Idaho Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Exam
Free Practice Exam
Test your knowledge with 10 questions from our pool of 20 free questions.
- 10 questions per attempt
- 30 minute time limit
- Unlimited attempts
- A new mix each time
- Instant results
Full Practice Exam
Complete exam simulation matching the real PSI test format.
- 100 questions (same as real exam)
- 270 minute time limit
- 7 topic areas covered
- 341 questions in pool
- Detailed explanations
Texts preferred · 9am–9pm Central
Idaho Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Exam Guide
What's on the exam
Questions per topic, out of 100The Idaho Journeyman Electrician Exam is an open book Code exam. It tests what you do on the job: pulling ampacity out of a table, sizing a box, protecting a cable through a stud, bonding a service, and knowing which article governs a garage, a patient care space or a PV array. The official outline splits the work into seven topics, from General Electrical Knowledge through Special Conditions, and the heavier topics carry most of the scored items.
You get two ways to practice here. The free practice exam gives you 10 questions per attempt, and you can retake it as often as you like. The full practice exam gives you 100 questions on a 270 minutes clock, drawn fresh from our question bank on every attempt, so a repeat run is not the same paper twice. Work the full one with your Code book open, the way you will sit the real thing.
General Electrical Knowledge 13 items
Expect Ohm's Law and the power formula worked both directions: watts and volts given, solve for amperes (Ohm's Law Power Formulas; Ugly's Electrical References, Ohm's Law), and current from voltage and resistance, I = E ÷ R (Ohm's Law Formulas). Series circuits show up twice over — total resistance is the sum of the parts (Ugly's Electrical References, Series Circuits Rule 3), and the voltage drops add up to the source voltage (Ugly's Electrical References, Series Circuits Rule 2). Article 90 reading comes next: mandatory rules use "shall" and "shall not" (Article 90.5(A)), and either SI or inch-pound numbers satisfy the Code (Article 90.9(D)). The outline also lists common electrical distribution systems and conductor color coding.
Wiring and Protection 25 items
The biggest topic, and it ranges wide. Conductor sizing: a 200 A service on 75°C terminals off Table 310.16, and a dwelling service using the 83% allowance in NEC 310.12(A) and Table 310.12(A) with the next standard rating from 240.6(A). Minimum conductor size for general wiring is in NEC 310.3(A), temperature ratings in Table 310.4(1). Also circuit conductors kept together with the parallel exception (NEC 300.3(B)(1)), grounded conductor continuity (NEC 2023, Section 300.13(B)), OCPD location (240.24(D)), bonding at services (250.92(B)), separately derived systems (250.30(A)(5)), cover depths (Table 300.5(A)), warning ribbon (300.5(D)(3)), bored holes (300.4(A)(1)), vertical support (Table 300.19(A)) and feeder continuous load at 125 percent (NEC 215.2(A)(1)).
Wiring Methods and Materials 19 items
Boxes and underground work dominate. Box fill counts each conductor entering and terminating once (NEC 314.16(B)(1)), and the volume math runs off NEC 314.16(B) and Table 314.16(B). Know where nonmetallic boxes are allowed (NEC 2026, Section 314.5 (NEC 2023: 314.3)) and why round boxes fail where conduits or connectors needing locknuts or bushings connect to the side (NEC 2026, Section 314.4 (NEC 2023: 314.2)). Underground questions cover cover depth (NEC Table 300.5(A)), sealing raceways including spares (300.5(G)), bushings where conduit ends underground (300.5(H)) and frost movement (300.5(J)). Add 4 AWG and larger entering enclosures (300.4(G)), bored holes (300.4(A)(1)), the lowest-ampacity rule (310.14(A)(2)) and raceway fill from NEC Chapter 9, Table 1 (percent fill).
