- GITS BPE is the AAE2B Business Procedures exam administered by Global Independent Testing Service for Florida jurisdictions.
- It's a 50-question, 2-hour, open-book exam covering seven business-operations domains, not trade skills.
- The base fee is $80, plus a testing-site or online-proctor fee, and $25 more for Spanish administration.
- Candidates need authorization from the local licensing agency before they can register.
What GITS BPE Actually Stands For
GITS BPE stands for the GITS Business Procedures Examination, officially referenced in many jurisdictions as the AAE2B Business Procedures exam. It is administered by the Global Independent Testing Service (GITS) on behalf of participating Florida counties and municipalities as part of local contractor licensing programs. The exam does not test trade craft - it is not about how to frame a wall, wire a panel, or run pipe. Instead, it tests whether a licensed contractor understands the business side of running a construction or trade company: taxes, insurance, bonding, lien law, safety compliance, employment law, and accounting.
If you've landed on this page because you're confused about which "GITS BPE" you're dealing with, this site is specifically about the Business Procedures Examination tied to Florida local licensing - not any other credential that happens to share the acronym. For a deeper dive into naming and terminology, see GITS BPE Meaning and What Does GITS BPE Stand For?.
Who Administers the Exam
Global Independent Testing Service (GITS) is the testing organization that develops and delivers the exam content, but the actual requirement to take it - and the authority to let you sit for it - sits with your sponsoring local licensing agency. Florida counties and municipalities that participate in this program use the GITS BPE as a gatekeeping step before issuing or renewing certain local contractor registrations.
This distinction matters for two reasons:
- GITS controls the exam content, scheduling logistics, and scoring.
- The sponsoring jurisdiction controls the underlying contractor registration itself - meaning your local licensing board decides who is eligible, what license class the exam applies to, and what happens after you pass.
Because eligibility rules vary by jurisdiction, always confirm your specific authorization path with your local board before assuming you qualify. Our companion article on GITS BPE Requirements walks through the general eligibility and authorization pattern in more detail.
Exam Format and Registration Mechanics
The GITS BPE is deliberately compact compared to many licensing exams. Here's what the format actually looks like:
- 50 multiple-choice questions
- 2-hour time limit (GITS lists Florida examinations generally running 1.5 to 2 hours)
- Open-book - you're allowed to use approved reference materials
- Calculator allowed, but it must be non-programmable
- No handwritten notes and no writing inside your reference books during the exam
Because it's open-book, the exam rewards candidates who know where to find an answer quickly inside their approved references almost as much as candidates who simply memorized the rule. That's a meaningfully different skill than a closed-book knowledge test, and it should shape how you prepare. Our GITS BPE Study Guide 2026 covers how to organize and tab reference materials for exactly this kind of exam.
Fees
GITS lists an $80 fee for Florida examinations, plus whatever testing-site or online-proctor fee applies to your chosen format. If you're testing in Spanish, add $25 to the base cost. For a full cost breakdown across scenarios, see GITS BPE Certification Cost 2026.
Testing Format: In-Person or Online
Candidates can typically sit for the exam at an approved testing site or remotely online. Online testing has its own technical checklist:
- A compatible computer with a working camera and microphone
- Zoom installed for proctor supervision
- Safe Exam Browser installed and configured
Skipping this checklist - or discovering a webcam issue five minutes before your exam window opens - is one of the most avoidable ways to lose a testing attempt. Confirm your setup a full day ahead, not the morning of.
Key Takeaway
Because the GITS BPE is open-book, your prep time is better spent learning the structure of your approved references and practicing retrieval speed, not pure memorization.
The Seven Content Domains
The exam draws its 50 questions from seven distinct business-operations domains. Understanding what each domain actually covers - rather than just its title - is the fastest way to target your study time. For a full walkthrough of every domain with sample topic lists, see the GITS BPE Exam Domains 2026 guide.
Domain 1: Taxes
Covers the tax obligations a business owner must understand to operate legally, including how tax responsibilities interact with contracting work.
- Know which tax categories apply to a contracting business, not personal income tax minutiae
Domain 2: Insurance and Bond Laws
Covers the insurance coverage types and bonding requirements that protect clients, employees, and the business itself.
- Understand why bonding requirements exist and how they relate to consumer protection
Domain 3: Management Skills
Covers general business management principles a licensed contractor needs to run day-to-day operations.
- Focus on practical management scenarios rather than abstract theory
Domain 4: Lien Laws
Covers construction lien law - how liens are filed, what protects contractors and subcontractors, and payment dispute mechanics.
