What's on the Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Exam? All 21 Areas and How to Study Them

What's on the Utah Master Electrician Law and Rule Exam?

Since August 1, 2025, Utah's master electricians take one written exam: the Master Electrician Law and Rule exam, 80 questions in 4 hours, pass mark 75%. Residential master applicants take the same exam; there is no separate residential master outline.

The name undersells it. Fewer than half the questions are licensing law.

The outline (80 questions)

These counts are published by Prov in its candidate bulletin and add up to exactly 80. They are sorted here by weight.

The shape of it

Grouping the areas (our arithmetic, not Prov's):

The references

The bulletin's reference list for this exam:

• NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023
• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, 2024
• Ugly's Electrical References, 2023
• Utah Code 15A-3-601(1), the statewide NEC amendments
• Utah Code 58-1-301 and 58-1-501
• Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 55, the Construction Trades Licensing Act
• Utah Admin. Code R156-55b, the Electricians Licensing Act Rule
• Utah Admin. Code R156-1, sections 102, 308 and 309
• Utah Admin. Code R614-1-5 (Labor Commission, occupational safety and health)
• Utah Admin. Code R602-2 (Labor Commission, industrial accidents)
• 29 CFR 1910.132, .133 and .134 (OSHA personal protective equipment)

The bulletin does not say which reference feeds which area. Reading the names, "DOPL Licensing Act" is most likely Title 58, Chapter 1; "General DOPL Licensing Laws, Administrative Rule" is R156-1; "Electricians Licensing Act, Administrative Rule" is R156-55b; and "Construction Trades Licensing Act" is Chapter 55. That pairing is our inference.

Utah's NEC amendments

Four questions come from Utah Code 15A-3-601, which amends the 2023 NEC statewide. Among the changes:

• The IRC's electrical provisions govern residential work within the IRC's scope.
• AFCI (210.12) and service surge protection (230.67) requirements are deleted.
• Several GFCI provisions in 210.8 are narrowed or deleted, including outdoor outlets (210.8(F)) and sinks (210.8(A)(7)).
• 230.71 is replaced with a six-disconnect rule, and the allowance for single-pole breakers with handle ties sunsets July 1, 2027.
• 314.27(C) paddle-fan boxes and 700.3(A) emergency system witness testing are rewritten.

Read the whole section; it is 20 short subsections.

Editions and dates

• The exam tests the 2023 NEC and NFPA 70E 2024. Utah adopts the 2023 NEC, and a version of the adoption statute effective January 1, 2027 still names 2023. No move to the 2026 NEC has been announced.
• The bulletin labels R156-55b "2020"; the rule in force was amended effective August 1, 2025.
• Title 58, Chapter 55 is renumbered on January 1, 2027, with a new Part 3 for electricians. Seven questions test this chapter, so use the numbering in force on your test date.

A study plan built on the weights

1. The four licensing areas first. 29 questions from Chapter 1, Chapter 55, R156-1 and R156-55b. This is where the exam departs most from the journeyman exam.
2. Theory. Current, resistance and voltage drop are 8 questions.
3. The NEC areas in proportion. Grounding (5) and services, feeders and branch circuits (4) lead; the rest are 1 to 3 each.
4. NFPA 70E. Five questions on the 2024 edition. It is also 4 hours of the core CE in every renewal.
5. The Utah amendments. Four questions, one short statute.
6. Labor and safety. Nine questions across R614-1-5, R602-2 and the OSHA PPE rules.
7. Sit a timed, full-length exam. 80 questions in 4 hours is 3 minutes each.

Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions. The full exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, with every answer explained. For the day itself, see Utah Master Electrician exam day.