What's on the Michigan Journeyman Electrician Exam? All 15 Topics and How to Study Them

What's on the Michigan Journeyman Electrician Exam?

The PSI candidate bulletin for Michigan's Bureau of Construction Codes lists 15 electrical topics for the journeyman exam, plus Michigan law. It is 80 questions in 150 minutes, and you need 75% to pass.

The outline (80 questions)

The bulletin lists the topics but not how many questions each gets. The counts below are our estimate, not the state's. We set them from the bulletin's topic list and how much of the NEC each topic covers.

Treat the numbers as a guide to where to spend time, not a promise of what you will see.

Which code?

The bulletin is direct: "Other editions of the NEC may be used during the examination, but the items are based on the 2023 edition." Michigan adopted the 2023 NEC (second printing), with tentative interim amendments 70-23-1 to 70-23-13, errata and Annex H, effective March 12, 2024, through Part 8 of the Michigan construction code.

A move to the 2026 NEC is in progress. Rule set 2026-17 LR would adopt it, and it takes effect 120 days after it is filed. As of November 2026 it has not been filed, and neither LARA nor PSI has announced when the exam will switch. Study the 2023 edition.

The Michigan law in scope

The exam's scope is wider than the NEC. It includes:

• 2016 PA 407, the Skilled Trades Regulation Act: licensing, fees, apprentice ratios, permits and the classes of work that need a license.
• The rules made under PA 407, the Skilled Trades Regulation Rules. These are in scope but are not on the list of books you can bring.
• Part 8, the Michigan Electrical Code Rules: Michigan's amendments to the NEC.
• 1972 PA 230, the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, and the codes adopted under it.

Part 8 amendments worth knowing

Most of Part 8 is administrative, but a few rules change the Code itself:

• 230.85 (Michigan text). One- and two-family dwellings need an outdoor emergency disconnect, readily accessible, on or within sight of the dwelling, marked "EMERGENCY DISCONNECT, SERVICE DISCONNECT". It applies when service equipment is replaced, too.
• 250.104(B). CSST gas piping is bonded to the grounding electrode system with a jumper no smaller than 6 AWG copper, unless the CSST is listed as not needing it.
• 334.10 and 334.12(A). Where NM cable is permitted and not permitted, including the rule for buildings more than one floor above grade.
• 700.9 and 701.9. Emergency and legally required standby systems are installed to NFPA 110 and NFPA 111 (2019).
• Permits. Permits expire 180 days after issue (extended 180 days from the last inspection), are not transferable, and are not needed for minor repair work as PA 407 defines it.
• Plans. Plans are required when the service or feeder exceeds 400 amps at 1,000 volts or less and the floor area exceeds 3,500 square feet.

The pending 2026 rules would replace the 230.85 and 700.9/701.9 amendments, so pay attention to edition if your study material is new.

Where the weight is

• Chapter 2 carries the most. Grounding and bonding, services, feeders, overcurrent protection and load calculations together are more than 40% of our estimate. These are Articles 220, 230, 240 and 250 and the definitions in Article 100.
• Load calculations need practice, not just lookups. Dwelling and non-dwelling service and feeder loads, demand factors and motor loads are worked problems.
• Motors (Article 430) is its own topic in the bulletin. Know the full-load current tables and how conductor and overcurrent sizes follow from them.
• Law is a small slice but easy points. The questions come from short, free state documents.

A study plan built on the weights

1. Grounding and bonding first. It is the largest topic in our estimate. Know Article 250 well enough to find a table in seconds.
2. Then services, feeders, overcurrent and load calculations. Work full calculations until the steps are automatic.
3. Wiring methods, boxes and fill. Chapter 3 and the box-fill and conduit-fill tables in Chapter 9.
4. Motors, special occupancies, lighting, appliances and power-limited circuits in proportion.
5. Read the Michigan documents. Print PA 407, PA 230 and Part 8 from the BCC site. You can bring them, but they must be clean, with no highlighting or tabs.
6. Sit a timed, full-length exam. 80 questions in 150 minutes is under 2 minutes each.

Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions on the 2023 NEC. The full exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, with every answer explained. For the day itself, see Michigan Journeyman Electrician exam day.