Based on the Red Seal Painter and Decorator exam blueprint: safety, surface preparation, paints, wall coverings, wood finishes and industrial coatings
Practice on the go and jump straight back to where you left off.
About the certification
In Ontario, Painter and Decorator – Commercial and Residential is trade code 404C, a non-compulsory trade administered by Skilled Trades Ontario. The apprenticeship is 6,000 hours: 5,280 on the job and 720 in school. Across Canada it is the Red Seal trade Painter and Decorator, so passing the Certificate of Qualification exam also earns the interprovincial Red Seal endorsement.
The Red Seal exam has 130 multiple-choice questions in 6 blocks: common occupational skills (20 questions), prepares surfaces (30), residential, institutional and commercial paints (31), wall coverings (9), wood finishes (11) and industrial paints and coatings (29). Between 40 and 50% of the questions test knowledge and recall, 45 to 55% procedural and application, and under 10% critical thinking. The Red Seal pages do not publish a national pass mark or time limit; ExamHub's practice test uses 70% and up to 4 hours.
ExamHub's free 404C practice quiz has 177 original questions weighted to the real exam blocks, with an explanation and a source for every answer. Safety questions use Ontario's Construction Projects regulation (O. Reg. 213/91), the asbestos, lead and confined space rules, and the chemical agent regulation (Reg. 833).
What's covered
Categories follow the 6 Red Seal exam blocks, weighted like the real exam.
Try a few
Five sample questions from the question bank, with the answer and explanation.
Why: For energised overhead conductors from 750 V up to 150 kV, the minimum distance is 3 m (s. 188). The 4.5 m distance applies only above 150 kV up to 250 kV. Ladders and scaffolds also must not be stored or used where they could touch live parts.
Why: O. Reg. 278/05 s. 12(5) classes drywall work by the total area done consecutively in a room, even when it is split into smaller jobs. The 1.5 m² total is over the 1 m² line, so the work is Type 2. Splitting a job up does not lower its class.
Why: Table 1 of Reg. 833 lists HDI and TDI at 0.005 ppm as a time-weighted average with a ceiling of 0.02 ppm. The very low figures reflect how readily isocyanates sensitise workers.
Why: A butt seam is the most common, an overlap is used where corners are out of square, and a double-cut (through-cut) seam is used for hard-to-match patterns or irregular surfaces.
Why: Under O. Reg. 632/05 s. 1, an atmospheric hazard includes oxygen below 19.5% or above 23% by volume. At 18% the atmosphere is hazardous, and the entry rules apply until the hazard is controlled.
FAQ
The Red Seal Painter and Decorator exam has 130 multiple-choice questions with four options each. ExamHub's bank has 177 questions, and Test Mode draws a 130-question timed simulation.
The Red Seal pages do not publish a national pass mark or a time limit. The Newfoundland and Labrador study guide gives 70% for its certificate, and ExamHub's Test Mode uses a 70% pass mark and allows up to 4 hours.
6 blocks: common occupational skills (20 questions), prepares surfaces (30), residential, institutional and commercial paints (31), wall coverings (9), wood finishes (11), and industrial paints and coatings (29).
No. Painter and Decorator – Commercial and Residential (404C) is a non-compulsory trade in Ontario. Skilled Trades Ontario issues the Certificate of Qualification when the exam is passed, and the trade is part of the Red Seal program.
No. These are original practice questions written from the Red Seal standard and free public sources. They are not copies of exam questions.