Virginia Master Electrician Exam: Complete 2026 Study Guide
If you've been pulling wire and running jobs long enough to sit for your master's ticket, you already know the trade. The Virginia master electrician exam tests something a little different: how fast and how accurately you can find the rule, apply the right factor, and move on. This guide walks through what the exam covers, what the questions feel like, and how to prepare so the book works for you instead of against you.
Virginia Master Electrician Exam Overview
The Virginia master electrician exam is administered by PSI for the Virginia Board for Contractors. It is an open book examination — so the real skill being measured is knowing your way around the Code, not memorizing it cover to cover.
Here are the key details for the PSI master electrician exam Virginia candidates sit for:
| Questions | 90 questions |
| Time limit | 270 minutes |
| Passing score | 63 correct answers out of 90 scored questions |
| Books in the exam room | Open book |
| Exam fee | $125 |
On exam day
- You must present one valid, non-expired photo and signature identification whose first and last name match your registration.
- You should arrive at the examination site at least 30 minutes before your appointment.
- Candidates must bring their own bound, unmarked reference books, and although any edition of a reference may be used, Code questions are based only on the listed edition of the Code book.
- Highlighting, underlining and indexing before the exam are permitted, writing in references is not, and only permanent tabs may be used.
- Handheld calculators are prohibited items at the examination.
- Test center candidates receive an LCD writing tablet for notes, remote candidates may not have scratch paper, and personal items such as electronic devices, paper and writing devices are prohibited.
References you may bring
- Virginia Board for Contractors, Individual License and Certification Regulations
- National Electrical Code, NFPA 70 (2020)
- Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, NFPA 70E
Scheduling, changes and retakes
- Candidates register and schedule either by calling PSI at (855) 340-3910 or online at https://test-takers.psiexams.com/vacon.
- You must be approved by the Board before testing, and your examination fee is valid for one year from the date of payment.
- You keep your fee only if PSI receives your cancellation notice two days before the exam date, made through the PSI website or by speaking with a representative at (855) 340-3910.
- Missing the appointment, arriving late, not being checked in by the start time, or lacking proper ID results in forfeiture of the examination fee.
- Your score appears on screen at the end of the exam and is emailed, with a diagnostic report included for failing candidates.
- You may not rebook on the same day you tested, but may be able to retest within two business days if space is available.
Source: Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation Individual License and Certification Candidate Information Bulletin, 7/23/2026. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.
Topics Covered on the Virginia Master Electrician Exam
The content outline breaks the exam into weighted topics. Here's what each one covers, drawn from the official outline and our verified practice questions.
Service and Feeders — 8 items (9%). Expect service and feeder sizing from calculated loads, the optional dwelling calculation (100 percent of the first 10 kVA plus 40 percent of the remainder, per [NEC 220.82(B)]), the six-disconnect limit under [NEC 225.33(A)], overhead clearances such as 18 ft over public streets per [NEC 225.18(4)], and lighting demand factors from [NEC Table 220.42].
Grounding and Bonding — 8 items (9%). Heavy on electrode systems and conductor sizing: bonding all present electrodes into one system per [NEC 2020, Section 250.50], grounding electrode conductor sizing to a driven rod electrode, the 1/0 AWG minimum grounded conductor in each raceway for parallel service conductors per [NEC 250.24(C)(2)], high-impedance grounded neutral systems from 480 to 1000 volts per [NEC 250.36], and the 3/0 copper / 250 kcmil aluminum common grounding electrode conductor per [NEC 250.30(A)(6)(a)(1)]. Aluminum is not a permitted electrode material.
Motors and Controls — 8 items (9%). Conductor sizing at 125 percent of FLC per [NEC 430.22(A)], multispeed motors sized on the highest nameplate FLC per [NEC 2020, Section 430.22], protective device percentages from [NEC Table 430.52], and full-load currents pulled from [NEC Table 430.250]. Feeder ampacity for multiple motors — largest motor at 125 percent plus the rest at full load — shows up too.
Branch Circuits — 7 items (8%). The two required 20-ampere small-appliance circuits per [NEC 210.11(C)(1)], simultaneous disconnection of multiwire branch circuits per [NEC 210.4(B)], GFCI protection in non-dwelling kitchens and areas with a sink and permanent provisions for food preparation or cooking per [NEC 210.8(B)(2)], and voltage-drop math on long feeder runs.
