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Virginia Journeyman Electrician Practice Exam

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Virginia Journeyman Electrician licensing exam is 70 questions, 210 minutes, and requires a 70% to pass. It pulls from 24 topic areas covering NEC 2020 code, Virginia contractor regulations, and NFPA 70E electrical safety standards.

This practice exam gives you two options:

Free practice exam — 10 questions per attempt, drawn from a limited pool. You can retake it as many times as you want. Use it to get a feel for question style and format before committing to full prep.

Full practice exam — 70 questions, 210-minute time limit, structured exactly like the real exam. Questions are pulled from a pool of 386+ items, so each attempt gives you a different mix. No two sessions are identical. This is the tool for serious preparation — it shows you where your knowledge is solid and where you're losing points before it counts.

Start free. When you're serious, go full.

What You'll Be Tested On

Standards of Practice (3 items) — Virginia contractor license classifications (Class A, B, C) and their contract value thresholds. You need to know what triggers each class, what constitutes prohibited acts for unlicensed contracting, and the grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation. Exemptions, application requirements, and the designated employee's responsibilities also appear here.

Standards of Conduct (2 items) — The board's disciplinary authority. Know the specific prohibited acts: negligence or incompetence in licensed work, misrepresentation, false promises, and aiding or abetting unlicensed contractors. Criminal conviction reporting requirements are tested too.

Renewal and Reinstatement (2 items) — Electrician licenses run on a three-year term. Renewal requires three hours of continuing education focused on code changes. The renewal fee is $160; the reinstatement fee is $210. You have 30 days after expiration to reinstate, and 24 months maximum before you must reapply entirely. Know that you are obligated to renew regardless of whether you received a notice.

Definitions (1 item) — Article 100 definitions are fair game. Grounding and bonding terminology, branch circuit types, overcurrent protection terms, location classifications (damp, dry, wet), and service/feeder terminology. Per NEC 2020, Article 100, terms like service point, continuous load, and externally operable carry precise meanings — and the exam uses them precisely.

Qualification for Licensure (1 item) — Education and experience combinations for journeyman licensure in Virginia, including minimum age, verification of experience, and acceptable vocational training documentation. Exemptions from examination and the role of continuing education credit toward formal training hours.

Revocation of Licensure (1 item) — Board authority to revoke, suspend, or deny renewal. Know what triggers revocation, what code violations or misrepresentation can do to a permit, and what notification is required when another jurisdiction acts against your license.

General Electrical Knowledge (3 items) — NEC definitions, branch circuit types and ratings, overcurrent protection device application, grounding and bonding concepts, service entrance conductors, and GFCI/AFCI protection requirements. This is foundational territory that overlaps with several other topic areas.

Requirements for Electrical Installations (2 items) — Equipment approval and listing per NEC 2020, Section 110.13(A) and 110.13(B). Working space and clearance dimensions. Conductor termination and temperature limitations. Marking requirements for equipment and disconnecting means. Guarding of live parts.

Electrical-Electronic Fundamentals (2 items) — Grounding electrode system types and sizing, equipment grounding conductor identification and sizing, conductor ampacity and temperature limits, and working space requirements.

Branch Circuits (4 items) — One of the heavier sections. GFCI requirements by location — know NEC 2020, Section 210.8(A)(6) for garages. AFCI requirements for dwelling units per NEC 2020, Section 210.12(A). Branch circuit ratings for 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50-ampere circuits per Sections 210.19(A)(3) and 210.20(A). Required circuits in dwellings. Multiwire branch circuit rules including disconnecting means under Sections 210.4(A) and 210.4(B).

Service and Feeders (5 items) — Service disconnecting means location and maximum number. Service-entrance conductor sizing. Feeder disconnecting means for separately supplied buildings. Grounding of service-supplied AC systems. Know NEC 2020, Section 230.2 for the number of services permitted and its exceptions.

Grounding and Bonding (6 items) — The heaviest single topic on this exam. Grounding electrode system types, installation, and sizing. Equipment grounding conductor types and sizing per NEC, Section 250.118(4) and 250.118(6). Bonding requirements for services, piping systems, and structural metal per Sections 250.104(A)(1) and 250.104(B). Main bonding jumper requirements. Separately derived system grounding per Section 250.30(A)(1). Effective ground-fault current path requirements per NEC 2020, Section 250.4(A)(5).

