do gas work only within the scope of the plumber trade, and anything beyond that needs Gasfitter certification.
125, according to the red-seal.ca Plumber Exam Information page as checked on October 21, 2026.
SkilledTradesBC's pass mark is 70%, rounded up from 69.5%. On 125 questions, 87 correct is 69.6%, which rounds to a pass; 86 correct is 68.8%, which doesn't. That's our arithmetic from their published formula on the Exam Results page.
MWA C (sewers, sewage treatment and DWV) at 32 questions, and within it task C-10, interior DWV, at 20 questions.
No. For Red Seal exams SkilledTradesBC supplies the code book, and the Plumber page names the National Plumbing Code 2020.
Four hours for an interprovincial Red Seal exam, per SkilledTradesBC.
At least 30 days after your last attempt. Fees and extra conditions start on the third attempt.
This is an independent guide for readers in British Columbia. It is not published by the Red Seal Program or SkilledTradesBC. Question counts, fees, ID rules and rewrite policies change; check the linked official pages before you book or pay. No exam pass is guaranteed.
Every figure on this page comes from one of these official pages, all checked on October 21, 2026.
Links checked October 21, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.