Arizona Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing Commercial Contractor (A-5) Highlighted & Tabbed Book Package

The Arizona Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing Commercial Contractor (A-5) Highlighted & Tabbed Book Package is designed for contractors preparing for the Arizona A-5 Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing trade examination. This package brings together the asphalt maintenance, OSHA safety, construction equipment, excavation, grading, hot mix asphalt paving, and pipe excavation references used to support organized preparation for Arizona’s commercial excavation, grading, compaction, and oil surfacing contractor licensing process.

The A-5 classification is focused on moving, altering, and repairing earthen materials by digging, trenching, grading, horizontal boring, compacting, and filling. It also includes applying oil surfacing or similar products, placing shoring, casing, geotextiles or liners, and performing incidental blasting or drilling as required for work within the classification scope. Candidates preparing for this exam should be ready to study excavation, compaction, grading, sealcoating, blasting, OSHA safety, asphalt pavement maintenance, hot mix asphalt paving, construction equipment, trenching, pipe excavation, earthmoving methods, and jobsite planning.

This highlighted and tabbed book package helps make the preparation process more organized. Excavation and grading references can be dense because they include soils, equipment, compaction, slopes, drainage, asphalt work, trenching, shoring, safety, and project planning. Highlighted sections help guide review toward important material, while permanent tabs help candidates move through major topics, tables, safety rules, construction methods, asphalt details, and reference areas more efficiently. For an open book contractor exam, knowing where information is located can be just as important as understanding the work itself.

This package is a strong fit for commercial excavation contractors, grading contractors, oil surfacing contractors, asphalt maintenance professionals, sitework contractors, utility trenching professionals, qualifying parties, business owners, supervisors, and tradespeople preparing for the Arizona A-5 commercial contractor license. It is especially useful for candidates who have field experience but need organized references for exam-focused study and open book test navigation.

What You Get

• Highlighted reference books: Key areas are highlighted to help candidates focus on important exam-related material during preparation.
• Permanent tabs: Tabs are placed to support faster movement through major topics, tables, safety sections, asphalt information, excavation guidance, grading methods, and reference areas.
• Commercial excavation and grading study support: The package supports review across excavation, grading, compaction, filling, trenching, horizontal boring, sealcoating, oil surfacing, asphalt paving, blasting awareness, construction equipment, and OSHA safety.
• Organized exam preparation structure: The books are prepared to help reduce search time, improve reference familiarity, and support more productive study sessions.

Exam Details

The Arizona A-5 Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing examination is administered through PSI for the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. The exam contains 30 questions. The minimum passing score is 70%, and the time allowed is 75 minutes.

The exam content areas include:

• Excavation, Compaction, and Grading: 16 items
• Sealcoating: 8 items
• Blasting: 3 items
• OSHA Safety: 3 items

The examination may include questions based on listed reference materials, trade knowledge, and general industry practices. Candidates should study the references with the official content outline in mind and become familiar with where excavation, grading, compaction, asphalt, sealcoating, blasting, and OSHA safety topics are located before test day.

The A-5 exam is focused, but the work covered by the classification is broad. Candidates should be prepared for questions involving digging, trenching, grading, compacting, filling, horizontal boring, surface preparation, oil surfacing, sealcoating materials, pavement maintenance, asphalt placement, earthmoving equipment, job planning, shoring, casing, liners, geotextiles, blasting awareness, and excavation-related safety. Because the exam contains 30 questions, each question matters, and candidates should study every content area instead of focusing only on the work they perform most often.

Open Book Test

The Arizona A-5 Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing trade examination is an open book test using approved reference materials. Candidates are responsible for bringing their own approved references to the examination center.

The approved exam-room references listed for the A-5 examination include Asphalt in Pavement Maintenance (MS-16), 3rd edition; Code of Federal Regulations - 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA); Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods; Excavation and Grading Handbook; Hot Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook; and Pipe and Excavation Contracting. These approved references may be highlighted, underlined, annotated, and indexed before the examination session.

Candidates may not write, highlight, underline, or index references during the exam. Additional papers, whether loose or attached, are not permitted with approved references. References may be tabbed or indexed with permanent tabs only. Permanent tabs are tabs that would tear the page if removed. Temporary tabs, removable sticky tabs, and loose papers are not permitted and must be removed before the examination begins.

Candidates may use a silent, nonprinting, non-programmable calculator in the examination center. Downloaded references may be brought into the testing center only when bound, such as spiral-bound or placed in a binder after being hole-punched. The highlighted and tabbed structure of this package is designed to support the open book format by helping candidates study and locate important information more efficiently.

Licensing Steps

Arizona contractor licensing is handled by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Applicants should begin by identifying the correct license classification and reviewing the examination requirements tied to that classification. The person completing the required examination process must serve as the qualifying party for the license.

The A-5 classification is the commercial excavating, grading and oil surfacing contractor classification. Candidates pursuing this license should prepare for commercial sitework, excavation, trenching, grading, compaction, filling, oil surfacing, sealcoating, pavement maintenance, equipment operation, shoring, and OSHA safety.

