Part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog: PassProfessor is building electrician exam practice on the shared core most state journeyman and master exams test — the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) — with state-specific supplements to follow. Join the notify list and we will email you when enrollment opens.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
There is no single national electrician exam, and any program that implies otherwise is misleading you. Electrician licenses are issued by states — and in some places by local jurisdictions — and each licensing board sets its own exam format, question count, time limit, open-book rules, passing score, experience requirements, and fees. What those exams share is a foundation: the National Electrical Code® (NEC®), NFPA 70®, published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). PassProfessor’s electrician program, now in development, will prepare you on that NEC core — services, feeders, branch circuits, grounding and bonding, wiring methods, calculations, motors, and special occupancies — so the core transfers wherever you test, with state supplements to follow for the rules that are yours alone. Our full breakdown of how electrician licensing exams actually work is in the electrician exam guide.
What the program will cover
The NEC core, organized the way state outlines organize it. State journeyman and master outlines differ in detail, but they return to the same subject areas. Texas’s current outline, for example, is built from definitions, theory, and plan reading; electrical services and service equipment; feeders; branch circuits and conductors; wiring methods and materials; equipment and devices; motors and generators; control devices and disconnecting means; special occupancies, equipment, and conditions; and renewable energy technologies. The core program is being built on subject areas in that shape — the material that shows up on exam after exam, whatever the state.
Calculations as their own discipline. Load calculations, conductor sizing, feeder and branch-circuit calculations, grounding and bonding conductor sizing, transformer and motor calculations: on many state exams this material is heavy enough to be scored separately. In Texas, both the journeyman and the master exam are split into an NEC Knowledge portion and a separate Calculations portion, and you must pass each one. The program will drill calculations as a distinct skill, not as an afterthought mixed into code questions.
Code-lookup speed, not just code knowledge. Where a state runs an open-book exam — Texas does, with your own soft-bound NEC as the reference — the exam is partly a navigation test: can you find the governing article, table, or rule and apply it before the clock runs out? Practice will be designed to build that lookup fluency alongside the underlying knowledge, because knowing a rule exists and finding it in four minutes are different abilities.
Journeyman and master levels, kept distinct. A journeyman exam tests competent work under a master’s general supervision; a master exam tests the deeper calculation and service work behind designing and taking responsibility for installations. Texas illustrates the step up: its master exam’s knowledge portion is longer than its journeyman counterpart and its calculations portion is heavier on services and motors. The program will keep the two levels separate rather than selling one bank for both.
State supplements to follow. The NEC core is not the whole exam anywhere. States add their own licensing law, administrative rules, amendments to the NEC, and the NEC edition they have adopted — and those pieces decide real questions. State-specific supplements are planned to follow the core, state by state. Until a supplement exists for your state, the honest position — stated plainly here — is that this program prepares you for the shared code core, and your state board’s candidate bulletin remains the authority on everything else.
The real exams at a glance
Current as of October 2026, per NFPA’s NEC enforcement information (nfpa.org), the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (tdlr.texas.gov), and PSI’s Texas Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin (updated September 15, 2026). Full detail — including the complete Texas example — is in our electrician exam guide.
| Electrician licensing exams (journeyman / master) | |
|---|---|
| A single national exam | None exists |
| Who issues the license | Your state licensing board — and in some places a local (city/county) jurisdiction |
| Shared foundation | The National Electrical Code® (NEC®), NFPA 70®, published by NFPA |
| Current NEC edition | The 2026 edition — issued by the NFPA Standards Council on August 20, 2025, effective September 9, 2025 |
| NEC edition in effect where you work | Varies — NFPA reports that, as of August 3, 2026, the 2026 NEC was in effect in six states, the 2023 NEC in 20 states, the 2020 NEC in 15 states, the 2017 NEC in three states, and the 2008 NEC in two states, with other places adopting locally |
| Exam format, questions, time, passing score, fees | Set by each state board — they vary, and there is no national figure to print |
| Who delivers the exam | A testing provider the state contracts with — for example, PSI delivers Texas’s electrician exams, Pearson VUE delivers Florida DBPR electrical licensing exams, and the International Code Council (ICC) runs a Contractor/Trades exam program whose results licensing agencies may use |
- Your state board’s bulletin is the controlling document. It states your exam’s portions, question counts, time limits, passing standard, permitted references, and fees. Read it before you study, not the week before you test.