Conductors and Cables — 7 items (8%). One-family 120/240-volt dwelling service conductor sizing using the 83 percent allowance in [NEC 310.12(A) and Table 310.12(A)], the five matching characteristics required for parallel conductors per [NEC 2020, Section 310.10(G)(2)], stranding for 8 AWG and larger in raceway per [NEC 310.3(C)], and permitted uses of Type NM cable.
Raceways and Boxes — 7 items (8%). Box fill volume allowances from [Table 314.16(B)], straight-pull box length at eight times the largest raceway per [NEC 314.28(A)(1)], the 1/4 in. setback limit for cabinets in noncombustible walls per [NEC 312.3], round boxes and locknut connections per [NEC 314.2], and EMT support of conduit bodies.
Electrical-Electronic Fundamentals — 5 items (6%). Grounded conductor identification for 6 AWG and smaller per [NEC 2020, Section 200.6(A)], overhead service clearances per [NEC 230.24(B)(4)], and the 75 percent demand factor for four or more fastened-in-place appliances in a dwelling served by the same feeder or service per [NEC 220.53].
Utilization Equipment — 5 items (6%). Hazardous-area classification around spray application work, bonding in Zone 20/21/22 locations per [NEC 506.25(A)], and minimum conductor size for professional projector outlets per [NEC 540.13].
General Electrical Knowledge — 4 items (4%). Core definitions such as ampacity, electrode bonding, multiwire branch circuit restrictions per [NEC 2020, Section 210.4(C)], and grounded conductor continuity in multiwire branch circuits that must not depend on devices per [NEC 2020, Section 300.13(B)].
Special Occupancies — 4 items (4%). Patient bed location branch circuits, dust group equivalencies per [NEC 506.6(A)], the 12 ft arcing-equipment height in commercial garages per [NEC 511.7(B)(1)(a)], and fuel dispensing inside buildings per [NEC 511.4(B)(1)].
Safety — 4 items (4%). NFPA 70E territory: lockout/tagout, establishing an electrically safe work condition, arc flash and shock boundaries, PPE selection, and energized work permits.
Standards of Practice — 3 items (3%) and Requirements for Electrical Installations — 3 items (3%). The first covers bidder license numbers per [Code of Virginia § 54.1-1115(A)(6)], substantial identity of interest per [§ 54.1-1110], annual permits per [NEC 2020, Informative Annex H, Section 80.19(D)], and withheld department services under [18 VAC 50-30-130(G)]. The second covers working space clearances from [Table 110.26(A)(1)], the 6 in. of free conductor per [NEC 2020, Section 300.14], and the 1-1/4 in. bored-hole setback per [NEC 2020, Section 300.4(A)(1)].
Standards of Conduct — 2 items (2%). Reporting out-of-state suspensions per [18 VAC 50-30-190(3)], misrepresentation per [18 VAC 50-30-190(7)], the 30-day conviction reporting window per [18 VAC 50-30-190(11)], and mandatory "shall" language per [NEC 2020, Section 90.5(A)].
Renewal and Reinstatement — 2 items (2%). Three hours of continuing education per designation, the three-year license term, and renewal versus reinstatement fees.
Special Equipment — 2 items (2%). MCA for conductor sizing, the 300-volt limit for elevators per [NEC 2020, Section 620.3], EVSE overcurrent at 125 percent per [NEC 2020, Section 625.41], and 11 kVA per electrified truck parking space per [NEC 2020, Section 626.11(A)].
Electrical Signs and Outline Lighting — 2 items (2%) and Lighting — 2 items (2%). Signs cover the 300 mA secondary current limit per [NEC 600.23(D)], the 20 ft limit on neon secondary conductors in metal conduit or tubing per [NEC 600.32(J)(1)], and nonmetallic conduit spacing per [NEC 600.32(A)(4)]. Lighting covers closet clearances per [NEC 2020, Section 410.16(C)(1)], luminaire replacement grounding per [NEC 2020, Section 410.44], the 25-ampere low-voltage output limit per [NEC 2020, Section 411.3], and the 18 AWG minimum fixture wire per [NEC 2020, Section 402.6].