For many new Arizona contractor license applicants, the licensing process also includes the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam, also known as the SRE. The SRE is separate from the trade examination. The A-5 trade exam focuses on excavation, grading, oil surfacing, sealcoating, compaction, blasting awareness, and safety, while the statutes and rules requirement covers Arizona contractor law, rules, and regulatory responsibilities.

After the required examinations are completed, the applicant submits the completed contractor license application and supporting documentation to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Examination requirements must be completed before the application can be accepted for processing. Score reports must be submitted within the required period after passing the examination.

A practical licensing path includes confirming the A-5 classification, studying the approved trade references, learning the open book testing rules, completing the Arizona statutes and rules requirement when applicable, scheduling and taking the PSI trade exam, and submitting the completed license application package to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

State Requirements

The Arizona A-5 Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing Commercial Contractor classification allows the licensee to apply oil surfacing or other similar products, place shoring, casing, geotextiles or liners, and perform incidental blasting or drilling as required for the licensee to move, alter, or repair earthen materials.

The classification includes work performed by digging, trenching, grading, horizontal boring, compacting, and filling. This scope connects directly to the exam content and should guide how candidates study the reference materials. Candidates should keep the classification boundaries in mind while preparing and avoid confusing A-5 work with unrelated well drilling or utility classifications.

The A-5 classification does not allow the licensee to excavate for water, gas, or oil wells. This is an important scope limitation for candidates to understand because the license is focused on excavating, grading, oil surfacing, and related earthen-material work, not well excavation.

The trade exam content reflects the practical and technical knowledge needed for commercial excavation and grading contracting. Candidates should be prepared for questions involving earthmoving, soil conditions, grading practices, compaction, trenching, excavation equipment, sealcoating, oil surfacing, asphalt pavement maintenance, blasting-related concepts, and OSHA safety requirements.

Arizona licensing involves more than passing the trade examination. Applicants may also need to satisfy business, entity, bonding, experience, background, application, and qualifying party requirements depending on the applicant’s structure and license type. The trade exam is one major step in the process, but the license is issued only after the Arizona Registrar of Contractors reviews and processes the completed application.

Reference Books

Please allow up to 15 business days for tabbed and highlighted book package orders.

• Asphalt in Pavement Maintenance (MS-16), 3rd edition
  This asphalt maintenance reference supports study of pavement preservation, sealcoating, surface treatments, asphalt maintenance methods, pavement repair, materials, application practices, and maintenance planning.
• Code of Federal Regulations - 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA)
  This construction safety reference supports OSHA-related exam content and covers federal construction standards used to address jobsite hazards, trenching and excavation safety, worker protection, equipment safety, and safe construction practices.
• Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods, 10th Edition
  This construction equipment and methods reference supports study of earthmoving equipment, production planning, excavation methods, compaction equipment, construction planning, equipment selection, and jobsite operations.
• Excavation and Grading Handbook, Nick Capachi, 2006
  This excavation and grading reference supports review of grading methods, site preparation, slopes, drainage, trenching, excavation layout, compaction, earthmoving practices, equipment use, and practical field procedures.
• Hot Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook
  This asphalt paving reference supports study of hot mix asphalt materials, paving operations, compaction, surface preparation, construction quality, equipment, placement methods, and pavement performance considerations.
• Pipe and Excavation Contracting
  This pipe and excavation reference supports preparation for trenching, pipe installation, excavation planning, shoring, bedding, backfill, compaction, equipment use, jobsite safety, and underground construction practices.

Test Information and Study Materials

The Arizona A-5 exam rewards candidates who combine excavation and grading field experience with organized reference use. Since the exam contains 30 questions and allows 75 minutes, candidates should practice using their references before exam day. The goal is not to read long sections during the test. The goal is to know which book to use, where the topic is located, and how to confirm an answer efficiently.

Excavation, compaction, and grading make up the largest portion of the exam. Candidates should study site preparation, cut and fill, grading stakes, slopes, soil movement, equipment selection, compaction methods, moisture control, lift thickness, trenching, backfilling, horizontal boring, drainage considerations, and production planning. Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods, Excavation and Grading Handbook, and Pipe and Excavation Contracting are especially useful for this part of preparation.

Sealcoating is another major content area. Candidates should study pavement maintenance, surface preparation, asphalt maintenance materials, crack repair, sealcoat application, weather conditions, equipment, coverage, curing, traffic control, and quality considerations. Asphalt in Pavement Maintenance helps candidates review sealcoating and pavement preservation concepts, while Hot Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook supports broader asphalt placement and pavement construction knowledge.

Blasting represents a smaller part of the exam, but it should not be ignored. The A-5 classification allows incidental blasting or drilling as required for the licensee to perform work within the classification scope. Candidates should review blasting-related safety awareness, planning considerations, jobsite controls, hazard recognition, and the relationship between blasting and excavation or grading operations.

