Louisiana Electrical Contractor Exam Day: PSI, Three Books, and No Scientific Calculators

Louisiana Electrical Contractor Exam Day: What to Expect

PSI gives the trade exams for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC). The Electrical exam is the only part of the license you take at a test center: Business and Law is an online course you complete from home. Here is what the test-center day looks like.

Scheduling

1. LSLBC approves your qualifying party and sends an Examination Approval Notice.
2. PSI emails you an eligibility letter.
3. Create an account and schedule at test-takers.psiexams.com/lacon, or call 855-539-0708. For out-of-state scheduling, call 855-340-3713.
4. Pay the $140 exam fee to PSI.

Louisiana PSI sites are in Baton Rouge (two), Lafayette, Sulphur/Lake Charles, Metairie, Monroe, Pineville and Shreveport, and you can also test at PSI sites in other states. Eligibility lasts one year.

Canceling or rescheduling is free if PSI receives it at least two days before the exam (for a Monday exam, by the previous Saturday). A voicemail or email does not count. If you do not show up, you forfeit the fee.

What to bring

• One valid, signed photo ID. LA Wallet is accepted.
• Arrive 15 minutes early.
• Your three references and your calculator.

Three books, open book

The exam is open book, and you bring your own copies of:

1. NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023 edition. This is the edition the Code questions are based on, even though Louisiana still enforces the 2020 NEC. Leave a 2020 book at home.
2. 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA), latest amendments, or 29 CFR Part 1926 Selections by PSI.
3. Ugly's Electrical References, 2011, 2014 or 2017 edition.

For OSHA and Ugly's, later editions are acceptable; for Code questions, only the listed 2023 NEC counts. The exam can also include general trade knowledge and industry practice.

How you may prepare your books:

• Highlighting, underlining, annotating and indexing are allowed before the exam.
• No writing in the books during the exam.
• Permanent tabs only. No Post-its.
• No loose pages. Website printouts must be bound or in a binder.

Calculator

Bring a silent, battery-operated, non-programmable calculator with no paper-tape printing and no alphabet keyboard. No scientific calculators are allowed. A basic four-function calculator is the safe choice, so practice square roots and three-phase math on one before exam day.

The clock

100 scored questions in 240 minutes (4 hours), plus one to ten unscored experimental questions that do not count against your time. You will not know which they are. A tutorial of up to 15 minutes comes first and is not timed. Questions appear one per screen, and you can go back and change answers.

Pacing

That is 2.4 minutes per scored question.

• Theory is 10 items. Work it from what you know and from Ugly's.
• Know your tabs. Articles 210, 220, 240, 250, 410, 430, 680 and Chapter 9 should open in seconds.
• Do not let one lookup eat your time. Give your best answer and come back to it if time allows.
• Answer every question. A blank is always wrong.
• Check the clock at the halfway mark: about 50 done at 2 hours.

Scoring

You need 70 of 100 (70%). Your score is shown on screen. If you fail, PSI emails a diagnostic report.

If you do not pass

• Wait 30 days to retake, and only once all your other eligibility requirements are complete. No attempt limit is published. Each attempt is another $140.
• Exam review: after two failed attempts, if your last score was within 10 points of passing, you can request a review within 60 days. After a review you wait 14 days before retesting.
• Neither LSLBC nor PSI publishes pass rates.

Before you go

Sit a full-length, timed practice exam first. 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 the PSI outline, with every answer explained. For the license itself, see Louisiana Electrical Contractor requirements.