What's on the Iowa Master Electrician Exam? All 8 Areas on the 2023 NEC
The PSI outline for the Iowa master electrician exam: 100 scored items across eight areas that follow the NEC's chapters, no state law section, the unamended 2023 NEC, how Iowa's 2026 HF 2800 changes fit in, and a study plan built on the weights.
Contents
What's on the Iowa Master Electrician Exam?
PSI's candidate bulletin for the Iowa Electrical Examining Board publishes the master outline as eight content areas with a percentage for each. The master exam has 100 scored items, so each percentage is also the item count. You need 70% to pass.
The outline (100 items)
| Area | % | Items |
|---|---|---|
| General Electrical Knowledge | 10 | 10 |
| Wiring and Protection | 25 | 25 |
| Wiring Methods and Materials | 20 | 20 |
| Equipment for General Use | 20 | 20 |
| Special Occupancies | 10 | 10 |
| Special Equipment | 5 | 5 |
| Special Conditions | 5 | 5 |
| Communication Systems | 5 | 5 |
There are also 10 unscored pretest items, with 30 extra minutes added for them. You will not know which ones they are.
The bulletin gives percentages only. It does not list NEC articles or sub-topics for any area. The area names do match the titles of NEC Chapters 2 through 8 (Wiring and Protection is Chapter 2, Wiring Methods and Materials is Chapter 3, and so on to Communication Systems in Chapter 8), so that is the most sensible way to study them, but the article mapping is our reading, not PSI's.
No law section
There is no Iowa law, rules or business area on the exam. Iowa Code chapter 103 and the 481 IAC rules matter for your license, but they are not tested. Every scored item is the NEC or electrical knowledge.
Where the weight is
- Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are 65 of 100 items. Wiring and Protection (25), Wiring Methods and Materials (20) and Equipment for General Use (20) are the core of the exam.
- Wiring and Protection is branch circuits, feeders, load calculations (Article 220), services, overcurrent protection and grounding and bonding (Article 250). At a quarter of the exam, it is the area to know best.
- Equipment for General Use carries the motor, transformer and panelboard material a master is expected to size and protect: Article 430 motors, 450 transformers, 408 panelboards and the rest of Chapter 4.
- General Electrical Knowledge (10) is not defined in the bulletin. Iowa law says the exams are based on the NEC and on electrical theory, so expect theory and calculation items here, along with Chapter 1 definitions and general rules.
- Chapters 5 through 8 share 25 items. Special Occupancies (10) is the biggest of them: hazardous locations, health care, assembly occupancies and the like.
Which code: the 2023 NEC, unamended
The exam is on NFPA 70, the 2023 National Electrical Code, and the only book you may bring is the 2023 NEC or the 2023 NEC Handbook. PSI has tested on the 2023 edition since January 1, 2024.
This is where Iowa gets tricky. The code you install to in Iowa is not exactly the code the exam tests:
- HF 2800, effective June 2, 2026, wrote the 2023 NEC into Iowa statute with its own changes. Among them, it excludes 210.52(C)(3), 230.67 and 406.4(D)(4); modifies the 210.8(A) GFCI list (kitchen 125 to 250 volt receptacles, and basements limited to unfinished, non-habitable areas); removes the 210.12(B) AFCI requirement for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses; drops GFCI for sump-pump and refrigerator receptacles; and changes the rules for island and peninsula receptacles, paddle-fan boxes (314.27), receptacles near tubs and showers (406.9(C)) and garage floor area in 220.5(C).
- The PSI bulletin names only the 2023 NEC itself. It lists no Iowa amendments and no other code.
So on exam day, answer from the book you are holding: the 2023 NEC as printed. If a question touches GFCI, AFCI, surge protection or kitchen island receptacles, the printed 2023 rule is the answer, even where Iowa law now says something different on the job.
A move to the 2026 NEC is in the works. The Board has proposed adopting it (Notice of Intended Action ARC 0549D; comments closed September 22, 2026), but it is not yet adopted, and no date has been announced for the PSI exam to switch. Last time, the exam changed editions before the installation code did, so watch the Board's site. For now, study the 2023 NEC.
A study plan built on the weights
- Start with Chapter 2. Twenty-five items. Know Article 220 load calculations, 240 overcurrent protection and 250 grounding and bonding cold.
- Chapters 3 and 4 next, 40 items between them. Raceway fill and Chapter 9 tables, conductor ampacity (Table 310.16 and its adjustments), motors under Article 430 and transformers under 450.
- Keep theory sharp. Ohm's law, power, power factor, three-phase calculations and voltage drop support the General Electrical Knowledge area and many load-calculation items.
- Cover Chapters 5 to 8 in proportion, with Special Occupancies first.
- Prepare your 2023 NEC. Highlight, underline and add permanent tabs before exam day. You cannot write notes in it, and removable sticky tabs must come out.
- Sit a timed, full-length exam. 100 scored items plus 10 pretest items in 270 minutes is about 2.5 minutes each.
Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions on the 2023 NEC. The full Iowa master exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, with every answer explained. For eligibility and fees, see Iowa master electrician requirements, and for the day itself, Iowa master electrician exam day.
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