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BICSI · Last updated November 2026

Registered Telecommunications Project Manager (RTPM): free practice test

BICSI's credential for people who manage telecommunications infrastructure projects. The exam follows eight competencies across project initiation (56%), execution (29%) and closure (15%), and BICSI's suggested reference is the Telecommunications Project Management Reference Manual (TPMRM), 2nd edition, with 125 or more hours of independent study. You have one year from application approval to pass.

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About the RTPM exam

BICSI's credential for people who manage telecommunications infrastructure projects. The exam follows eight competencies across project initiation (56%), execution (29%) and closure (15%), and BICSI's suggested reference is the Telecommunications Project Management Reference Manual (TPMRM), 2nd edition, with 125 or more hours of independent study. You have one year from application approval to pass.

What's on the exam

RTPM
Obtain and Review Project Information
7 key facts
Initial Project Budget Estimation
6 key facts
Develop Project Proposal
6 key facts
Create and Assemble Project Deliverables
7 key facts
Project Administrative Activities
6 key facts
Manage Project Implementation
6 key facts
Communicate Project Status
6 key facts
Conduct Project Closure
6 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the RTPM exam

  • 100 questions in 2 hours is 72 seconds each. Answer the definition items fast and save time for budget, float and earned value calculations.
  • Project initiation is 56% of the exam. Know proposal documents, contract types, notice to proceed and the plans in the deliverables package in detail.
  • Project closure alone is 15%, as heavy as any initiation competency. Learn punch lists, as-builts, final documentation, retainage and lessons learned.
  • This is a telecom exam, not a generic PM exam. Expect firestops, bonding, spacing, carrier coordination and cable test results inside the project scenarios.

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Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the RCDD Numbers & Formulas Sheet.

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What's in the premium RTPM prep

Premium RTPM prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 100 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 8 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    Obtain and Review Project Information8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    Initial Project Budget Estimation8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  3. 3
    Develop Project Proposal8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  4. 4
    Create and Assemble Project Deliverables8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  5. 5
    Project Administrative Activities7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  6. 6
    Manage Project Implementation7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  7. 7
    Communicate Project Status7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. 8
    Conduct Project Closure7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  9. Final step: 6 full mock exams100 questions each, timed like test day. Pass them, then book your exam.
    Premium
Free with an account

