Your study bench for the Kentucky electrician (journeyman) exam and the master electrician exam after it. Built on KRS Chapter 227A, 815 KAR Chapter 35, and the 2023 National Electrical Code. Progress saves in this browser.
Book when you're ready. Unlike the plumbing exam's quarterly windows, Kentucky electrical exams are scheduled any time through an approved provider — PROV, NASCLA, or Pearson VUE. Pass the exam first, then apply to the state with your results. All exams are based on the 2023 NEC as of January 1, 2026. Division of Electrical: (502) 573-0364 · 500 Mero St, Frankfort.
Electrician (Journeyman) First target
Exam~80 questions · 4 hours · open book
Passing score70% · valid 3 years
Experience8,000 hrs in the trade (since age 16)
Apprenticeship credit288-classroom-hr program = 4,000 hrs
Degree creditAssociate’s in electrical tech = 4,000 hrs
Leads toElectrical Contractor license ($400) + Business & Law exam
How the exam works
Kentucky's exams are administered by third-party providers (PROV, NASCLA, Pearson VUE) at testing centers, multiple-choice, and open book — your 2023 NEC comes with you. That changes how you study: the exam isn't testing whether you memorized the code, it's testing whether you can find and apply it fast. At ~3 minutes per question, a well-tabbed code book and knowing the chapter layout cold is worth more than memorizing tables.
Pass first, apply second: you take the exam on your own schedule, then submit your passing results (valid 3 years), proof of hours, application, fee, and a passport-style photo to the state. Renewal is annual with continuing education (KRS 227A.100).
The road to master & contractor Master
Electrician license: pass the journeyman exam, document 8,000 hours (apprenticeship and degree credits can substitute for up to half).
Master: at 16,000 total hours, pass the ~100-question master exam — same open-book NEC format, deeper on calculations, services, and design.
Contractor (running your own shop): hold or employ a master, pass the Business & Law exam, and carry general liability + workers' comp (a notarized waiver works if you're a sole proprietor with no employees; the insurer must be listed with the KY Dept. of Insurance).
Reciprocity: Ohio contractors, and Virginia / West Virginia journeymen and masters, can license in Kentucky by application with a good-standing letter.
The exam draws from the 2023 NEC plus Kentucky's licensing law. These walkthroughs give you the map — pair each with the actual code article, and tab your NEC as you go.
Study smarter — the open-book playbook
How to study
Tab the book first. The single highest-leverage move for an open-book exam: a quality tab set plus your own highlights turns a 2-minute hunt into a 10-second flip. Tab every article on the Cheat Sheet, and check your provider's bulletin — pre-printed tabs and highlighting are normally allowed.
Train navigation, not memorization. Prep courses recommend timed lookup drills — that's what the Code Race tab is. Target: any article in under 30 seconds, index-first (keyword → index → article → check the exceptions).
Volume of practice questions wins. The standard advice is 500+ timed questions before exam day. This bank plus retakes gets you there; every quiz and sim counts.
Keep an error log. Automatic here: misses land in the "My missed questions" deck in the Quiz tab and retire when you answer them right. Drill it to zero.
Memorize the money tables anyway. Open book or not, knowing T310.16, 240.4(D), box volumes, and the 80/70/50 ladder cold banks minutes you'll spend on the hard calcs.
Short daily sessions (20–30 min, spaced) beat weekend crams — and write out every calculation formula before plugging numbers.
Test day
Answer from the book, never from memory. The most common open-book mistake is confidently answering without checking — and missing an exception or a table footnote that flips the answer. If the book is open, use it.
Three passes. Pass 1: everything you know instantly (bank time). Pass 2: the look-ups. Pass 3: flagged calculations. Never leave a blank.
Pace: 80 questions in 240 minutes is 3 min/question — but pass 1 should average 60 seconds, saving 5+ minutes each for the hard calcs.
Read the last sentence of the stem first, then hunt. Watch for "shall" vs "shall be permitted," and check every exception before committing.
Calculations: write the formula, then the numbers, then check units. An answer choice that matches a skipped step (like forgetting 125%) is always on the list — that's how they build the distractors.
Logistics: confirm your appointment and what the provider allows in the room (your tabbed NEC, calculator model rules). Arrive early, book intact — no loose papers.
The law: KRS 227A & 815 KAR 35 JM
KRS 227A.060 — qualifications: electrician 8,000 hrs, master 16,000 hrs, both counted since your 16th birthday. Credits: 288-classroom-hour apprenticeship = 4,000 hrs; associate's degree = 4,000 (electrician) / 6,000 (master); 2 years teaching = 4,000.
815 KAR 35:060 — exams through approved providers, 70% pass, results valid 3 years. Fees: electrician $100 ($50 renew), master $200 ($100), contractor $400 ($200). Licenses renew annually.
