Master Electrician Practice Test
A timed simulation built to the published master content outline, with its heavier calculation and service-load weighting.
310 questions · free · no sign-up
- Master-level weighting: services, motors and plan reading
- Both scored portions, each passed separately
- Weakest-topic-first breakdown after every attempt
- Questions
- 70 + 30
- Time
- 150 + 170 min
- Pass mark
- 70%
- Open book
- Yes
What the master exam demands that the journeyman exam does not
The master electrician exam is not a harder version of the journeyman exam; it is a differently weighted one, with far more of the marks sitting in service and feeder load calculations and in plan reading. A candidate who passed the journeyman exam on strong code-navigation skills can be caught out by that shift.
The clearest illustration is the Calculations portion. At journeyman level, Services and Service Equipment accounts for 4 of 24 scored items. At master level it accounts for 8 of 30 — more than a quarter of the whole portion. Motors and Generators triples from 2 items to 6. Meanwhile the subject areas that carried the journeyman calculations portion, such as wiring methods and special occupancies, shrink.
On the knowledge side, Definitions, Theory, and Plans more than doubles from 3 scored items to 7, and Plan Reading is named within it. Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means triples from 1 item to 3. The master exam expects you to read a drawing and to reason about a whole installation, not just to look up a rule.
| Portion | Master | Journeyman |
|---|---|---|
| NEC Knowledge items (scored) | 75 (70) | 59 (56) |
| NEC Knowledge time | 150 min | 130 min |
| Calculations items (scored) | 33 (30) | 26 (24) |
| Calculations time | 170 min | 110 min |
| Pass mark, each portion | 70% | 70% |
Examination fee is $78 for both portions. Source: the TDLR electrician examination page and its PSI candidate information bulletin.
The published master content outline
Subject areas and scored item counts as TDLR publishes them. Both lists sum exactly to the scored totals, which is how we verified them.
NEC Knowledge portion — 70 scored items
| Subject area | Items |
|---|---|
| Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems | 11 |
| Branch Circuit Conductors | 11 |
| Electrical Equipment and Devices | 8 |
| Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions | 8 |
| Definitions, Theory, and Plans | 7 |
| Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials | 7 |
| Motors and Generators | 7 |
| Electrical Feeders | 4 |
| Renewable Energy Technologies | 4 |
| Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means | 3 |
Calculations portion — 30 scored items
| Subject area | Items |
|---|---|
| Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems | 8 |
| Motors and Generators | 6 |
| Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors | 4 |
| Electrical Feeders | 3 |
| Calculations and Theory | 2 |
| Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials | 2 |
| Electrical Equipment and Devices | 2 |
| Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means | 1 |
| Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions | 1 |
| Renewable Energy Technologies | 1 |
Where to concentrate for the master exam
- Service and feeder load calculations, first and hardest. Eight of thirty calculations items. Know the standard method end to end and the optional method's 100 percent of the first 10 kVA plus 40 percent of the remainder, and know when each applies. Practise load calculations.
- Motor circuits, all four calculations. Six of thirty. Conductors at 125 percent of table current, the branch device from the percentage table, the disconnect at 115 percent, and the overload from nameplate current. Practise motor circuits.
- Transformers and separately derived systems. Full-load current on both windings, kVA sizing, and why a transformer secondary needs its own system bonding jumper and grounding electrode connection. Practise transformer calculations.
- Plan reading. Seven knowledge items sit in the subject area that contains it. Read one-lines, symbol legends and panel schedules until they are quick. Practise blueprint reading.
- Grounding and bonding. The two sizing tables are different and easy to confuse: the grounding electrode conductor is keyed to service conductor size, the equipment grounding conductor to device rating. Practise grounding and bonding.
Topic practice for master-level work
The topic pages explain the method before they test you on it.
