Montana Master Electrician Exam Day: What to Expect
Test-day logistics for PSI's Montana Master Electrician exam: the Montana test centers, ID, allowed books and calculator, pacing 80 questions in 4 hours toward a 75% pass mark, on-screen results and the retake rules.
Contents
Montana Master Electrician Exam Day: What to Expect
PSI gives Montana's Master Electrician exam by computer: 80 questions in 4 hours, open book, and you need 75%, five points more than the journeyman exam.
Before the day
After the State Electrical Board approves you, it sends an admission letter. Pay PSI's $85 fee and schedule online or at (855) 746-8173. Cancel or reschedule at least two days before the exam to keep the fee; PSI fees are non-refundable and valid for a year.
Where you test
PSI's Montana sites are in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula, and any PSI center in the country works too. Arrive 15 minutes early with one current government photo ID bearing your signature.
Which code book
Exams through December 31, 2026 are on the 2020 NEC. From January 1, 2027, the State Electrical Board moves them to the 2023 NEC, which renumbers the load-calculation tables you will lean on (for example, non-dwelling lighting loads moved from Table 220.12 to Table 220.42(A)). Bring the edition for your date.
What to bring
- The NEC for your exam, with tabs or indexes.
- Montana's building codes amendments and copies of Montana's statutes and rules for electricians.
- "Printreading" by David L. Hittinger for that NEC edition, if you use it.
- A calculator that is silent, non-printing and non-programmable, with no alphabet keyboard, and not built for electrical calculations.
Your own highlights, underlining and notes are allowed if they were made before the exam. Writing in your books during the exam, or bringing loose papers, is reported to the Board.
Pacing
Four hours for 80 questions is 3 minutes a question, less a few unscored experimental items PSI may add. Load calculations take longer, so bank time early: answer the look-ups first, flag each calculation, and come back with the time you saved. You can change any answer until time runs out.
Results and retakes
Your score shows on screen at the end. If you fail, you can pay and take the next exam; after a second failure you need a Board-approved 8-hour code seminar before a third attempt, and after two failures you may take a lower-level exam instead. You have one year from Board approval to pass.
Practice first
Our Montana Master practice test covers the 2023 NEC as Montana amends it, with load calculations. For the content, see what is on the Master exam.
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