What you're preparing for
Code 15 is the restriction on a B.C. licence that stops you driving an air-brake-equipped vehicle. To get it lifted on its own you complete an approved air brake course, pass an air brake knowledge test at a driver licensing office, and then pass a practical air brake pre-trip inspection test on a real vehicle. No road test is required.
Taking Class 1? You want the other test
If you're working toward a Class 1 licence, the air brake questions are already built into your commercial knowledge test and you don't sit this one separately. Use the Class 1 practice test instead — it includes air brakes, which is what your real test will do.
Everything on this test comes out of the air brake chapters of ICBC's Driving Commercial Vehicles guide — chapters 8, 9 and 10, which is what ICBC's own study chart lists for a single-unit air brake endorsement. Half the battle is the numbers: cut-in and cut-out pressures, the warning device, air-loss limits and pushrod travel. Those are the questions below where a rough idea isn't good enough.
Take the practice test
This runs in the real format ICBC publishes for the air brake knowledge test: 25 questions, 20 to pass, 45 minutes — 80%, the pass mark on every ICBC knowledge test. The questions are drawn from a larger bank, so the set changes each time you take it.
If you sit the air brake test at the same visit as a commercial knowledge test, ICBC allows 75 minutes for the pair rather than 45 each.
How to actually prepare
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Chapters 8, 9 and 10
That's the air brake system, brake adjustment, and pre-trip inspections in ICBC's Driving Commercial Vehicles. For a single-unit endorsement, chapters 1 and 2 round it out.
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Know the out-of-service list
Four faults mean you do not drive at all: pushrod stroke beyond the adjustment limit, air loss above the permitted rate, a low-air warning that has failed or is on, and an inoperative service or parking brake. An audible leak or slow pressure build-up means see a mechanic — serious, but not automatically immobilising.
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Learn the pressures as a sequence
Cut-out, cut-in, low-air warning, spring brake application. They happen in a fixed order as pressure falls, and remembering the order is easier than remembering four loose numbers.
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Walk a real vehicle
The practical pre-trip test is hands-on. Reading about a slack adjuster is not the same as finding one under a truck in the rain.
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Don't skip the theory
Why air brakes lag, why they fade, why compounding matters. The test asks about understanding, not just part names.
The other practice tests
Not the test you're sitting? These are the rest.
The commercial knowledge test you sit before ICBC issues your learner's licence — air brake questions included, because in B.C. they're on the same test.
60 questions · 48 to pass
The knowledge test that gets you your L, in the real format — 50 questions, 40 to pass. Built from ICBC's Learn to Drive Smart.
50 questions · 40 to pass
The separate signs test commercial applicants sit alongside the knowledge test — and a solid slice of the car test. Mostly pictures: shape, colour and meaning.
25 questions · 20 to pass
Air brake knowledge test — frequently asked questions
Who actually needs a standalone air brake course?
Drivers who need Code 15 removed without taking a full commercial programme — RV and motorhome owners whose diesel-pusher runs on air brakes, drivers who trained elsewhere without the endorsement, and drivers whose employer needs them endorsed for a specific vehicle.
How many times can I retake the knowledge test?
Three attempts, with a seven-day wait between each. Fail all three and you have to take the air brake course again before you can test. The test is multiple choice, English only with no translators, and you bring your course card to the licensing office along with your ID and the fee.
How long is the course?
ICBC sets a minimum of seven hours for an approved air brake course. Call us for current dates and what your situation actually needs.
How many questions are on the real air brake test?
25, with 20 needed to pass, in 45 minutes. That is the standalone air brake knowledge test. Class 1 applicants don't sit it — their air brake questions are already inside the 60-question Class 1 test.
Is there a road test for Code 15?
No. For a standalone air brake endorsement you take the air brake knowledge test and an air brake pre-trip inspection test. You'll need to bring an air-brake-equipped vehicle for the practical.
Does an RV really need this?
If the motorhome is built on an air brake chassis, yes — the Code 15 restriction applies even though you're driving it on a Class 5 licence. See our RV air brake course.
Are these the real ICBC questions?
No. These are practice questions written by Tricon instructors from the current ICBC guide. They are not ICBC's own test questions, and passing here is not a guarantee of passing at the licensing office.