Halfway path: finishing 2 years of a 4-year apprenticeship lets you test for electrician — but you must complete the program within 4 years or the license is revoked.
KRS 227A.100 — annual continuing education for renewal.
Contractors: master affiliation + Business & Law exam + GL/workers' comp insurance with DHBC as certificate holder (sole proprietors may file a notarized WC waiver).
Reciprocity: OH (contractor), VA & WV (electrician/master), with good-standing letters.
Ch. 5–7 special occupancies/equipment/conditions modify the first four. Ch. 8 communications stands alone. Ch. 9 tables + Annex C = conduit fill; Annex D = worked calculation examples.
Exam technique: read the question's last sentence first, find the article, answer from the book — never from memory when the book is open.
Theory: Ohm's law & power
E = I × R · P = E × I — and the wheel: P = I²R = E²/R.
Series: resistance adds, current constant, voltage divides. Parallel: voltage constant, currents add, resistance drops (two equal resistors → half).
Three-phase power: P = √3 × E × I × PF (√3 ≈ 1.732).
Voltage drop (single-phase): VD = 2 × K × I × L ÷ CM, K ≈ 12.9 for copper. Recommended max: 3% branch or feeder, 5% combined (informational note to 210.19).
Minimum dwelling service disconnect: 100 A (230.79(C)). One- and two-family dwellings need an outdoor emergency disconnect (230.85).
Grounding electrode conductor (T250.66): sized from the service conductors — 2/0–3/0 Cu service → #4 Cu GEC. Ceilings: rod/pipe/plate → never larger than #6 Cu; concrete-encased (Ufer) → #4 Cu.
Rod electrodes: 8 ft driven; supplement a single rod unless it reads ≤ 25 Ω; two rods at least 6 ft apart. Metal water pipe (10 ft+ underground) always gets supplemented.
Equipment grounding conductor (T250.122): sized from the OCPD — 20 A → #12 · 60 A → #10 · 100 A → #8 · 200 A → #6.
Neutral bonds to the enclosure only at the service (main bonding jumper); everywhere downstream, neutrals and grounds stay separate.
Grounding exists to limit surge voltage and give fault current an effective path (250.4) — the earth itself is not the path.
Counting: each circuit conductor = 1 · all EGCs together = 1 · all internal clamps = 1 · each strap/device = 2 (largest conductor on it) · each support fitting = 1.
Pull boxes (314.28): straight pulls → 8× the largest raceway; angle pulls → 6× plus the sum of the others.
Free conductor at every box: 6″, with 3″ outside the opening (300.14).
Branch circuits & receptacles: Art. 210
Required dwelling circuits: two 20 A small-appliance, one 20 A laundry, one 20 A bathroom (210.11(C)).
Wall receptacle spacing: no point along the wall more than 6 ft from a receptacle (12-ft max spacing); counters: every wall counter 12″+ wide, no point more than 24″ from a receptacle (210.52).
GFCI (210.8(A), 2023): bathrooms, garages, outdoors, crawl spaces, basements, all kitchen receptacles (2023 expansion), within 6 ft of any sink/tub/shower, laundry areas.
AFCI (210.12): most 120 V 15/20 A dwelling outlets — kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, laundry, etc.
Bathroom receptacle: within 3 ft of the basin edge.
Max receptacles on a 20 A commercial circuit at 180 VA each: 13.
Load calculations: Art. 220 Master core
General lighting: 3 VA/ft² of dwelling; small-appliance and laundry circuits: 1,500 VA each.
Standard method demand (T220.45): first 3,000 VA @ 100%, 3,001–120,000 @ 35%.
Ranges (T220.55 Col. C): one range ≤ 12 kW → 8 kW demand. Dryers: 5,000 VA or nameplate, whichever is larger.
Optional method (220.82, dwellings ≥ 100 A): first 10 kVA of everything @ 100%, remainder @ 40%, plus the larger of A/C @ 100% or electric heat @ 65% (central).
Convert to amps, then round up to the next standard OCPD size (240.6).
Motors & equipment: Art. 430, 422, 440
Branch conductors: 125% of table FLC (430.22) — use the tables (430.247–250), not nameplate, for conductors and OCPD.
Overloads use nameplate: 125% (service factor ≥ 1.15 or temp rise ≤ 40°C), otherwise 115% (430.32).
Short-circuit protection (T430.52): inverse-time breaker up to 250% of FLC.
Disconnect in sight of the motor (visible, ≤ 50 ft) (430.102).
Water heaters: branch at 125% (422.13). HVAC: follow the nameplate minimum circuit ampacity. EV charging: continuous → 125%.