- Electrical TheoryConductors and insulators, AC and DC, frequency, power factor, and the behaviour that every other calculation rests on.20 practice questions
- Ohm's LawSolve for voltage, current, resistance and power from any two known values, the way you will on the exam.18 practice questions
- Series and Parallel CircuitsTotal resistance, current division, voltage division, and why a parallel branch lowers total resistance.16 practice questions
- Electrical CalculationsThe arithmetic the calculations portion is built on: percentages, three-phase factors, kVA and unit conversion.14 practice questions
- Wire Sizing and AmpacityAmpacity tables, termination temperature limits, ambient correction and conductor-count adjustment.20 practice questions
- Conduit FillFill percentages, conductor areas and picking the smallest trade size that complies.12 practice questions
- Voltage DropThe circular-mil method, single-phase versus three-phase, and the 3% and 5% recommendations.14 practice questions
- Load CalculationsDwelling and commercial service loads, demand factors, range demand and the optional method.20 practice questions
- Grounding and BondingGrounding electrode conductors, equipment grounding conductors, electrodes and the effective fault path.18 practice questions
- TransformersTurns ratios, full-load current, kVA sizing and the difference between wye and delta secondaries.14 practice questions
- Motors and Motor ControlsTable full-load current versus nameplate, conductor sizing, overload protection and control circuits.18 practice questions
- Electrical SafetyOSHA Subpart S: lockout/tagout, approach distances, working space, GFCI and qualified-person rules.20 practice questions
- NEC RequirementsDefinitions, GFCI and AFCI, receptacle spacing, working space and how to navigate the Code quickly.18 practice questions
- Electrical Diagrams and SymbolsRead symbols, one-lines and ladder logic, and tell a series circuit from a parallel one at a glance.12 practice questions
Master electrician exam questions and answers
How is the master electrician exam different from the journeyman exam?
It is longer and weighted differently rather than simply harder. The Texas master NEC Knowledge portion is 75 items with 70 scored in 150 minutes, against 59 items with 56 scored in 130 minutes at journeyman level. The Calculations portion is 33 items with 30 scored in 170 minutes, against 26 items with 24 scored in 110 minutes. The master outline also roughly doubles the Services and Service Equipment weighting on the calculations portion, from 4 items to 8, and adds plan reading.
How many questions are on the master electrician exam?
In Texas, 75 items on the NEC Knowledge portion of which 70 are scored, and 33 on the Calculations portion of which 30 are scored. Each portion is passed separately at 70 percent. The National Standard master outline published for the ICC-family exams is 100 questions in five hours.
What does the master exam weight most heavily?
On the NEC Knowledge portion, Services and Service Equipment and Branch Circuit Conductors are the largest blocks at 11 scored items each out of 70. On the Calculations portion, Services and Service Equipment dominates with 8 of 30 items, followed by Motors and Generators with 6. If your service and feeder load calculations are not solid, the master calculations portion will be difficult.
Does the master exam test plan reading?
Yes. The Texas master NEC Knowledge outline lists Definitions, Theory, and Plans as a subject area with 7 scored items, and Plan Reading is named within it. The journeyman outline has the same subject area but only 3 items. The National Standard master outline makes it explicit too, naming its first content area General Knowledge and Plan Reading at 12 percent.
Do I need a master licence to be an electrical contractor?
In Texas, an electrical contractor licence requires no examination, but a contractor must designate a Master Electrician of Record. So the master exam is in practice the route to contracting there. North Carolina instead examines the contractor directly, with licence classifications capped by project value.
How long should I allow to prepare for the master exam?
That depends on how recently you passed the journeyman exam and how much calculation work you do day to day. What we would suggest regardless is to use the topic breakdown after each practice exam to direct your study: take a timed simulation early to find out where you actually stand, then work the weakest topics rather than reading the Code front to back.
Is the master electrician exam open book?
Yes in Texas, with the same rules as the journeyman exam: any soft-bound edition of the National Electrical Code, no loose-leaf, spiral-bound or ring-bound copies, and candidates bring their own book. Electronic notepads are provided.
Practice exams and question banks
- Electrician practice testStart here: mixed practice drawn from every topic, with worked explanations.
- Journeyman electrician practice testTimed simulation built to the Texas journeyman content outline, in its two scored portions.
- Electrical contractor practice test100 questions in 6 hours, matching the North Carolina contractor exam format.
- NEC practice testCode navigation, definitions, GFCI and AFCI, working space and receptacle rules.
- Electrical calculations practiceNumeric-entry exercises with tolerances and step-by-step solutions.
- Electrician exam questionsBrowse the whole question bank by topic, difficulty and source.