Fire Detection and Alarms Systems — 2 items (2%). NPLFA versus PLFA classification, cable types, and circuit separation.
Definitions, Qualification for Licensure, Revocation of Licensure, General Low Voltage Requirements, and Communication Systems — 1 item each (1%). Definitions run through Article 100 terms. Licensure covers experience paths, the 40-hour continuing education credit cap, and examination exemptions. Low voltage covers the 20-ampere supply circuit per [NEC, Section 411.7] and the 6 ft lightning conductor separation per [NEC, Section 800.53]. Communications covers coaxial separation per [NEC 2020, Section 820.44(B)(1)] and antenna bonding conductor size.
Sample Questions
Try these before you look anything up — then go find each answer in the book and time yourself doing it.
1. A panelboard has a continuous load of 80A. What is minimum OCPD size?
A. 80A
B. 90A
C. 100A
D. 110A
Tests continuous-load sizing of overcurrent protection.
2. What is maximum required grounding electrode conductor size to a driven ground rod?
A. 4 AWG
B. 2 AWG
C. 1/0 AWG
D. 6 AWG
Tests the sole-electrode limit on grounding electrode conductor size.
3. A 5 HP, 230V, single-phase motor FLC=28A. What is maximum fuse size?
A. 50A
B. 60A
C. 70A
D. 80A
Tests Table 430.52 percentages plus standard device sizes.
Want more questions with answers and full explanations? Work through the free practice exam — you get 10 questions to start, drawn from its own pool rather than the samples above.
What Types of Questions to Expect
Three shapes come up again and again in our practice questions.
Lookup questions. A clearance, a spacing, a minimum size. "What is the minimum length of free conductor at each outlet?" You either find it fast or you burn minutes.
Calculation questions. Load calculations, motor conductor sizing, voltage drop, box fill. These usually chain two or three steps — calculate the value, then round to the next standard size. The trap is stopping at the raw number instead of going to the standard rating.
Applied-scenario questions. A short job-site story with a rule buried in it: a spray booth opening, a commercial kitchen receptacle, a colleague who hasn't reported a conviction. Read for the classification or threshold being described, not the story.
A small number of the questions come from Virginia regulations rather than the NEC, so don't skip the Board rules.
Study Materials
Three references carry the whole exam:
- Virginia Contractor License Regulations — the Board for Contractors Individual License and Certification Regulations. Your source for licensure, conduct, renewal, reinstatement, and revocation items.
- NEC 2020 (National Electrical Code) — the backbone of the exam. Nearly every technical topic traces back to it.
- Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, NFPA 70E — covers the safety topic: LOTO, safe work conditions, boundaries, PPE, and energized work permits.
Since this is an open book exam, how well you know these books matters as much as what's in them.
Study Tips for the VA Master Electrician License Test
Put your hours where the weight is. Service and feeders, grounding and bonding, motors, branch circuits, conductors, and raceways together make up half of the scored items. Get those solid first; the one-item topics can wait.
Practice the book, not just the rules. Open book does not mean easy. Time yourself finding a specific table. Learn where Chapter 9 tables sit relative to Article 310, where Annex H lives, and which article number goes with which subject. Fluency in the index is a skill you build by repetition.
Learn the tables cold enough to sanity-check. You'll still look them up, but knowing roughly what 1/0 copper carries at 75°C tells you instantly when you've landed in the wrong column.
Drill the calculation patterns. Single-motor branch-circuit conductors at 125 percent. Continuous loads at 125 percent. Round up to the next standard size. Write those steps out until they're automatic.
Watch the clock. You have about 3 minutes per question. Some lookups take fifteen seconds; some calculations take five minutes. Answer everything you know quickly, flag the long ones, and come back.
Take full-length runs. A Virginia master electrician practice test that matches the real format builds the stamina you need for a long sitting. Our practice exam gives you 90 questions with answers and citations, so every miss points you straight back to the section you need to reread.
Read the regulations like Code. The Board rules have their own numbers and deadlines. Treat them the same way you treat an NEC article.
Start Preparing Today
You know the work. What's left is proving you can find and apply the rule under a clock. Start with the free practice exam, see where the gaps are, then work the heavyweight topics with your books open beside you.
Review the official bulletin, check requirements with the Virginia Board for Contractors, and when you're ready, schedule through PSI.