Wiring methods & the job site: Ch. 3 + 110
NM cable (334): secure within 12″ of boxes, every 4.5 ft; keep 1¼″ from framing edges or use a 1/16″ nail plate (300.4); dry locations only.
EMT: support within 3 ft of each box, every 10 ft (358.30).
Working space (110.26): 3 ft deep (Condition 1), 30″ wide, 6½ ft headroom; panels never in bathrooms or clothes closets (240.24).
Color code: grounded conductor white/gray · EGC green or bare · high-leg orange.
Question
Loading…
Answer
Click card or press Space to flip · ←/→ to move
The exam is open book — but every table you know cold saves two minutes of page-flipping. "Got it" hides a card per deck; reset anytime.
Closed-book practice for an open-book exam: if you can clear 70% from memory, exam day with the book in hand is yours. Explanations cite the NEC article to tab.
Browse the bank
Search every question as a study reference — correct answers and explanations shown.
Keys: 1–4 answer · Enter next
Timed simulations matched to the real ICC formats. The real thing is open book — run these closed-book first, then once with your tabbed NEC beside you to practice look-up speed.
Journeyman simulation 80 Q · 4 hrs · 70%
Trade questions across every category, matching the Kentucky Standard Journeyman Electrician exam format.
Master simulation 100 Q · 5 hrs · 70%
The full bank including every master/contractor law and business question, at master exam length.
Keys: 1–4 answer · ←/→ move · F flag
Question map — gold = answered · ⚑ = flagged
Calculations are this exam's version of the plumbing drawing portion — the questions that separate passing from failing. Quick drills first, then three graded multi-step exercises that walk the full method.
Quick drills
Circuit generator — infinite calc reps Streak game
Freshly generated numbers every time — Ohm's law, voltage drop, derating, box fill, motor sizing. Build a streak; a wrong answer resets it.
Streak: 0
Graded exercises — full method
Each step is a dropdown; grade when done. The final answer counts double, and there's no partial credit for "close" — same as exam day.
The open-book exam is a race against the index. Code Race trains the reflex: a situation flashes up, you name the article — 15 seconds each, 10 rounds. Faster answers score more; a wrong answer scores nothing and shows you where to look.
Keys 1–4 answer. Scoring: 10 points + 1 per second left.
Where in the NEC do you look for…
Or press Ctrl+P with this tab open. The tab list is a checklist of every article to flag in your code book — print it, lay it beside the NEC, and tab away.
Exam & license — KY
Providers: PROV · NASCLA · Pearson VUE, open book, 2023 NEC
Journeyman: ~80 Q · 4 h · 70% · 8,000 hrs
Master: ~100 Q · 5 h · 70% · 16,000 hrs
Results valid 3 yrs · pass first, apply after
Fees: $100/$200/$400 (J/M/contractor) · renew $50/$100/$200 annual + CE
Water heater 125% · EV charging 125% · HVAC per nameplate MCA
Job site — 110
Working space 110.26: 3 ft deep · 30″ wide · 6½ ft high
No panels in baths or clothes closets (240.24)
Free conductor: 6″ per box, 3″ past opening
Colors: white/gray = grounded · green/bare = EGC · orange = high leg
Formulas: E=IR · P=EI · P=√3·E·I·PF
Voltage drop & circular mils
AWG
CM
AWG
CM
#14
4,110
#6
26,240
#12
6,530
#4
41,740
#10
10,380
#2
66,360
#8
16,510
1/0
105,600
1φ: VD = 2·K·I·L ÷ CM · 3φ: 1.732·K·I·L ÷ CM
K: Cu ≈ 12.9 · Al ≈ 21.2
Targets: 3% branch · 5% total
Solve for size: CM = 2·K·I·L ÷ VD
Twelve weeks to exam-ready. No fixed exam windows here — you book the test when you're ready, so the plan ends with scheduling it. Checkboxes save in this browser.
Toward master & contractor: the master exam is the same open-book format at 100 questions — deeper on Art. 220 calcs, services, and motors. Keep this site's Master-tagged material in rotation while you log hours toward 16,000, and add the Business & Law exam when you're ready to go contractor.
Backup & restore progress
Your streaks, scores, and checklists live in this browser. To move them to another device: Show backup code here, copy it, then paste it on the other device and hit Restore.
Sources & accuracy. Compiled August 2026 from KRS Chapter 227A, 815 KAR Chapter 35 (esp. 35:060), the DHBC Electrical Division application checklists, and the 2023 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70). NEC values cited are the commonly tested general rules — always verify against your 2023 code book (it's open book — the book is the authority). Confirm current fees and requirements with DHBC Electrical Licensing, 500 Mero St, Frankfort, KY 40601.