What's on the Alabama Electrical Contractor Exam? All 25 Areas and the 2026 NEC Switch

What's on the Alabama Electrical Contractor Exam?

The Alabama Electrical Contractor exam is 110 questions in 300 minutes, and you need 75% to pass. Prov publishes how many questions come from each of 25 areas: 80 technical and 30 business and law.

The technical outline (80 questions)

These counts come from section 5.2 of Prov's candidate bulletin, document AL CIB 2026.10.31. We split the table in two and sorted each half by count; the bulletin lists all 25 areas together in a different order.

These are the same 14 areas as the journeyman exam, with slightly different weights. The contractor exam has one more question each in Grounding and Bonding; Service, Feeders, and Branch Circuits; Overcurrent Protection; and Electrical Power. It has two fewer in Raceways and Boxes and in Special Occupancies and Equipment.

The business and law outline (30 questions)

These 30 questions cover the same 11 areas as the separate Business & Law exam, which is why state Contractor candidates do not take that exam too.

Which references?

The bulletin lists four, all open book:

• NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code
• American Electrician's Handbook, 17th edition
• NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, 13th or 14th edition
• Alabama Supplement to the Contractors Guide, 2014, sold by Prov

The bulletin does not say how many questions come from each book.

Where the licensing and lien questions come from

No statute or rule chapter is listed as a reference. The Alabama law content reaches you through the 2014 Supplement. But the Board's rules (Ala. Admin. Code 303-X) were replaced on February 14, 2026, so the Supplement predates the rules now in force, and Prov does not say which one its questions follow.

Our Alabama law questions come from the law as it stands now: the Alabama Electrical Contractors Act (Code of Ala. 34-36), the Board's rules effective February 14, 2026, and the mechanics' and materialmen's lien statute (Code of Ala. 35-11-210 to 234). Where the Supplement and current law differ, we follow current law. Our business questions are written from the NASCLA guide, 13th edition.

Examples of what the current text says:

• Licensing: the license is unlimited in voltage and bid requirements (303-X-3-.02(3)); the Board can impose a fine of up to $5,000 (34-36-6), which the rules set per violation (303-X-6-.08); if the contractor in responsible charge leaves a business, the contractor and the business must notify the Board within 5 days, and the business must stop contracting until a new contractor is approved (303-X-3-.09).
• Filing deadlines: a lien is lost unless the verified statement is filed with the probate judge within six months by an original contractor, 30 days by a journeyman or day laborer, and four months by everyone else, counted from the last work or material (35-11-215).
• Notice: everyone except the original contractor must give the owner written notice of the claim before filing (35-11-218).
• Suit: an action to enforce the lien must start within six months after the whole debt matures (35-11-221).

Which NEC edition?

• The current bulletin lists the 2023 NEC. The October 31, 2026 bulletin names that edition and does not mention a change.
• The Board has voted to move to the 2026 NEC. On June 2, 2026, its Education Committee voted to set go-live of the 2026 NEC for testing on January 1, 2027. The Board accepted that on June 3, 2026.
• The transition is not spelled out. Nothing published says whether candidates approved in 2026 who test in 2027 stay on the 2023 edition.

If your test date is near the switch, call the Board at (334) 679-1020. Older and newer editions are always permitted in the room, so being allowed to bring a book doesn't tell you which edition your questions follow. The journeyman topics article has examples of rules that changed between the two editions.

Where the weight is

• Technical is 73% of the exam. 80 of 110 questions.
• Wiring is the core. Conductors and Cables; Service, Feeders, and Branch Circuits; and Raceways and Boxes add up to 28 questions. Add grounding and overcurrent and you reach 43.
• Money is the biggest business block. Estimating, Payroll and Employment Taxes, and Financial Management are 12 of the 30.
• Alabama-specific law is 5 questions. Licensing Laws (4) and Lien Laws (1).
• The small technical areas add up. Electrical Power, Lighting, Low Voltage, Illuminated Signs, and Fire Detection and Alarm Systems total 12 questions.

A study plan built on the weights

1. Settle your edition first, and confirm with the Board if you are close to January 1, 2027.
2. Start with the 28 wiring questions, then grounding and bonding and overcurrent protection.
3. Learn the American Electrician's Handbook's layout as well as the NEC.
4. Work the business areas by count: estimating, payroll taxes and financial management first.
5. Read the licensing and lien law, especially the filing periods and notice rules above.
6. Cover motors, safety, special occupancies and the small areas in proportion to their counts.
7. Sit a timed, full-length exam. 110 questions in 300 minutes is about 2 minutes 45 seconds each.

Try our free sample test, or see the full exam prep, where NEC questions are checked against both the 2023 and 2026 editions and show citations for both. For eligibility, see Alabama Electrical Contractor requirements, and for the day itself, exam day.