ICC Residential Electrician Exam Day (R18): Pearson VUE, Your Two Books, and Pacing 3 Hours

ICC Residential Electrician Exam Day (R18): What to Expect

ICC gives the Standard Residential Electrician exam (R18) at Pearson VUE test centers. The fee is $120. Here is what the day looks like.

Before you go

• Confirm the series with your jurisdiction. ICC gives this exam on four NEC editions: F (2014), G (2017), T (2020) and R (2023). R18 is the 2023 series. Your city or county decides which it accepts, so check before you book.
• Read ICC's National Contractor/Trades candidate bulletin for the current ID, arrival and rescheduling rules.
• Use the 2023 NEC. It is the edition R18 is written on. If you studied on an older book, check the load-calculation tables in what is on the exam; some were renumbered.

Open book: two references

The exam is written against two references:

• NFPA 70, 2023 edition (the NEC), and
• Ugly's Electrical Reference, in any edition.

ICC lists the 2023 NEC Handbook and tab set as a combination, and allows any bound, copyrighted book at the test site, but these two are the ones the questions come from. Being allowed the books does not mean you have time to read them. Know the NEC's layout well enough to go straight to the right article and table, and know what is in Ugly's so you reach for it only when it is faster.

The questions

Every question is multiple choice with four options and one correct answer. There are 60 questions in 3 hours.

Pacing

That is 3 minutes per question.

• Answer the ones you know quickly and bank the time for lookups and load calculations.
• Do not let one long lookup eat ten minutes. Make your best choice and move on.
• Answer every question.
• Check the clock at the halfway mark: about 30 done at 1 hour 30 minutes.

Scoring and after

You need 70% to pass: 42 of 60. If you do not pass, you must wait 10 days before you can retest.

Passing earns an ICC certification, not a license. Whatever license or registration follows, and its renewal, comes from your jurisdiction.

Before you go

Sit a full-length practice exam first. Our free practice test gives you 10 questions on the 2023 NEC, and the full exam prep has a timed full-length practice exam weighted like the ICC outline, with every answer citing its NEC section. For eligibility and who accepts the exam, see ICC Residential Electrician requirements.