What's on the New Jersey Electrical Contractor Exam? All 12 Areas on the 2023 NEC

What's on the New Jersey Electrical Contractor Exam?

PSI's candidate bulletin for the New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (updated March 5, 2026) publishes the Electrical Contractor exam as 12 subject areas with the number of items in each. It is 100 items in 255 minutes, open book on the 2023 NEC, and you need 70 correct to pass.

This is the trade exam, one of three. Every candidate also takes Alarm Systems (50 items) and Business and Law (50 items) on the same day the first time. Our practice exam covers the trade exam only; the other two are not covered yet. See New Jersey Electrical Contractor requirements for all three.

The outline (100 items)

Where the points are

• Grounding and bonding is the biggest area at 16 items, more than most state outlines give it. Article 250 runs from the main and system bonding jumpers through grounding electrodes, the grounding electrode conductor (Table 250.66) and equipment grounding conductors (Table 250.122). Expect sizing questions as well as rules.
• Motors and controls is next at 12. Article 430 is calculation-heavy: full-load current from Tables 430.248 and 430.250 rather than the nameplate, 125% conductor sizing, overload sizing from the nameplate, branch-circuit short-circuit and ground-fault protection from Table 430.52, and disconnect rules. Article 440 for air-conditioning equipment belongs here too.
• Three areas carry 10 each. General electrical knowledge (electrical theory, such as Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits, power and power factor, three-phase, voltage drop and transformers, plus Articles 90, 100 and 110: definitions, working space, terminations), raceways and enclosures (Article 300, the raceway articles, boxes and conduit fill from Chapter 9), and services, feeders and branch circuits (Articles 210 through 230, including load calculations in Article 220).
• Conductors and cables (9) and equipment for general use (9) cover ampacity and adjustment from Table 310.16 and the cable articles, then switches, receptacles, panelboards, luminaires, appliances, heating, transformers and generators in Chapter 4.
• The smaller areas still add up. Overcurrent protection (5) is Article 240; special occupancies (5) is Chapter 5, from hazardous locations to health care and assembly; special equipment and conditions (5) is signs, elevators, pools, solar and emergency systems; low voltage and communications (6) is Class 1, 2 and 3 circuits, fire alarm circuits (Article 760) and Chapter 8.
• Safety has 3 items. PSI says the exam may include trade knowledge and general industry practice beyond the code, so expect OSHA construction rules and arc-flash basics as well as the NEC's own marking rules.

The book: 2023 NEC, clean

PSI provides the 2023 NEC at the test center. You may not use your own copy, and you may not write in, highlight or tab the one you are given. That changes how you study: you cannot rely on tabs, so learn the layout of the book (chapters, the big tables and the index) well enough to find a section in under a minute.

New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code adopted the 2023 NEC on August 17, 2026 (N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.16), with permit applications under the 2020 NEC accepted until February 17, 2027. The exam was already on the 2023 edition, so the code you study is now the code you work under. Code questions follow only the listed edition.

2023 NEC changes that move answers

If your study material is on the 2020 NEC, these moved:

A study plan built on the weights

1. Start with grounding and bonding and motors. Together they are 28 of the 100 items. Work Table 250.66, Table 250.122 and the Article 430 sequence until you can do them without looking up where they are.
2. Then the three 10-item areas. Practice service and feeder load calculations under Article 220, conduit and box fill, and the Article 110 working-space rules.
3. Do a full 100-question timed run early. 255 minutes is about 2.5 minutes a question, which is comfortable only if you find sections quickly in an unmarked book.
4. Fill in the 5- and 6-item areas last, but don't skip them: special occupancies, special equipment, overcurrent protection and low voltage add up to 21 items.
5. Review every miss against the code. Read the section the explanation cites, not just the answer.

Practice

Try the free 10-question practice test, weighted like PSI's outline, or see the full New Jersey Electrical Contractor exam prep. For test-day logistics, see New Jersey Electrical Contractor exam day.