- “Current NEC” does not mean the same edition everywhere. States adopt new NEC editions on their own schedules, and a state can enforce one edition for installations while referencing a newer one for its exams. Texas is a live example: PSI’s bulletin states that, effective September 1, 2026, Texas electrician examinations are referenced to the 2026 NEC.
- Open-book rules are state rules. Whether you may bring the code book at all, which binding is allowed, and what tabbing or marking is permitted are set by each state and its testing provider — and enforced at check-in.
One concrete example: Texas
Texas shows what “it varies” actually looks like in numbers. Per PSI’s Texas Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin (updated September 15, 2026) and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR):
| Texas exam | Portions | Passing | Exam fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrician | NEC Knowledge: 59 items in 130 minutes; Calculations: 26 items in 110 minutes | 70% on each portion — unused time does not roll over | $78 for both portions (retake of one or both portions: $78) |
| Master Electrician | NEC Knowledge: 75 items in 150 minutes; Calculations: 33 items in 170 minutes | 70% on each portion | $78 for both portions (retake: $78) |
Both exams are multiple-choice, open book against the 2026 NEC (you bring your own soft-bound copy; loose-leaf and handbook editions are not allowed), and include a few non-scored tryout items inside the counts above. No other state’s numbers should be assumed to look like these — that is the point of the example.
How the practice will map to the exams
The core program is being built on the NEC subject areas that state outlines — Texas’s current published outline among them — use to organize journeyman and master exams. Weights are deliberately not shown: unlike a single-vendor exam, there is no national weighting to copy, and each state’s outline sets its own.
| Core subject area | What the program will drill |
|---|---|
| Definitions, theory, and plans | NEC terminology, electrical theory fundamentals, and reading plans and specifications the way exam questions present them |
| Electrical services, service equipment, and separately derived systems | Service sizing and load knowledge, fault current, service equipment, temporary wiring, and transformers |
| Grounding and bonding | System and equipment grounding, bonding conductors, and grounding electrode requirements across services, feeders, and branch circuits |
| Electrical feeders | Feeder load knowledge and calculations, feeder overcurrent protection, and feeder grounding and bonding |
| Branch circuits and conductors | Branch-circuit requirements, GFCI and AFCI protection, overcurrent protection, and conductor sizing and ampacity work |
| Wiring methods and materials | Raceways and cable trays, boxes and enclosures, cabinets and panels, cables and cords, and underground wiring |
| Equipment and devices | Receptacles and switches, luminaires, HVAC and appliance equipment, and workspace clearances |
| Motors, generators, and control devices | Motor and generator requirements and calculations, control devices, and disconnecting means |
| Special occupancies, equipment, and conditions | Hazardous and special occupancies, pools and similar installations, mobile homes and marinas, emergency systems, and other special conditions |
| Renewable energy technologies | Photovoltaic systems and electric vehicle charging as state outlines test them |
How to use it
- Join the notify list today. While the program is in development, do the one piece of homework that matters in every state: get your own licensing board’s candidate bulletin and confirm your exam’s portions, its NEC edition, its open-book rules, and its passing standard.
- Confirm your eligibility before you study. Experience requirements are state-set and substantial — in Texas, for example, a journeyman applicant may test after 7,000 hours of supervised on-the-job training but needs the full 8,000 hours for the license itself. Study time spent before you can legally sit is still useful, but know your timeline.
- When the program opens, drill the core by subject area. Services, grounding and bonding, feeders, and branch circuits are the spine of nearly every state outline. Work your weakest areas until the misses stop repeating.
- Train calculations separately. If your state splits calculations into their own portion — as Texas does — it is a separately passed gate. Give load, conductor, motor, and transformer calculations their own sessions, with a calculator and the code tables open, at exam pace.
- Practice the code book as a tool. If your exam is open book, tab and learn your NEC’s structure before exam day, within your state’s rules for what may be marked or tabbed. Lookup speed is a trainable score advantage.
- Add your state’s supplement when it publishes, and re-check your board’s bulletin before scheduling — editions, fees, and formats change on state schedules, not national ones.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a national electrician exam in the United States? No. Electrician licensing is handled by states, and in some places by local jurisdictions. There is no single national journeyman or master exam, no national question count, and no national passing score. Many state exams are built on the same foundation — the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) — which is why NEC-core practice is useful across states, but the license itself is always issued under one jurisdiction’s rules.