Equipment for General Use 19 items
Article 410 carries this topic. Luminaires over highly combustible material need unswitched lampholders (NEC 410.12). Bathtub and shower zones need damp or wet marking (410.10(D)). Recessed luminaire thermal protection has its poured-concrete exception (410.115(B), Exception No. 1). Conductors within 75 mm (3 in.) of a ballast or driver need 90°C insulation (410.68), medium-base incandescent lamps stop at 300 watts (410.100), luminaire marking shows the minimum supply wire temperature rating when the luminaire needs supply wire rated over 60°C (140°F) (410.80(A)), and each fitting on heavy-duty lighting track (track exceeding 20 amperes) needs individual overcurrent protection (410.153). Switch and receptacle rules round it out: 404.2(C), 404.14(F), 406.4(D)(3) Exception and 406.4(D)(6).
Special Occupancies 12 items
Hazardous area classification with the table in front of you. Major repair garages with heavier-than-air fuel put unventilated pits and belowgrade work areas in Class I, Division 1 (Article 511.3(C), Table 511.3(C)), and fixed lighting over drive lanes sits at least 3.7 m (12 ft) up (Article 511.7(B)(1)). Motor fuel dispensing brings the outdoor dispenser Division 2 envelope (Table 514.3(B)(1)) and emergency shutoff placement (Article 514.11(A)). Class I, Division 1 conduit seals go within 450 mm (18 in.) of the enclosure (Article 501.15(A)(1)). Health care wiring methods come from Article 517.31(C)(3), and mobile home panelboards from Article 550.11(A).
Special Equipment 6 items
Few items, narrow rules, easy points if you look them up. Crane and hoist conductors external to motors and controls are 16 AWG minimum (Article 610.14(C)). Elevator supply voltage stops at 300 volts between conductors unless otherwise permitted (NEC 2026, Section 620.4 (NEC 2023: 620.3)). Each commercial building and commercial occupancy accessible to pedestrians needs a sign outlet at each tenant entrance, supplied by a branch circuit rated at least 20 amperes that supplies no other load (NEC 600.5(A)), and sign transformers and electronic power supplies cap secondary-circuit current at 300 mA (Article 600.23(D)).
Special Conditions 6 items
Protection techniques and solar. Dust ignitionproof protection is permitted for equipment in Class II, Division 1 or 2 locations (NEC 500.7(B)). Zone 21 is where ignitible concentrations are likely occasionally under normal operating conditions (Article 506.5(B)(2)). PV system dc circuits within or originating from arrays on buildings stop at 1000 volts, with 600 volts on one- and two-family dwellings (NEC 690.7), and dc circuits above that are restricted on one- and two-family dwellings (Article 690.31(G)). Know the Zone 20/21/22 split cold.
Sample 1 — Wiring and Protection
Question: According to NEC Article 300, all conductors of the same circuit must be contained within the same raceway, conduit body, auxiliary gutter, cable tray, or cable unless otherwise permitted. Which of the following is an exception to this requirement?
- A. Paralleled installations where each portion complies with requirements
- B. Conductors over 500 kcmil
- C. Conductors in wet locations only
- D. Conductors in different buildings
Correct Answer: A
Per NEC 300.3(B)(1), conductors are permitted to run in parallel in accordance with 310.10(G). The same-raceway requirement still applies, but it applies separately to each portion of the paralleled installation. So each raceway in the parallel set carries a complete circuit group. Size, location and building are not exceptions to the grouping rule; parallel installation is the one this section names.
Sample 2 — Wiring Methods and Materials
Question: A 200A service uses (3) 3/0 THHN conductors and 1 grounding conductor (4 AWG) in EMT. What is minimum conduit size?
- A. 2"
- B. 3"
- C. 2-1/2"
- D. 1-1/2"
Correct Answer: A
Run it through the Chapter 9 tables. Four conductors means you work from the percent fill column in NEC Chapter 9, Table 1 (percent fill). Add the three 3/0 THHN areas plus the 4 AWG, then find the smallest EMT whose allowable fill area covers the total. That lands on 2" EMT. 1-1/2" comes up short; 2-1/2" and 3" are oversized. Do the arithmetic every time instead of eyeballing the conductor count.
