Master electrician exam guide for every state but Texas

What state master exams share

We read the current candidate bulletins for Michigan, Virginia, Utah and Oklahoma in November 2026. Every one of them is:

• Open book. You bring your own NEC. Most bulletins allow highlighting and permanent tabs made before the exam and ban the NEC Handbook. The open-book rules guide covers what to check.
• Computer-based at a vendor test center.
• 76 to 100 questions with 3 to 4.5 hours on the clock.
• Heavier on calculations than the journeyman exam. Virginia publishes both outlines: its master exam adds 20 items to the journeyman's 70, and most of them go to services and feeders, branch circuits, motors, electrical fundamentals, and grounding and bonding.

Every state also tests its own licensing law and rules, and some test business and law. A national course cannot teach those, so study them from your board.

How the four states compare

From the bulletins read on 8 November 2026. Oklahoma has no license called master electrician; its Unlimited Electrical Contractor exam is its top electrical license exam, and its bulletin also lists a separate Electrical Business and Law exam. Utah's master exam is mostly state law, rules and safety, with about a third of its questions on the NEC. Each state sets its own rules and can change them, so confirm with your board and your bulletin before you book. State pages: Michigan, Virginia, Utah and Oklahoma. Testing in Texas? Texas has its own two-portion master exam on the 2026 NEC, covered in the Texas master exam outline.

Which NEC edition to study

Study the edition your state's bulletin names. Three of the four bulletins we read test the 2023 NEC, and NFPA lists more states moving from 2020 to 2023. That is why our master practice exam is written to the 2023 NEC. If your state tests 2020 or 2026, most of the skills carry over, but article and section numbers can move between editions (the 2026 edition moved load calculations out of Article 220), so practice your lookups in the book you will bring.

How to prepare

1. Get your state's bulletin and note the edition, the books allowed, the calculator rule, the time and any business and law exam.
2. Own the load calculation. Work dwelling calculations by the standard and optional methods, multifamily buildings, and commercial loads with their demand factors, then size the service or feeder, its neutral and its overcurrent device from the result. This is where master exams spend their extra questions.
3. Drill motors and transformers. Motor conductors, overloads, short-circuit protection, multiple-motor feeders, and transformer currents and protection come up in every state outline.
4. Learn the book, not just the rules. An open-book exam rewards fast lookups. Practice finding answers with the index and the article layout until each lookup takes a minute or two.
5. Practice on the clock. A 100-question exam in 240 minutes gives you about 2.4 minutes a question, less than Virginia's or Utah's pace. Time yourself the same way.

Practice that fits any state

Our master practice exam is 100 original questions in 240 minutes, open book, written to the subject areas the state bulletins share and weighted toward the load, service, feeder and motor calculations master exams lean on. It is written to the 2023 NEC. It does not copy or match any one state's exam, and it does not cover state law and rules or business and law. Every answer explains the reasoning and names the NEC article to look up. Try three sample questions in the master practice test guide.

Take the free 10-question master electrician check. It is written to the 2023 NEC, needs no signup, explains every answer and names your weakest area.

FAQ

Is there a national master electrician exam?

No. Each state that licenses master electricians runs its own exam through a vendor it chooses, and some cities and counties license where the state does not. The exams share most of their NEC subject areas, which is why one practice exam can help in many states.

Is the master electrician exam open book?

In all four state bulletins we read, yes: you bring the NEC edition your state tests. The rules on tabs, highlighting and other books differ by state, so read your bulletin.

How is the master exam different from the journeyman exam?

It expects you to plan the installation, not only build it. In the outlines we read that means more load calculations, more service and feeder sizing and more motor questions. Most states also require a journeyman license and years of experience before you can sit it.

Does the master exam include business and law?

It depends on the state. Oklahoma's bulletin lists a separate Electrical Business and Law exam. Virginia, Michigan and Utah put their licensing law and rules inside the master exam. Our practice exam covers neither, because every state's law is different.

What score do I need to pass?

Your state sets it. In the bulletins we read it was 75% in Michigan and Utah, 63 of 90 in Virginia and 70% on Oklahoma's Unlimited Electrical Contractor exam.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by NFPA, PSI or Prov, or any state licensing board. NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of NFPA.

Sources

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• Michigan electrical candidate information bulletin, PSI. Retrieved 8 Nov 2026.
• Virginia tradesman candidate information bulletin, PSI. Retrieved 8 Nov 2026.
• Utah electrical candidate information bulletin, Prov. Retrieved 8 Nov 2026.
• Oklahoma candidate information bulletin, PSI for the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. Retrieved 8 Nov 2026.
• NEC enforcement maps, NFPA. Retrieved 7 Nov 2026.