Conductors and Cables (7 items) — Ampacity tables, ambient temperature correction, and adjustment factors for more than three current-carrying conductors. Conductor insulation types by location. Minimum sizes, stranding requirements, and parallel conductor rules. Conductor identification per NEC 2020, Section 200.6(A) and 200.6(D). Marking requirements.

Raceways and Boxes (7 items) — Box fill calculations, pull box sizing for straight and angle pulls, securing and supporting requirements for EMT, RMC, IMC, FMC, and PVC. Physical protection through wood members. Underground cover depths. Uses permitted and not permitted for each raceway type — EMT rules per NEC, Section 358.12; FMC restrictions per Section 348.12.

Special Occupancies (3 items) — Hazardous location classifications for commercial garages (NEC, Section 511.3), aircraft hangars (Section 513.3), and motor fuel dispensing facilities (NEC, Table 514.3(B)(1)). Sealing at Class I location boundaries. Essential electrical systems for health care facilities under Section 517.17(B). GFCI requirements in special occupancies.

Special Equipment (2 items) — Pool, spa, and hot tub GFCI and bonding requirements per NEC, Section 680.34. Receptacle placement distances. Elevator wiring methods under Sections 620.3 and 620.11(A). Overcurrent protection for arc welders per Section 630.12(A).

Electrical Signs and Outline Lighting (1 item) — Neon secondary-circuit wiring above and below 1000V, transformer ratings, ground-fault protection per Section 600.41(C), and disconnecting means requirements.

Motors and Controls (5 items) — The 125% rule for single-motor branch-circuit conductors per NEC 2020, Section 430.22. Motor overload protection and trip percentages per Section 430.32(A)(1). Disconnecting means requirements per Section 430.43. Multiple motor conductor sizing per Section 430.24. Controller ratings.

Utilization Equipment (4 items) — Luminaire installation by location. Appliance disconnecting means per NEC, Section 422.31(A). Air-conditioning branch-circuit requirements per Sections 440.12(A)(1) and 440.22(A). Fixed electric space-heating branch-circuit sizing.

Lighting (2 items) — Luminaires in clothes closets — permitted types and clearances per Section 410.16(B) and 410.16(C)(1). Recessed luminaire thermal protection. Luminaire support methods. Wiring conductor temperature ratings.

General Low Voltage Requirements (1 item) — Low-voltage lighting system scope, listing requirements, secondary circuit grounding, and circuits under 50 volts per NEC, Section 720.7. Branch circuit supply requirements.

Communication Systems (1 item) — Grounding and bonding for communications cables per NEC, Section 800.53 and Section 805.48. Cable types by location. Separation from power conductors.

Fire Detection and Alarm Systems (1 item) — NPLFA vs. PLFA circuit classification. Overcurrent protection for NPLFA conductors per NEC, Section 760.41(B). Cable support and separation requirements.

Safety (4 items) — Lockout/tagout program requirements under NFPA 70E, Section 120.4(A). Establishing an electrically safe work condition per Section 120.5(A)(4). Arc flash risk assessment and boundary per Section 130.5(G). PPE selection and arc flash categories per Section 130.5(E)(1). Shock approach boundaries (limited and restricted) per NFPA 70E, Table 130.4(E)(a). Energized work permit requirements per Section 130.2(C).

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Conductors and Cables

You are inspecting a job site where an electrician is using a white-insulated conductor in a cable assembly as an ungrounded (hot) conductor for a single-pole 3-way switch loop in a 120V circuit. What must be done to comply with code requirements?

A. This is always prohibited; a different colored conductor must be used
B. The conductor must be permanently reidentified at its terminations and at each visible and accessible location with a color other than white, gray, or green, and it may only be used as the supply to the switch
C. No reidentification is needed as long as it is in a cable assembly
D. The conductor only needs to be reidentified at the panel, not at the switch

Correct Answer: B

A white conductor in a cable assembly can be used as an ungrounded conductor — but only if it is properly reidentified. Per NEC 2020, Section 200.7(C)(1), reidentification must happen at every termination and at every visible and accessible location, using tape, paint, or another effective means in any color except white, gray, or green. The additional restriction matters: this reidentified conductor goes to the switch as the supply conductor only, not as the return.

