Oklahoma Journeyman Electrician Exam Day: PSI, Three Books, and Pacing 4 Hours

Oklahoma Journeyman Electrician Exam Day: What to Expect

PSI gives the Oklahoma electrical exams for the Construction Industries Board (CIB). CIB approves you; PSI runs the test center. Here is what the day looks like.

Scheduling

Once CIB approves your application, schedule with PSI online at test-takers.psiexams.com/okcontractors or by phone at (855) 834-8750.

1. Create a PSI account and enter the Ok Con ID number CIB gave you.
2. Your approved exam is already selected.
3. Enter a zip code, pick a test center and date, and pay the $92 fee.
4. Watch for the email confirmation.

Phone registration needs a credit card, and candidates who need ADA accommodations must schedule by phone. Your eligibility does not expire.

Three books, open book

The exam is open book, and you bring your own references. These three are allowed:

1. NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023 edition, "as revised and adopted by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission." No NEC Handbooks and no spiral-bound NEC copies.
2. 29 CFR Part 1926 (OSHA construction standards), with the latest amendments: the osha.gov printout, the Mancomm hard copy, or 29 CFR Part 1926 Selections by PSI.
3. Ugly's Electrical References by George V. Hart, any edition.

The Oklahoma amendments are not printed in your NFPA 70, so you need to know them going in. There are only two: the permanent listed-HVAC exception to GFCI in 210.8(F), and cord-and-plug gas furnaces up to 9 feet in 422.16(B)(5). The exam topics article explains both.

How you may prepare your books:

• Highlighting and underlining are allowed.
• Permanent tabs are allowed. Post-it tabs are not.
• Writing in the books is not allowed.
• No loose papers. A downloaded reference such as the OSHA printout must be spiral-bound, hole-punched in a binder, or stapled.

For Ugly's and OSHA, later editions are fine. For Code questions, only the listed 2023 NEC counts.

Calculator

Bring a silent, battery-operated, non-programmable calculator with no paper-tape printing and no alphabet keyboard. A basic calculator is the safe choice. A magnifying glass is available on request.

The clock

100 scored questions in 240 minutes (4 hours), plus up to 10 unscored experimental questions. The experimental items do not count toward your time, but you will not know which they are, so answer everything as if it counts. A tutorial of up to 15 minutes runs before the exam and is not timed.

The exam is on a computer, one question 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, and save Code-lookup time for the Code questions.
• Know your tabs before you go in. Articles 210, 240, 250, 314, 410 and Chapter 9 should open in seconds.
• Do not let one lookup eat your time. Give your best answer and move on; you can come back to it.
• 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% (70 of 100). Your score appears on screen as soon as you finish. If you do not pass, you get a diagnostic report. There is no Oklahoma law section on the journeyman exam.

If you do not pass

You can retake after 30 days, and again at least 30 days after each later attempt. No attempt limit is stated. Each retake is another $92. CIB does not publish pass rates. Use the 30 days to work the areas your diagnostic report shows as weak.

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 eligibility, see Oklahoma Journeyman Electrician requirements.