Read the complete RTPM study notes for “Obtain and Review Project Information”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 14 minutes of reading: Getting the project on record · Client requirements and constraints · Contract types · Existing information and the site survey · Go or no-go, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organized topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready to book. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. During a go/no-go review for a cabling retrofit in a 1968 hospital wing, the team has only the RFP and as-builts dated 1994. What should happen before the price and schedule are committed?
Answer: Perform a site survey to verify conditions, including likely hazardous materials. Old as-builts rarely match current conditions, and a building of that age may contain asbestos, so the survey has to inform feasibility and price. A flat contingency hides an unknown instead of measuring it, and a survey after the notice to proceed comes too late to change the commitment. Verify conditions before you commit.
2. An owner wants a data hall cabling project to start before design is complete, so the scope cannot be fully defined, but it needs a ceiling on what it will pay. Which contract type fits best?
Answer: Guaranteed maximum price, with costs reimbursed up to a cap. Guaranteed maximum price reimburses cost up to an agreed ceiling, which suits a scope that is still developing while protecting the owner's budget. Firm fixed price needs a defined scope, or it becomes a stream of change orders or a heavy risk premium. Open time and materials gives the owner no ceiling at all.
3. A job has 640 cable drops. Each needs 1.25 labor hours to pull and terminate and 0.25 hours to test and label. The loaded labor rate is US$65 per hour, and a 10% contingency applies to labor. What is the labor estimate?
Answer: US$68,640. Hours are 640 x (1.25 + 0.25) = 960, and 960 x US$65 = US$62,400. Adding 10% gives US$68,640. Leaving out the test and label time gives US$57,200 even with contingency, so build every labor element into the unit before you apply the rate.
4. A bid exceeds the owner's budget. The specification calls for ladder rack throughout. Which proposal is true value engineering?
Answer: Use J-hooks in office zones where they meet pathway needs, with owner approval. Value engineering lowers cost while keeping the required function, and any substitution is documented and approved. J-hooks can provide the required pathway function in suitable zones. Cutting testing, moving labeling out of scope or using unlisted cable reduces quality, compliance or scope instead of improving value.
5. A site survey shows that existing rated-wall penetrations lack firestop, but the owner's RFP says nothing about them. How should this be handled in the proposal's statement of work?
Answer: State it as an exclusion or a separately priced option. A statement of work must state assumptions, exclusions and qualifications so that responsibility is clear before award. Staying silent invites a dispute later and leaves a code issue unowned. Listing it as an exclusion or priced option lets the owner decide with full information.
6. On Friday the client's project lead says by phone, "You've won it, start Monday." No contract or purchase order has been issued. What should the project manager do?
Answer: Obtain the written notice to proceed before mobilizing. Mobilization and purchasing should follow a notice to proceed, such as a contract award or purchase order. Until then the contractor carries the cost and has no agreed terms. Even early ordering of long-lead items needs written authorization, such as a limited notice to proceed.
7. Activity A (3 days) precedes B (5 days) and C (2 days). Both B and C precede D (4 days), and D precedes E (3 days). How much total float does activity C have?
Answer: 3 days. The critical path A-B-D-E is 3 + 5 + 4 + 3 = 15 days. The path through C is 3 + 2 + 4 + 3 = 12 days. Total float on C is 15 - 12 = 3 days, which is also B's duration minus C's duration because they share the same start and finish nodes.
8. A risk register shows a 20% chance of a US$50,000 carrier delay, a 30% chance of a US$20,000 rework cost and a 10% chance of a US$15,000 saving on bulk cable. What is the net expected monetary value to carry as contingency?
Answer: US$14,500. Threats total (0.20 x 50,000) + (0.30 x 20,000) = US$16,000. The opportunity is worth 0.10 x 15,000 = US$1,500 and reduces the exposure, so the net is US$14,500. Adding the opportunity gives US$17,500, a common sign error.
9. Which activity in a technology quality plan is quality control rather than quality assurance?
Answer: Field testing each permanent link and reviewing the results. Quality control inspects or tests the delivered product, so link testing and result review are control activities. Audits, training and written procedures are assurance, because they make the process capable of producing the right result. Remember: assurance is process, control is product.
10. During installation, the owner's IT manager emails the foreman asking for 40 more drops, and the foreman agrees. What must happen under the change control plan?
Answer: Submit a change order for approval of scope, cost and schedule first. Added scope goes through the change control plan: document it, price the cost and schedule impact, and get approval from an authorized person before the work starts. An IT manager's email may not carry contract authority, and field agreements are a classic source of unpaid scope creep.
11. A walkthrough finds that cable was run through a 2-hour rated wall and the sleeve was left open, with ceilings closing next week. What is the correct action?
Answer: Have it firestopped with a listed system matching the assembly, then document it. Managing compliance includes firestops: a penetration of a rated assembly needs a tested, listed system that matches the wall, the sleeve and the cable, with the work inspected and recorded. Generic packing is not a listed system. Leaving the opening until closeout or handing it off leaves a life-safety defect behind a closing ceiling.
12. A project has a budget at completion of US$400,000. At a status date it is 50% complete, actual cost is US$230,000 and planned value is US$240,000. Assuming current cost performance continues, what is the estimate at completion?
Answer: US$460,000. Earned value is 50% x 400,000 = US$200,000, so CPI = 200,000 / 230,000 = 0.87 and EAC = 400,000 / 0.87 = about US$460,000. Using AC + (BAC - EV) gives US$430,000, which assumes the remaining work runs at budget. Dividing by SPI instead of CPI gives US$480,000.
13. The local exchange carrier tells the project manager its circuit will be three weeks late, moving the technology activation date. The next monthly report is two weeks away. What should the project manager do?
Answer: Notify the owner now through the agreed channel with impact and options. A change to the activation date affects the owner's plans, so it should be communicated promptly through the channel in the communications plan, with the impact and recovery options. Waiting for a scheduled report wastes recovery time. Logging the issue is needed but does not replace telling the affected stakeholders.
14. A contract was awarded at US$240,000 and has US$18,000 of approved change orders. Retainage of 5% was withheld from every invoice, and all work has been billed. How much retainage is released at closeout?
Answer: US$12,900. The final contract value is 240,000 + 18,000 = US$258,000, and 5% of that is US$12,900. Taking 5% of the original award gives US$12,000 and misses the change orders. Retainage is held until the conditions for final acceptance are met, so it belongs in the closeout of project financials.
15. At closeout the punch list is complete, but the facilities team reports that the record drawings still show design-intent cable routes. What is required?
Answer: Update the drawings to the installed routes and deliver them before final acceptance. As-builts and record drawings must show what was actually installed, and they are final documentation deliverables under the scope of work. Handing over design-intent drawings leaves the owner with false information for moves, adds and changes. Test reports prove performance, not routes.

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RTPM exam FAQ

How many questions are on the RTPM exam?

100 questions (the RTPM handbook does not describe item formats), with a time limit of 2 hours (no scheduled breaks; any break counts toward the time). Format: computer-based; no personal items or references in the test room, and a calculator and whiteboard are provided. bicsi does not describe the rtpm item formats, so this prep uses 4-option single-best-answer items.

What is the passing score for RTPM?

Not published. BICSI sets the passing score by standard setting (Angoff method) and reports pass or fail; failing candidates get a performance report by topic area, not a score. Practice to 75% or higher.

How much does the RTPM exam cost?

US$510 for BICSI members, US$725 for nonmembers (application including first attempt, 2026 handbook); retest US$230 members, US$355 nonmembers, paid to Pearson. BICSI fees can change without notice, so confirm on bicsi.org before you apply.

Which languages is the RTPM exam offered in?

English (the 2026 handbook lists no other language; confirm with BICSI).

Where do I take the RTPM exam?

Pearson Professional Assessments (Pearson VUE), computer-based; schedule at pearsonvue.com/bicsi.

Is this RTPM practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full RTPM prep is Premium at $147 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium RTPM prep?

3,000 practice questions organized topic by topic (Obtain and Review Project Information: 375; Initial Project Budget Estimation: 375; Develop Project Proposal: 375; Create and Assemble Project Deliverables: 375; Project Administrative Activities: 375; Manage Project Implementation: 375; Communicate Project Status: 375; Conduct Project Closure: 375), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 100 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 8 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

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Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in October 2026. BICSI changes formats and fees, so confirm with BICSI before you book. RCDDQuizBank is not affiliated with BICSI or Pearson VUE.

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