What is the NEC, and who publishes it? The National Electrical Code, formally NFPA 70, is the model electrical installation code published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA describes it as setting the foundation for electrical safety in residential, commercial, and industrial occupancies. States and local jurisdictions adopt it — often with their own amendments — and state licensing exams test it. The NEC is a copyrighted document; this program describes and drills its topics without reproducing its text.
Which NEC edition should I study? The edition your state board names for your exam — not automatically the newest one. NFPA’s newest edition is the 2026 NEC (issued August 20, 2025), but NFPA reports editions from 2026 back to 2008 in effect in different states as of August 2026, because adoption runs on state schedules. Texas, for example, references the 2026 NEC for its electrician exams effective September 1, 2026. Your board’s candidate bulletin states the edition that governs your sitting.
Are electrician exams open book? In some states, yes; the rules are state-set. Texas runs its journeyman and master exams open book: you bring your own soft-bound NEC, loose-leaf and spiral-bound copies and the NEC Handbook are not allowed, and only publisher-manufactured permanent tabs may be used. Other states set different reference rules, and some may allow different materials entirely. Your candidate bulletin is the only reliable source for your exam.
What score do I need to pass an electrician exam? Your state sets it. In Texas, journeyman and master candidates must score 70% on each portion of the exam — NEC Knowledge and Calculations are passed separately, so a strong knowledge score cannot carry a weak calculations score. Other states set their own standards; ICC’s Contractor/Trades program, for example, runs exam suites at both 70% and 75% passing scores depending on the exam and jurisdiction. There is no national passing figure.
How many questions are on the journeyman electrician exam? It depends on the state. In Texas, the journeyman exam totals 85 items across two separately timed portions — 59 NEC Knowledge items (3 of them non-scored) in 130 minutes and 26 Calculations items (2 non-scored) in 110 minutes. Another state’s journeyman exam will have its own count, structure, and time limit, set by its board and published in its candidate bulletin.
What experience do I need before I can test? Your state sets it, and it is measured in supervised hours. In Texas, a journeyman candidate may sit the exam after completing at least 7,000 hours of on-the-job training under a Texas-licensed master electrician, but the license itself requires the full 8,000 hours; a master candidate must show 12,000 supervised hours and have held a journeyman license for at least two years. Expect other states to differ in the numbers, the supervision rules, and how experience is documented.
Who administers electrician exams? The licensing board remains in charge, but most boards contract the delivery out. Texas contracts with PSI Services; Florida’s DBPR electrical licensing exams are delivered through Pearson VUE; and the International Code Council’s Contractor/Trades program assesses trades professionals for licensing agencies that choose to use its results. Who delivers your exam — and therefore where you schedule, what you may bring, and how check-in works — is stated in your board’s bulletin.
Can I use one state’s preparation — or license — in another state? Preparation built on the NEC core transfers, because most state exams test the same code foundation. A license does not automatically transfer: each state sets its own reciprocity rules, and a destination state can require its own exam, experience proof, or application even when it recognizes another state’s license. Texas, for example, maintains specific reciprocal agreements for journeyman and master licenses with named states only. Check the destination state’s board before assuming anything carries over.
Are these the actual exam questions? No. PassProfessor practice questions are written independently, from scratch, around the NEC subject areas state outlines publish and the topics the code covers. We never use actual exam questions or another provider’s material, and we do not reproduce NEC text — NFPA 70 is copyrighted, and this program describes its topics rather than copying its wording.
When will the PassProfessor electrician program be available? It is in development now, starting with the NEC core for journeyman and master candidates, with state supplements to follow. Join the notify list on this page and we will email you when it opens. No enrollment is being taken yet, and we are not publishing a launch date we cannot keep.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, PSI, Pearson VUE, the International Code Council, or any state or local licensing board. NFPA®, National Electrical Code®, and NEC® are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association. This program is exam preparation only: it grants no license and provides no education or apprenticeship credit in any jurisdiction. The license is issued solely by your state or local licensing authority to candidates who meet its requirements and pass its exam. Exam details on this page are general information current as of October 2026; your licensing board’s current publications govern if anything here differs from them.