Oklahoma Limited Electrical Contractor Exam Day: PSI, Three Books, and Two Portions

Oklahoma Limited Electrical Contractor 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. For the Limited Electrical Contractor license you pass two portions: the 100-question trade exam covered here, and the separate 50-question Electrical Business and Law exam. Each is scheduled and paid for on its own.

The trade exam is the same exam format, outline and reference list as the Unlimited contractor trade exam, so everything below applies to both. If you come from engineering, estimating or project management, expect a full installation-Code exam; the exam topics article explains why.

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 $92 per portion.
4. Watch for the email confirmation.

Phone registration needs a credit card, and candidates with ADA accommodations must schedule by phone. PSI fees are not refundable or transferable. Your eligibility does not expire, but a passed portion is banked for only three years from the date CIB approves you to test.

You can take the portions in either order. Business and Law sits closer to estimating and project-management work, so if that is your background, give the trade exam its own block of study. Just pass both inside the three years.

Arriving

• Arrive at least 30 minutes early. Late arrivals may be turned away and lose the fee.
• Bring one valid, unexpired government ID with your photo and signature, matching the legal name you registered under.
• Phones, smart watches, bags, jackets, hats and other personal items go in secure storage. Anyone who comes with you cannot wait in the building or on the property.

Three books, open book

You bring your own references:

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.

For Ugly's and OSHA, later editions are fine. For Code questions, only the listed 2023 NEC counts. Oklahoma has set no date for the 2026 NEC.

Your NFPA 70 does not print the two Oklahoma amendments, so learn them before you go: listed HVAC equipment keeps its GFCI exception in 210.8(F) with no expiration, and 422.16(B)(5) allows a cord-and-plug gas furnace in a dwelling with a cord up to 9 feet.

How you may prepare your books:

• Highlighting, underlining and indexing are allowed.
• Permanent tabs are allowed. Post-it and other temporary tabs are not.
• Writing in the books is not allowed. A reference caught with writing is confiscated and reported to CIB.
• No loose papers. A downloaded reference must be spiral-bound, hole-punched in a binder, or stapled in the left-hand corner.

Calculator

Bring a silent, battery-operated, non-programmable calculator with no paper-tape printing and no alphabet keyboard. Leave the programmable engineering calculator at home. A magnifying glass is available on request.

The clock

100 scored questions in 240 minutes (4 hours), plus up to 10 unscored experimental questions whose time does not count against you. A tutorial of up to 15 minutes runs first and does not count toward your exam time.

One question appears per screen, with the minutes remaining at the top. You can return to any question and change your answer until time runs out. Restroom breaks need the proctor's permission and do not stop the clock.

Pacing

That is 2.4 minutes per scored question.

• Bank time on theory. The 10 General Electrical Knowledge items are where an engineering background pays off.
• Know your tabs. Articles 210, 230, 240, 250, 314, 410, 430 and the Chapter 9 tables should open in seconds.
• Do not chase one lookup. Give your best answer, mark it mentally, and come back.
• Answer every question. A blank is always wrong.
• Check the clock at 2 hours: you want about 50 done.

Scoring

You need 70% on each portion. Your score appears on screen when you finish. If you do not pass, you get a diagnostic report showing your strengths and weaknesses by area. The only review of questions is the Comments link on the question screen.

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. Pass one portion and fail the other, and you only retake the one you failed, if you pass it within the three-year window. CIB does not publish pass rates.

After you pass

CIB still needs the $300 initial license fee, a $5,000 bond, $50,000 general liability with CIB as certificate holder, and proof of workers' compensation, or it issues an inactive license. See Oklahoma Limited Electrical Contractor requirements.

Before you go

Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions on the 2023 NEC, and the full Limited Electrical Contractor exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to the PSI outline, with every answer explained. For the other portion, see the Business and Law exam prep.