Please Note: Examinations and Applications must both be submitted via ECOS and Surveymonkey for your attempt to be considered.  Your cut-off window for processing is determined only after both items have been received.  Results may take between 4-6 weeks to process after each cut-off date indicated above. 

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 11/30/2025

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• HEAVY EQUIPMENT BODYWORKER/PAINTER - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

4676

For HEAVY EQUIPMENT BODYWORKER/PAINTER, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-04676

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

You may apply by mail to:

• Caltrans Examination Services (MS 86)
  Caltrans
  Examination Services
  P.O. Box 168036
  Sacramento, CA 95816-8036
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Caltrans
  Examination Services
  1727 30th Street
  Sacramento, CA 95816
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  **Candidates are responsible for obtaining proof of mailing or submission of their exam.

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

EITHER

Pattern I

Possession of a valid driver license of the appropriate class issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Applicants who do not possess this license will be admitted to the examination but must secure the license prior to appointment. and Either I Completion of a recognized apprenticeship for Heavy Equipment Bodyworker/Painter. (Apprentices who are within six months of completing their apprenticeship program may be admitted to the examination, but must present evidence of completion prior to appointment.)

OR

Pattern II

Experience: Four years of experience as a painter and bodyworker of automotive, heavy maintenance, construction, or other equipment. and

Education: Completion of 576 hours of formalized technical instruction relating to heavy equipment bodywork/painting offered by such established programs as: Job Corps; Skill Centers; ROP; Trades Schools; Military; and Joint Training Partnership Act (JTPA). (An Associate of Arts Degree or Certificate of Completion in Automotive Mechanics from a California Community College, which must have included at least 12 semester units of instruction in body repairing and painting of heavy maintenance, construction, or automotive equipment may be substituted for the 576 hours of technical instruction.) Students who are within six months of completing their degree will be admitted to the examination, but they must present evidence of completion prior to appointment.  (Two additional qualifying years of experience may be substituted for the required education.)

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Components that are due with your application will be scored and will count toward your final examination result. Failure to submit these items may result in disqualification or elimination from the examination.

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of: Materials, methods, and equipment used in making repairs to damaged heavy equipment, truck bodies and frames, and automobiles; methods, equipment, and material used in arc and oxyacetylene welding; methods and materials used in mixing, thinning, and applying enamels, urethanes, and other coating materials; methods and materials used to do powder coating; methods, materials, and equipment used to repair plastics and composites; proper repairing of crumple zone impacts; methods and materials used in glazing; methods, materials, and equipment used in preparing equipment for refinishing; proper use and care of respiratory protective equipment; proper use, maintenance, repair, and adjustment of tools and equipment; and how and where to find information about current applicable laws and regulations related to safety, hazardous materials and waste, and proper compliance procedures.

Ability to: Read, interpret, and work from plans, drawings, and specifications; make satisfactory welds; straighten and align truck and automobile bodies and frames; match colors; skillfully apply paints to metal surfaces by spray or hand brush; install windshields and glass; keep simple records and logs; follow directions; communicate effectively at a level appropriate to the classification.

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the HEAVY EQUIPMENT BODYWORKER/PAINTER Classification will be established for:

• State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Department of Transportation
• State of California

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Transportation reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.