Alabama Journeyman Electrician Exam Day: Prov, Your Books, and Pacing 4 Hours

Alabama Journeyman Electrician Exam Day: What to Expect

Prov delivers the Alabama electrical exams for the Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors. You need Board approval before you can test. Here is what the day looks like.

Where you test

The bulletin lists 19 computer-based test centers in Alabama. You can also use any Prov center nationally, or test remotely through Examroom.ai. The exam is in English.

To cancel, give at least 3 days' notice or you forfeit the fee.

What you can bring

The exam is open book. Two references are listed for the journeyman exam:

• NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code
• American Electrician's Handbook, 17th edition

Ugly's Electrical References is not on the list for this exam.

Section 10.2 of the bulletin sets the rules for how your books can be prepared:

Allowed	Not allowed
Permanent tabs	Post-it notes
Pen highlighting	Handwritten notes
	Formula sheets
	Tom Henry or Kelly indexes
	Marking in your books during the exam

Get your tabs and highlighting done before exam day, since you can't mark your books once the exam starts.

Which NEC to bring

The bulletin says older and newer editions are always permitted in the room, but that doesn't settle which edition your questions are based on.

The October 31, 2026 bulletin lists the 2023 NEC. The Board has voted to move testing to the 2026 NEC on January 1, 2027. The current bulletin doesn't mention the switch, and nothing published says whether candidates approved in 2026 who test in 2027 stay on 2023. If your test date is near the switch, confirm with the Board at (334) 679-1020. See what is on the exam for more.

Calculator

Confirm this one before you go. The current bulletin doesn't mention calculators. The earlier bulletin and Prov's site FAQ said 4-function only, so that older guidance is the most specific we can point to, but it is not in the current document. Ask Prov or the Board what is allowed, and practice your load and theory math on a simple 4-function calculator in the meantime.

The clock

80 questions in 240 minutes (4 hours). The exam is computer-based, each question has 4 options, there is no penalty for guessing, and you can flag questions and return to them.

Pacing

That is 3 minutes per question, which gives you real time to look things up, but lookups across two books can still add up.

• Know both books before you go in. The areas with the most questions are Raceways and Boxes, Conductors and Cables, and General Electrical Knowledge.
• Answer every question. With no guessing penalty, a blank gains you nothing.
• Flag and move on. If a question is taking too long, choose your best answer, flag it and come back.
• Check the clock at the halfway mark: about 40 questions done at 2 hours.

Scoring

You need 75% to pass. The exam is graded on completion, and the result is forwarded to the Board.

The bulletin doesn't describe any unscored items in this exam's table, where the counts for the 14 areas add up to 80.

If you do not pass

• Wait 30 days before retesting.
• Get new Board approval for each attempt.
• Pay the $115 exam fee again.

Also remember that your application expires two years after approval. If you haven't passed and met the licensing requirements by then, you submit a new application.

For context, the state's sunset reports show pass rates of 68% in 2023, 66% in 2024 (through September 30) and 73% in FY2025 (through May 14, 2025). Those figures are unaudited and count attempts, including retakes.

Before you go

Sit a full-length, timed practice exam with your own books. Our free sample test gives you a feel for the questions, and the full exam prep lets you keep practicing. For eligibility, see Alabama Journeyman Electrician requirements.