Start Practice Test

Texas Residential Appliance Installer — Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

The real Texas Residential Appliance Installer exam is 80 questions, 240 minutes, 70% to pass. It draws from 7 topic areas weighted by item count, and every question ties back to the NEC.

Two practice options are available:

• Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited pool. Retake it as many times as you like to get comfortable with question style and format before committing to more prep.
• Full practice exam (paid): 80 questions, 240-minute timer — identical format to the real test. Questions are drawn from a pool of 464+ items, so each attempt is a unique exam. No repeated question sets.

Start with the free exam to benchmark where you are, then use the full exam for serious, timed practice.

What You'll Be Tested On

Swimming Pool, Spas and Fountain Equipment — 18 items

The heaviest topic on this exam. Expect scenario-based questions covering pool motors and wiring methods (NEC 680.21(A)(1), NEC 680.21(A)(3)), pool luminaire installation and wet-niche requirements (NEC 680.23(A)(2), NEC 680.23(B)(2), NEC 680.23(F)(2)), equipotential bonding grids (NEC 680.26(B), NEC 680.26(B)(2)), and both horizontal and vertical clearance rules above water (NEC 680.9(A), Table 680.9(A), NEC 680.9(B)). Spa and hot tub rules appear under NEC 680.43(A)(1). Fountain equipment requirements pull from NEC 680.51(A). Clearance distances are frequently tested with exact numbers — memorize the tables, not just the concepts.

GFCI Protection and Equipment Grounding and Bonding — 15 items

Second-heaviest section. Know every GFCI-required location in a dwelling unit: NEC 210.8(A)(1) through NEC 210.8(A)(11) covers bathrooms, garages, basements, outdoors, kitchens, crawl spaces, and more. Exceptions matter — NEC 210.8(A) Exception No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 all appear in the question bank. Grounding conductor sizing (NEC 250.66 limits ground rod connections to 6 AWG copper maximum), bonding of metal water piping (NEC, Section 250.104(A)(1)), and equipotential bonding for pools (NEC 680.26(B)) are all fair game.

Electrical Equipment and Devices — 15 items

Covers receptacles, switches, appliances, and workspace clearance. Know Table 110.26(A)(1) condition categories for working clearance — the worked example below demonstrates how voltage and exposure conditions change the required distance. Appliance-specific rules include fixed storage water heaters (NEC, Section 422.13) and dishwasher flexible cord requirements (NEC, Section 422.16(B)(2)). Luminaire installation in closets is covered by NEC, Section 410.16(C) and NEC, Section 410.16(D). Receptacle replacement rules (NEC, Section 406.4(D)(2)(b)) and tamper-resistant requirements are also tested here.

Definitions, Calculations, and Theory — 12 items

Pure calculation and code literacy. Branch-circuit load calculations for dwelling units (NEC 210.19(A)(1)), feeder and service load calculations using demand factors (NEC, Section 220.82(B), NEC, Section 220.84), and demand factors for ranges and dryers (NEC, Section 220.54, NEC, Section 220.56, Table 220.56) all require working math on the exam. Know how to apply demand factors step by step — partial credit doesn't exist on a multiple-choice exam. The NEC's purpose and scope are covered under NEC 90.2(A), NEC 90.5(A), and NEC 90.3.

Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials — 10 items

Flexible cord rules dominate: permitted uses (NEC 400.10(A)(7)), prohibited uses (NEC 400.12, NEC 400.12(1), NEC 400.12(2)), ampacity (Table 400.5(A)(1)), and strain relief (NEC 400.17). Cable protection through wood members is covered under NEC 300.4(A)(1). Raceway fill uses Table 1, Chapter 9. Underground wiring depth requirements appear in NEC Table 300.5(A). Know conductor color coding rules: NEC 200.6(A), NEC 200.6(B), and NEC 200.7(C).

Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means — 5 items

Covers switch ratings and types (NEC, Section 404.14(B)), switch accessibility and height (NEC, Section 404.8(A)), service disconnect requirements (NEC, Section 230.79(C)), and overcurrent protection — standard ampere ratings and device selection. Dimmer and CO/ALR switch rules are tested. Five questions means you cannot afford to skip this section entirely.

