What's on the Arkansas Master Electrician Exam? All 10 Areas and How to Study Them
The Prov outline for the Arkansas master electrician exam: 60 items, with grounding and services at 10 each and only 5 on calculations, all on the 2023 NEC. How it differs from the journeyman outline, and a study plan built on the counts.
Contents
What's on the Arkansas Master Electrician Exam?
Prov's candidate bulletin for the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners publishes the master outline as 10 areas with an item count for each. It is 60 questions in 180 minutes, and the pass mark is 70%.
The outline (60 items)
| Area | Items |
|---|---|
| Grounding and Bonding | 10 |
| Services, Feeders, Branch Circuits and Overcurrent Protection | 10 |
| Utilization and General Use Equipment | 8 |
| Raceways and Enclosures | 6 |
| Conductors | 6 |
| General Knowledge of the Electrical Trade and Calculations | 5 |
| Special Occupancies and Equipment | 5 |
| Motors and Controls | 4 |
| Low Voltage Circuits, Including Alarms and Communications | 3 |
| Safety | 3 |
The counts are Prov's published numbers. The services area is printed as "Service, Feeders, Branch Feeders and Overcurrent Protection"; "branch feeders" almost certainly means branch circuits. Prov gives no NEC article ranges for any area, so the Code references below are our mapping, not Prov's.
How it differs from the journeyman exam
The two exams share the same 10 area names, but the weights move:
| Area | Journeyman | Master |
|---|---|---|
| Grounding and Bonding | 6 | 10 |
| Services, Feeders, Branch Circuits, OCP | 8 | 10 |
| Utilization and General Use Equipment | 6 | 8 |
| Special Occupancies and Equipment | 4 | 5 |
| Low Voltage, Alarms and Communications | 2 | 3 |
| General Knowledge and Calculations | 9 | 5 |
| Raceways and Enclosures | 8 | 6 |
| Conductors | 7 | 6 |
| Motors and Controls | 7 | 4 |
| Safety | 3 | 3 |
Yes, the master exam has fewer calculation items than the journeyman exam. It is unusual, but it is what Prov publishes. The master exam leans toward design-level Code knowledge: grounding systems, services and feeders, and equipment.
Where the weight is
- Grounding and services are 20 of 60 items, a third of the exam.
- Grounding and Bonding (10) is Article 250 from end to end: system grounding, the grounding electrode system, bonding jumpers and equipment grounding conductor sizing (Tables 250.66 and 250.122).
- Services through overcurrent protection (10) is Chapter 2: Articles 210, 215, 220, 230 and 240. Service and feeder sizing questions often pull in Article 220 too.
- Utilization and General Use Equipment (8) is Chapter 4: appliances, heating, luminaires, panelboards and similar equipment.
- Special Occupancies (5) is Chapter 5 and the special-equipment articles of Chapter 6.
- Motors (4) is lighter here than on the journeyman exam, but Article 430 still deserves an afternoon.
No law or business section
There is no Arkansas law, rules or business area, and no rule book is listed as a reference. Every item is electrical knowledge or the Code.
On the 2023 NEC
Every item is keyed to NFPA 70, 2023 edition. Arkansas's own code has moved past it: the Board's rules adopted the 2020 NEC until the current rules adopted the 2026 NEC. The bulletin gives no date for moving the exam.
Prov's bulletin also says older and newer editions are "always permitted" in the room, which is a trap if you bring the wrong one. The answer key is still 2023. Some 2020-to-2023 moves:
| Topic | 2020 NEC | 2023 NEC (your exam) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-dwelling general lighting unit loads | Table 220.12 | Table 220.42(A) |
| Lighting load demand factors | Table 220.42 | Table 220.45 |
| Non-dwelling receptacle demand factors | Table 220.44 | Table 220.47 |
| Class 1 circuits | Article 725 | Articles 722 and 724 |
A study plan built on the counts
- Article 250 first. Ten items. Know the grounding electrode conductor and equipment grounding conductor tables cold, and where the bonding rules for services sit.
- Chapter 2 next. Ten items on services, feeders, branch circuits and overcurrent protection. Practice service and feeder sizing with Article 220.
- Chapter 4. Eight items on utilization and general-use equipment.
- Chapter 3 and Article 310. Raceways and conductors together are 12 items.
- Cover the rest in proportion: calculations (5), special occupancies (5), motors (4), low voltage (3) and safety (3).
- Tab and highlight your 2023 NEC. Permanent tabs and highlighting are allowed; movable tabs, Post-its and handwritten notes are not.
- Sit a timed, full-length exam. 60 questions in 180 minutes is 3 minutes each.
Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions on the 2023 NEC. The full exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, with every answer explained. For the day itself, see Arkansas Master Electrician exam day.
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