Free Canada Certification Exam Practice Questions | 2026
The 420B Ironworker Red Seal exam is the interprovincial Red Seal exam for ironworkers who erect structural steel, place reinforcing rod, and perform rigging and hoisting on construction sites. A Red Seal 420B endorsement proves your skills meet the national standard and facilitates labour mobility; the Ironworker (Generalist) trade is designated Red Seal in BC, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.
The exam has 120 multiple-choice questions. Exams written on or after August 31, 2026 are aligned to the 2025 Red Seal Occupational Standard (RSOS) (SkilledTradesBC, OPSN 2026 014). The pass mark is 70% and the writing time is 4 hours.
Red Seal publishes how the 120 questions on the current 420B exam are spread across its Major Work Activities. This exam is aligned to the 2025 Red Seal Occupational Standard (checked September 2026):
Every question is four-option multiple choice with one correct answer, the writing time is four hours and the pass mark is 70%. Sources: 420B exam information, red-seal.ca (question format) and the red-seal.ca Exam Preparation Guide (writing time and pass mark). Exams are periodically rewritten to updated occupational standards, so check that page before you book.
These are the topic areas in this practice bank and what each one covers. The real 420B exam has 120 questions and a four-hour writing time. How those questions are distributed across the official blocks is published by Red Seal — see the 420B exam information page.
Rigging math: practice sling angle calculations and two-leg bridle sling WLL problems until you can work them from the formula.
Fall protection rules. Memorize 100% tie-off requirements and PFAS components.
Blueprint reading. Practice reading structural drawing symbols, piece marks, and weld symbols from a connection detail.
121 questions across the seven topic areas of this bank, with full explanations. Use Topic Filter to drill weak areas; use Mock Exam Mode 2–3 weeks before exam day.
Related reading: How to Pass the 420B Exam | Ironworker Salary Guide | Ironworker Career Guide
The 420B Question Bank — printable PDF
All 121 420B questions with every answer explained, in one 87-page PDF: questions first with no answers shown, then the key, then the explanations. At the back: one full-length 120-question practice exam made from those same questions, timed to the official 4 hours, with its own answer sheet and key. The 19-page Exam Revision Notes are included. Instant download.
| Block | Major Work Activity | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| A | Performs common occupational skills | 14 |
| B | Rigging, hoisting and positioning, and cranes | 32 |
| C | Fabricates and installs reinforcing materials | 21 |
| D | Pre-stressing/post-tensioning | 10 |
| E | Erection, assembly and installation | 31 |
| F | Maintenance and upgrading | 12 |
* Official distribution for the 2025 RSOS exam, from the red-seal.ca 420B exam information page (checked September 2026). Pass mark 70%.
| Sling Angle (from horizontal) | Efficiency Factor | Leg Tension Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| 90° (vertical) | 1.000 | 1.00 × share of load per leg |
| 60° | 0.866 | 1.15 × share of load per leg |
| 45° | 0.707 | 1.41 × share of load per leg |
| 30° | 0.500 | 2.00 × share of load per leg |
Do NOT rig below 30° from horizontal. As the angle from horizontal decreases, tension in each sling leg increases.
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How to Pass the 420B Exam — 420B Ironworker Career Guide — Ironworker Salary Guide 2026 — What Is Red Seal Certification?
The 420B Red Seal Ironworker exam consists of 120 multiple-choice questions covering structural steel, rigging, rebar, and safety. A minimum score of 70% is required to pass.
The 420B exam covers six Major Work Activities: common occupational skills (14 questions), rigging, hoisting and positioning, and cranes (32), reinforcing materials (21), pre-stressing/post-tensioning (10), erection, assembly and installation (31), and maintenance and upgrading (12). Red Seal publishes the official question distribution for this trade on its exam information page at red-seal.ca.
Red Seal's 420B exam information does not publish a pass rate or a difficulty rating. It gives the mix of question types: 50 to 60% knowledge and recall, 35 to 45% procedural and application, and less than 10% critical thinking (interpreting data and solving problems). The largest blocks are rigging, hoisting and positioning, and cranes (32 of the 120 questions) and erection, assembly and installation (31). The pass mark is 70%.
In BC, WorkSafeBC's OHS Regulation (section 15.34) requires the working load limit of a sling used at an angle to be reduced, either as a qualified person or the manufacturer determines or as set out in Table 15-3; that table does not permit a sling leg more than 60 degrees from vertical, which is less than 30 degrees from horizontal, unless it is part of an engineered lift. IHSA's Hoisting and Rigging Safety Manual calls using any sling at an angle lower than 30 degrees extremely hazardous and says to keep sling angles greater than 45 degrees whenever possible. The force on each leg increases as the angle goes down: two slings lifting 1,000 pounds carry 500 pounds each at 90 degrees and 1,000 pounds each at 30 degrees.
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