Motors — 5 items

Motor branch-circuit conductor sizing requires Table 430.248 combined with NEC 430.22. Overload protection sizing uses NEC 430.32(A)(1). Short-circuit and ground-fault protection uses NEC 430.52 and Table 430.52. Disconnect location rules appear under NEC 430.102(A) and NEC 430.102(B). Five questions — all calculation-heavy, all requiring table lookups.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Swimming Pool, Spas and Fountain Equipment

Supervisory signals for fire pump alarms must be wired:
- A. As Class 1 circuits
- B. As Class 2 circuits
- C. As non-power-limited circuits
- D. Separately from normal fire alarm wiring

Correct Answer: A — Class 1 circuits

NEC 695.14(D) requires supervisory alarm signals for fire pumps to be wired as Class 1 circuits. Class 1 is the highest-reliability wiring classification — appropriate for systems where failure has life-safety consequences. Class 2 and non-power-limited circuits don't meet that standard here. Separate routing (D) is not what the code mandates.

Question 2 — GFCI Protection and Equipment Grounding and Bonding

What is the minimum grounding electrode conductor size to a ground rod for a 200A service?
- A. 4 AWG
- B. 6 AWG
- C. 2 AWG
- D. 1/0 AWG

Correct Answer: B — 6 AWG copper

NEC 250.66 sets the grounding electrode conductor size based on service entrance conductor size, but it caps the size required for a ground rod connection at 6 AWG copper. Larger service conductors do not require a larger conductor to a ground rod. Candidates frequently select 4 AWG or larger thinking service size drives the answer all the way — it doesn't, because the ground rod itself has a resistance limit that 6 AWG already satisfies.

Question 3 — Electrical Equipment and Devices

A 480V switchboard has exposed live parts front and rear. What is the minimum working clearance required?
- A. 3 ft
- B. 4 ft
- C. 5 ft
- D. 6 ft

Correct Answer: B — 4 ft

Table 110.26(A)(1) defines three conditions based on what is behind the worker. When exposed live parts exist on both sides — in front and behind — that is Condition 3. At 151–600V, Condition 3 requires 4 ft of working clearance. Condition 1 (insulated or no live parts opposite) requires only 3 ft at this voltage range, which is the most common wrong answer here.

How to Read Your Score

Passing requires 70% — 56 correct out of 80. A first practice attempt is a diagnostic, not a verdict. Use your score to locate weak topic areas, not to predict a pass or fail.

A topic-by-topic breakdown tells you exactly where to spend time. If you score below 70% on Swimming Pool, Spas and Fountain Equipment (18 items) or GFCI Protection (15 items), those two topics alone can sink your real exam — fix them first.

Scoring 70–75% on practice generally means you're close but not ready. The real exam pulls from a broader set of scenarios than any single practice session. A consistent 80%+ across multiple full-length attempts is a more reliable readiness signal. Scoring below 60% on a first attempt is normal — it means the free and full practice exams are working as intended by showing you exactly what you don't yet know.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Pool clearances and distances. Table 680.9(A) has specific horizontal and vertical numbers that candidates mix up. Guessing costs points here — memorize the table values.

GFCI exception misapplication. NEC 210.8(A) has three numbered exceptions. Confusing which locations they apply to — or applying an exception that doesn't exist for that location — is a consistent source of missed questions.

Demand factor calculation errors. Range and dryer calculations under NEC, Section 220.54 and Table 220.55 require a precise sequence. Skipping a step (forgetting to apply a column correction, or using the wrong number of units) produces a wrong answer even if you knew the formula.

Motor table misreads. Table 430.248 values for full-load current and Table 430.52 multipliers must be matched to the correct motor type. Using the wrong row or column is the most common motor-section error.

Time management on calculation questions. With 240 minutes for 80 questions, you have 3 minutes per question. Multi-step load calculations in the Definitions and Motors sections can run over that easily. Practice doing those calculations under time pressure, not just getting them right.

Exam Quick Facts