What's on the Arkansas Residential Master Electrician Exam? NEC Chapters 1 to 7

What's on the Arkansas Residential Master Electrician Exam?

Prov's bulletin organizes the residential master exam by NEC chapter, from Chapter 1 through Chapter 7, plus general theory and safety. It is 60 questions in 180 minutes, and the pass mark is 70%.

The outline (60 items)

These are Prov's published counts. The bulletin names the areas "NEC-Chapter 1" and so on; the chapter titles in parentheses are the NEC's own. Prov lists no article ranges or subtopics, so the article notes below are our mapping. Chapter 8 (communications) does not appear.

Where the weight is

• Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are 35 of 60 items, nearly 60% of the exam, and they are close to evenly split.
• Chapter 2 (13): branch circuits (210), feeders (215), load calculations (220), services (230), overcurrent protection (240) and grounding and bonding (250). For a residential master, dwelling service and feeder calculations are central.
• Chapter 3 (12): wiring methods and materials. Box fill (314), the cable articles used in dwellings, raceways, and conductor ampacity in Article 310.
• Chapter 4 (10): equipment for general use. Cords, receptacles and switches, panelboards, luminaires, appliances, and heating and air-conditioning equipment.
• General Theory (9): the largest area outside the Code chapters, and the one the book cannot answer. Ohm's law, power, and series and parallel circuits.
• Chapters 5, 6 and 7 (10 together): special occupancies, special equipment such as pools and solar, and special conditions such as standby power and limited-energy circuits.

How it differs from the residential journeyman exam

The journeyman exam is almost half Chapter 2. The master exam asks you to know the whole residential Code: wiring methods and equipment at least triple in weight, theory nearly doubles, and Chapter 7 appears for the first time. If you passed the residential journeyman exam by knowing Chapter 2 well, that will not be enough here.

No law or business section

There is no Arkansas law, rules or business area. Arkansas's NEC amendments for dwellings (AFCI and GFCI exemptions, island and peninsula receptacles) are part of the adopted code, but the bulletin lists only NFPA 70, 2023 and does not reference them.

On the 2023 NEC

The exam is keyed to the 2023 NEC. Arkansas adopted the 2020 NEC under its earlier rules and now adopts the 2026 NEC, and Prov has announced no exam switch. Prov's rule that older and newer editions are "always permitted" lets you bring a different book, but the answers are 2023's. Some 2020-to-2023 moves that land in this outline:

A study plan built on the counts

1. Chapter 2. Thirteen items. Practice dwelling service and feeder calculations until they are routine, and know Article 250.
2. Chapter 3. Twelve items. Box fill, cable rules, ampacity and conduit fill.
3. Chapter 4. Ten items. Learn the structure of Articles 400 through 440 so you can find equipment rules fast.
4. General Theory. Nine items, no book. Drill the formulas.
5. Chapters 5 to 7, Chapter 1 and Safety. Sixteen items between them; cover each in proportion.
6. Tab and highlight a 2023 NEC. Permanent tabs and highlighting only; no movable tabs, Post-its or notes.
7. 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, and the full exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, with every answer explained. For the day itself, see Arkansas Residential Master exam day.