South Carolina Electrician Exam Day: PSI, Open Book, 80 Questions in 5 Hours

South Carolina Electrician Exam Day: What to Expect

PSI gives the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board exams at its test centers. For a commercial electrical contractor license you pass the Electrician trade exam covered here and the separate Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam.

Scheduling

Register and schedule online at test-takers.psiexams.com/sccon or by phone at (855) 340-3701. Phone registration needs a credit card.

• The Electrician exam costs $78; Business and Law is another $78.
• PSI won't schedule more than 6 hours of testing in one day. The Electrician exam alone is 5 hours, so plan Business and Law for another day.
• South Carolina test centers include Columbia, Greenville, North Charleston, Beaufort and Myrtle Beach. No remote option is offered.
• To cancel or reschedule without losing the fee, reach PSI at least two days before your appointment, online or by phone. Voicemail and email do not count. For a Monday exam, that means by Saturday.

What to bring

• Identification as PSI’s bulletin specifies.
• Your reference books. The exam is open book on these references:
  • the NEC, 2023 or 2020 (or the NEC Handbook of the same edition) until July 1, 2027, and only 2023 after that
  • NFPA 72 (2019)
  • the American Electricians' Handbook, 17th edition
  • 29 CFR 1926 (or PSI's selections from it)
  • Tom Henry's Key Word Index for your NEC edition
  • the South Carolina 811 Excavator Manual

You may highlight and underline your books. Tabs must be permanent, meaning they would tear the page if pulled off. Post-it notes and other removable tabs must come out before the exam starts. Books may not be written in or carry loose or attached papers, and proctors inspect them before and after.

• A calculator that is silent, battery powered, non-programmable, with no paper tape and no alphabet keyboard.

Arrive 30 minutes early to sign in. If you arrive after your start time, you forfeit the fee.

During the exam

• 80 scored questions in 5 hours, on a computer.
• PSI adds a few unscored experimental questions. On this exam, PSI adds their time to the 5 hours.
• That is about 3.75 minutes a question. Answer the ones you know first, mark the lookups, and come back.

The pass mark and your score

You need 56 correct (70%). Your score appears when you finish. If you fail, you get a diagnostic report showing how you did in each area.

Retakes: mind the cap

The Electrician exam may be taken only twice in 12 months, and then only once every six months. Your registration is good for a year or until two failures. Business and Law has no limit. Pay the PSI fee again for each attempt.

After you pass

Apply to the Contractor's Licensing Board with your experience affidavit (2 years of commercial experience within 5 years), a financial statement or bond, and the $350 license fee. See South Carolina Commercial Electrical Contractor requirements.

Get ready first

Two failed attempts can lock you out for months, so practice under time first. Start with our free South Carolina Electrician practice test, then work the full 80-question practice exam. What's on the exam lists every area.