The OSHA safety section should be studied carefully. Excavation and grading work can involve trench hazards, cave-ins, heavy equipment, struck-by hazards, underground utilities, traffic exposure, fall hazards, material handling, tools, and worker protection. Candidates should become familiar with OSHA Part 1926 topics that apply to excavation, trenching, protective systems, personal protective equipment, ladders, hazard communication, and general construction safety.

Pipe and Excavation Contracting supports practical trenching and underground work preparation. Candidates should study trench layout, pipe bedding, shoring, casing, backfill, compaction around pipe, grade control, drainage, equipment access, and job sequencing. This reference helps connect excavation knowledge to the types of trenching and sitework tasks that appear in the A-5 scope.

Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods supports equipment and production knowledge. Candidates should review earthmoving equipment types, equipment selection, haul operations, productivity, compaction equipment, excavation methods, planning, estimating considerations, and jobsite efficiency. Equipment questions often require candidates to understand how methods and machinery match site conditions.

Excavation and Grading Handbook supports field-focused grading and earthmoving preparation. Candidates should use it to review practical jobsite layout, grading techniques, slopes, drainage, compaction, excavation procedures, and site preparation details. This reference can help candidates connect hands-on grading experience to written exam terminology.

A practical study method is to work through the content outline one subject at a time. Start with excavation, compaction, and grading because it has the highest number of exam items. Then move into sealcoating, blasting, and OSHA safety. During each study session, candidates should use the highlighted and tabbed books under timed conditions to build speed and confidence.

Candidates should also study the classification scope closely. The A-5 classification includes specific excavation, grading, oil surfacing, shoring, casing, geotextile, liner, incidental blasting, and drilling activities, but it does not allow excavation for water, gas, or oil wells. Understanding the scope helps candidates stay focused on the right trade knowledge and avoid drifting into unrelated construction topics.

How 1 Exam Prep Helps You Reach Your Goal

1 Exam Prep helps contractor candidates prepare with organized study materials, trade-focused review, and reference navigation support. This highlighted and tabbed book package is designed to help Arizona A-5 candidates study the approved references with a clearer structure and a more practical plan.

For many candidates, the challenge is not only knowing excavation, grading, or asphalt work. The challenge is knowing where to find information quickly inside several large technical references. 1 Exam Prep helps simplify that process by preparing books with highlights and tabs that support focused review and faster navigation.

The highlighted sections help direct attention to important material, while the tabs make it easier to move between major subjects during study sessions. Candidates can use the package to review excavation, grading, compaction, sealcoating, asphalt paving, pavement maintenance, trenching, pipe excavation, construction equipment, incidental blasting, and OSHA safety in a more organized way.

1 Exam Prep’s approach is practical and exam-focused. The goal is to help candidates study with less confusion, use their references more effectively, and build confidence through consistent preparation. No book package can guarantee a passing score or license approval, but organized references can make the preparation process clearer, more efficient, and easier to manage.

FAQ Section

Is the Arizona A-5 Excavating, Grading and Oil Surfacing exam open book?

Yes. The Arizona A-5 trade exam is open book using approved reference materials. Candidates must bring their own approved references and follow the testing center rules for highlighting, annotations, indexing, and permanent tabs.

How many questions are on the Arizona A-5 exam?

The exam contains 30 questions. The minimum passing score is 70%, and the time allowed is 75 minutes.

What topics are covered on the A-5 exam?

The exam covers excavation, compaction and grading, sealcoating, blasting, and OSHA safety.

Which books are included in this highlighted and tabbed package?

This package includes Asphalt in Pavement Maintenance (MS-16), 3rd edition; Code of Federal Regulations - 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA); Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods, 10th Edition; Excavation and Grading Handbook, Nick Capachi, 2006; Hot Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook; and Pipe and Excavation Contracting.

Can I write in my books during the exam?

No. References may be highlighted, underlined, annotated, and indexed before the exam, but candidates may not write, highlight, underline, or index references during the examination session.

Are removable tabs allowed?

No. Tabs must be permanent. Permanent tabs are tabs that would tear the page if removed. Temporary sticky tabs and removable tabs are not permitted.

What work does the Arizona A-5 classification cover?

The A-5 classification allows the licensee to apply oil surfacing or similar products, place shoring, casing, geotextiles or liners, and perform incidental blasting or drilling as required to move, alter, or repair earthen materials by digging, trenching, grading, horizontal boring, compacting, and filling.

Does the A-5 classification allow excavation for wells?

No. The A-5 classification does not allow the licensee to excavate for water, gas, or oil wells.

Who administers the Arizona A-5 trade exam?

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors has contracted with PSI to conduct the trade examination program for Arizona contractor licensing.

Is this package helpful for experienced excavation and grading contractors?

Yes. Field experience is valuable, but the exam also requires candidates to use technical references and OSHA safety materials efficiently. Highlighted and tabbed books help experienced contractors connect practical excavation, grading, and surfacing knowledge with the references used for the exam.