- Lien law questions often hinge on sequence and required notices, so timelines matter
Domain 5: Safety Regulations
Covers workplace safety obligations that apply to a licensed contracting business and its crews.
- Think in terms of employer responsibility, not just jobsite technique
Domain 6: Employment Laws
Covers the employment law rules a business owner must follow when hiring, managing, and paying workers.
- Pay attention to the distinction between employees and independent contractors
Domain 7: General Accounting
Covers foundational accounting concepts a contractor needs to track business finances responsibly.
- Basic accounting terminology and record-keeping concepts, not advanced bookkeeping
Because all seven domains are folded into a single 50-question exam, no domain gets deep, exhaustive coverage - but each one is fair game for several questions. Skipping preparation on any single domain, like Lien Laws or Employment Laws, leaves real points on the table. If you want a sense of how challenging the blend of these seven areas tends to feel in practice, How Hard Is the GITS BPE Exam? breaks down the difficulty picture domain by domain.
| Exam Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Administered by | Global Independent Testing Service (GITS) |
| Applies to | Participating Florida counties and municipalities |
| Question count | 50 multiple-choice questions |
| Time limit | 2 hours (Florida exams generally 1.5-2 hours) |
| Book policy | Open-book with approved references |
| Calculator | Non-programmable only |
| Base fee | $80 plus testing-site/proctor fee |
| Spanish administration | Adds $25 |
| Domains tested | 7 (Taxes, Insurance & Bond Laws, Management Skills, Lien Laws, Safety Regulations, Employment Laws, General Accounting) |
Who Needs This Certification
Candidates generally need authorization from the sponsoring local licensing agency before they can register for the GITS BPE. This isn't an open-enrollment exam you can sign up for on a whim - your county or municipal licensing board determines whether you're eligible and typically issues the go-ahead as part of your local contractor registration process.
This means the exam is most relevant to:
- Contractors applying for a local business/registration license in a participating Florida jurisdiction
- Contractors renewing or upgrading a registration that requires demonstrated business-procedures knowledge
- Business partners or qualifying agents who need to satisfy the same requirement on behalf of a firm
Because the underlying registration is controlled entirely by the sponsoring jurisdiction, passing the GITS BPE by itself doesn't grant you a license - it satisfies one component of a larger local requirement. If you're weighing whether pursuing this path fits your career plans, Is the GITS BPE Certification Worth It? and GITS BPE Jobs look at how this credential connects to real licensing outcomes.
Preparing With the Domains in Mind
Because the exam is open-book and time-boxed at 2 hours for 50 questions, effective preparation looks different than cramming for a closed-book test. The goal is dual: know the material well enough to answer confidently without flipping pages on every question, but also know your reference materials well enough to find an answer fast when you're unsure.
Build Your Reference System
- Organize approved references by domain (Taxes, Insurance and Bond Laws, Lien Laws, etc.)
- Tab or index sections you expect to need mid-exam
Work the Regulation-Heavy Domains
- Focus on Lien Laws and Employment Laws, since these tend to involve specific procedural details
- Practice locating exact clauses quickly in your references
Cover Operational Domains
- Review Management Skills, Safety Regulations, and General Accounting
- Run timed practice sets to simulate the 2-hour limit
Full Simulation and Logistics Check
- Take a full 50-question timed practice run on the practice test platform
- Confirm your testing format (in-person vs. online) and, if online, verify Zoom and Safe Exam Browser setup
For a granular walk-through of study tactics matched to each domain's question style, the GITS BPE Study Guide 2026 is the best next stop. And if you just want a fast final review before test day, the GITS BPE Cheat Sheet 2026 condenses the must-know facts to a single page.
It's also worth knowing exactly what score you need before you walk in, so you're not guessing at how many questions you can afford to miss. GITS BPE Passing Score 2026 lays out that threshold clearly, and GITS BPE Exam Dates 2026 covers scheduling windows so you can plan your prep timeline backward from test day. If you're curious how outcomes tend to look across candidates, GITS BPE Pass Rate 2026 reviews the available data without relying on invented numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam content and administration come from GITS, but each participating county or municipality decides how the exam fits into its own local contractor registration requirements. Always confirm specifics with your sponsoring jurisdiction.
No. The exam is open-book for approved reference materials, but handwritten notes and writing inside your books are not permitted.
A non-programmable calculator is allowed. Programmable calculators are not permitted during the exam.
No. Passing satisfies the business-procedures testing requirement, but the sponsoring local jurisdiction controls the actual contractor registration and any other licensing conditions.
GITS lists an $80 base fee for Florida examinations, plus an applicable testing-site or online-proctor fee. Spanish-language administration adds $25 to the total.