Sample 3 — Equipment for General Use
Question: Luminaires installed over highly combustible material shall have lampholders of what type?
- A. Switched type
- B. Unswitched type
- C. Double-pole switched type
- D. GFCI protected type
Correct Answer: B
NEC 410.12 requires lampholders installed over highly combustible material to be of the unswitched type. (The individual-switch condition in the next sentence of 410.12 belongs to the 2.5 m (8 ft) height or guarding rule, not to this one.) The point is to keep a switch and its arcing contacts out of the lampholder sitting above combustibles. GFCI protection addresses shock, not this hazard, and the switched options are exactly what the section prohibits.
Your first full run is a diagnostic, nothing more. Take it cold, open book, on the clock, and read the result as a map rather than a verdict. The real exam's pass mark is a minimum score of 70, so treat that as the line you need to clear comfortably, not squeak past — build a cushion.
Then read the topic breakdown, not the total. A score sitting under the line may come from one or two weak topics rather than a flat weakness everywhere. Fix those first. Weight your study by the outline counts: Wiring and Protection carries 25 items, Wiring Methods and Materials and Equipment for General Use carry 19 each. That is 63 of the scored items in three topics. Special Equipment and Special Conditions carry 6 items each, so an hour spent there moves your score far less than an hour on Article 310 tables and box fill.
Track how long each question took you. If you were correct but slow, that is a lookup problem, and the fix is practice finding sections quickly, not more reading.
Sizing a dwelling service straight off Table 310.16. In Wiring and Protection, the 154 A dwelling question offers 2/0 AWG as bait — that is what you get from Table 310.16 alone. For that one-family, 120/240-volt, single-phase dwelling service, the correct path is NEC 310.12(A) and Table 310.12(A): round up to the next standard rating from 240.6(A), take 83 percent, then pick the conductor. Skip the dwelling allowance and you buy copper you do not need and miss the item.
Calling a standard locknut a bond. Also in Wiring and Protection, NEC 2023, Section 250.92(B) says standard locknuts or bushings shall not be the only means of bonding at service equipment. They make a mechanical connection, nothing more. Threaded couplings made up wrenchtight, bonding-type locknuts or bushings with bonding jumpers, and threadless connectors made up tight are all acceptable bonding methods.
Rushing box fill and conduit fill. In Wiring Methods and Materials, each conductor originating outside and terminating in the box counts once (NEC 314.16(B)(1)), and devices and grounds add volume too. Same discipline on raceways: use NEC Chapter 9, Table 1 (percent fill) and add the areas.
Taking the highest ampacity on a mixed run. NEC, Section 310.14(A)(2) says where more than one ampacity applies over a circuit length, the lowest value governs. The exception for a short portion is narrow. In our practice question, the wrong options offer the highest value, the average and the value for the longest portion — all three are traps.
Guessing hazardous location boundaries. Special Occupancies questions give distances that all sound plausible. Do not estimate. Pull Table 511.3(C) for repair garages and Table 514.3(B)(1) for dispensers, and read the 450 mm (18 in.) seal limit right out of Article 501.15(A)(1).
Burning the clock on lookups. You get 270 minutes for 100 questions, which works out to about 2 minutes 42 seconds per question. That is enough time to look things up, but only if you know which article owns the question before you open it.
| Questions | 100 questions |
| Time limit | 270 minutes |
| Passing score | a minimum score of 70 |
| Books in the exam room | Open book |
| Exam fee | $75 |
- Your score is shown on screen at the end of the exam and a score report is provided, with a diagnostic report of strengths and weaknesses if you fail.
- If you do not pass, you may retake the exam as many times as needed, paying an examination fee for each attempt.
Source: Examination Scheduling Procedures / Examination Guide (Idaho PSI Candidate Bulletin), Effective 7/9/2026. Check the bulletin before test day: fees and rules can change.