Question 2 — Raceways and Boxes

Where raceways or conduits through which moisture may contact live parts are installed underground, what must be done at the ends of those raceways?

A. They must be equipped with expansion fittings
B. They must be sealed or plugged at either or both ends
C. They must be bonded with a separate bonding jumper
D. They must terminate in a weatherproof junction box only

Correct Answer: B

Underground raceways create a path for moisture to reach live parts. Per NEC, Section 300.5(G), conduits and raceways through which moisture may contact live parts shall be sealed or plugged at either or both ends. Spare or unused raceways must also be sealed. Expansion fittings and bonding jumpers serve different purposes — don't let the distractors pull you toward unrelated requirements.

Question 3 — Grounding and Bonding

You are installing a separately derived system with multiple transformers in a large commercial building and plan to use a common grounding electrode conductor. What is the minimum size of the common grounding electrode conductor if it is of the wire type and made of copper?

A. 4 AWG
B. 2 AWG
C. 1/0 AWG
D. 3/0 AWG

Correct Answer: D

When multiple separately derived systems share a single grounding electrode conductor, the sizing rule is strict. Per NEC, Section 250.30(A)(6)(a)(1), a common grounding electrode conductor of the wire type must be no smaller than 3/0 AWG copper or 250 kcmil aluminum. Smaller sizes — 4 AWG, 2 AWG, and 1/0 AWG — all fall short of this minimum.

How to Read Your Score

The passing threshold is 70% — that's 49 out of 70 questions correct on the real exam.

Your first practice attempt is a baseline, not a grade. Most people underperform on attempt one because they haven't identified their weak topics yet. That's exactly what the score breakdown is for.

After each full practice session, look at your results by topic. If you're scoring well on Safety and Motors but dropping points on Grounding and Bonding, that's where your study time goes next. Grounding and Bonding alone accounts for 6 exam items — the largest single topic. A few missed questions there can move your total score meaningfully.

Scoring in the low 70s on practice is not comfortable margin. The real exam has a fixed pool; your practice pool has 386+ questions, so you'll see material that won't all show up on exam day. That variance cuts both ways. If you're consistently hitting 80%+ across multiple practice attempts with different question mixes, you're in solid shape. Below 75% consistently means there are gaps worth closing before you sit.

Retake the full practice exam multiple times. The pool is large enough that you'll see new questions each time.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Grounding and bonding arithmetic. Sizing the main bonding jumper, grounding electrode conductor, or equipment grounding conductor requires you to pull the right table and apply the right rule. Confusing the grounding electrode conductor size for a single system with the common conductor rule for multiple separately derived systems — as tested under NEC, Section 250.30(A)(6)(a)(1) — is a common error.

Branch circuit rules for specific locations. GFCI and AFCI requirements vary by location and occupancy type. Candidates mix up which locations require GFCI under Section 210.8(A)(6) versus AFCI under Section 210.12(A). Know both sets cold.

Motor branch-circuit sizing. The 125% rule under NEC 2020, Section 430.22 applies to single-motor conductor sizing. Multiple-motor circuits use Section 430.24. Applying the wrong rule to the wrong scenario costs points.

Conductor identification rules. White conductor reidentification requirements under NEC 2020, Section 200.7(C)(1) trip candidates who think "cable assembly" exempts them from any markings. It does not.

Virginia-specific regulation details. Candidates focused entirely on NEC often overlook the licensing rules. Mixing up renewal fees ($160) and reinstatement fees ($210), or misremembering the 30-day reinstatement window versus the 24-month maximum, produces wrong answers on questions that have nothing to do with code.

Raceway rules for specific types. EMT, FMC, PVC, and LFMC all have their own permitted and prohibited uses. Sections 358.12 and 348.12 set restrictions candidates frequently confuse. Read the question carefully — it will name a specific raceway type for a reason.

Time management on calculation questions. With 210 minutes for 70 questions, you have 3 minutes per question. Box fill calculations and pull box sizing require real work. Don't let one complex calculation eat time that costs you easier points later.

Exam Quick Facts