ICC Master Electrician Exam (R16): Requirements, Cost, and Who Accepts It
What the ICC Standard Master Electrician exam (R16) takes: no ICC experience rule, the $120 fee, the 75% pass mark, the four NEC-edition series, which cities and counties accept it, and why your jurisdiction sets the license rules.
Contents
ICC Master Electrician Exam (R16): Requirements and Who Accepts It
The International Code Council (ICC) writes and gives the Standard Master Electrician exam, but ICC is not a licensing agency. It does not issue electrician licenses. Each city, county or state decides whether it accepts an ICC exam, which one, and on which edition of the NEC. R16 is the master exam written on the 2023 NEC.
Who accepts it
No state uses R16 or R17 as its statewide exam. Acceptance is local, and it varies:
- Naperville, Illinois accepts ICC Standard Master Electrician certification in lieu of its own municipal testing.
- The Town of Amherst, New York names the G-series (2017 NEC) exam and accepts results on the 2017, 2020 and 2023 editions.
Several states give their own versions of the ICC electrician exams instead. If you are licensing in one of them, study for that version:
- Kentucky: its master exam (701) matches R16 except that it passes at 70%. See Kentucky electrician exams.
- Wyoming: see Wyoming electrician exams.
- South Dakota: see South Dakota electrician exams.
Which edition? The four series
ICC offers the master exam on four NEC editions, each with its own series letter:
| Series | NEC edition |
|---|---|
| F | 2014 |
| G | 2017 |
| T | 2020 |
| R | 2023 |
R16 is the 2023 series. ICC has not announced a 2026 NEC version. Your jurisdiction may name one series or accept several, so ask which series it wants before you book. Booking the wrong edition can mean a passing score your city or county will not take.
Eligibility and experience
ICC sets no experience requirement to sit the exam. Experience hours, application paperwork, the license itself and its renewal all come from the jurisdiction that accepts the exam. Confirm those rules with your city or county before you book.
If you are not at the master level yet, see ICC Journeyman Electrician requirements.
The exam
ICC gives R16 at Pearson VUE test centers for $120:
- 100 multiple-choice questions in 5 hours, four options and one correct answer each,
- open book with the 2023 NEC (NFPA 70) and Ugly's Electrical Reference (any edition),
- 75% to pass, higher than the journeyman exam's 70%, and after a failed attempt you wait 10 days to retest.
What is on the exam breaks down the nine-area outline.
Fees
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| ICC exam | $120 |
| License, if your jurisdiction issues one | Set by the jurisdiction |
Licensed in another place?
An ICC certification is national, but a license is local. Whether one jurisdiction honors another's license, or an ICC result taken elsewhere, is that jurisdiction's call. Ask the licensing office directly rather than assuming a passing score transfers.
Getting ready
ICC does not publish exam pass rates. Try our free 10-question practice test on the 2023 NEC, see the full ICC Master Electrician exam prep, or compare every ICC electrician exam on the ICC electrician hub.
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