What's on the Utah Residential Journeyman Electrician Exam? All 14 Areas and How to Study Them

What's on the Utah Residential Journeyman Electrician Exam?

Since August 1, 2025, Utah's residential journeyman exam (Prov calls it the "Residential Electrician Examination") is one combined theory and code test. Prov's candidate bulletin for DOPL says it has 100 questions and publishes an outline of 14 areas. You need 75% overall.

The outline

One thing to know first: the bulletin's area counts do not add up to its own total. It states 100 questions, but the counts it lists for the 14 areas sum to 90. It does not explain the 10-question gap. It could be unscored pretest questions or an error in the bulletin; Prov does not say.

The table shows the bulletin's published counts and, beside them, the same weights scaled to 100 by us. The right-hand column is our estimate, not Prov's.

The bulletin gives area names and counts only. It does not map NEC articles to the areas.

How it differs from the full journeyman exam

• No Motors and Controllers area, and no Special Occupancies and Equipment area.
• Pools, Photovoltaic and Wind is unique to this exam: Article 680 for pools, spas and hot tubs, Article 690 for solar PV and Article 694 for wind.
• Otherwise the areas match, with slightly different counts.

Where the weight is

• Theory is about a third of the exam. Current, Power, Resistance, Voltage and Voltage Drop are 30 of the 90 published questions: Ohm's law, power and voltage-drop calculations, worked without the book telling you the answer.
• Grounding and Bonding is the largest single area. Know Article 250.
• Overcurrent and services, feeders and branch circuits are 16 published questions between them: Articles 210, 215, 220, 230 and 240, including dwelling load calculations.
• Pools, PV and wind (7) outweighs raceways (5). Do not leave Articles 680 and 690 to the end.

Which code, and which law

The exam tests the 2023 NEC (NFPA 70-2023). Utah adopts that edition under Utah Code 15A-2-103, and no move to the 2026 NEC has been announced for the exam.

One residential nuance: under Utah Code 15A-3-601(1), the IRC's electrical provisions are the standard for residential work within the IRC's scope in Utah. The exam's reference list, though, names the NEC, not the IRC. Study the NEC.

The bulletin's references for this exam:

• NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023
• Ugly's Electrical References, 2023 edition
• Utah Code 58-1-301 and 58-1-501
• Utah Admin. Code R156-1, sections 102, 308 and 309
• Utah Admin. Code R156-55b, the Electricians Licensing Act Rule (current text effective August 1, 2025, although the bulletin labels it "2020")
• Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 55, the Construction Trades Licensing Act, which is renumbered on January 1, 2027

A study plan built on the weights

1. Theory first. About a third of the exam, and the area the Code book helps least with.
2. Article 250 next. The largest single area.
3. Dwelling services, feeders, branch circuits and overcurrent. Chapter 2 and Article 240, including the dwelling load calculation.
4. Pools, PV and wind. Articles 680, 690 and 694.
5. Conductors, lighting, raceways and definitions in proportion.
6. Read the four Utah law and rule references for the 4 state questions.
7. Tab your NEC with permanent tabs and highlight. Removable tabs and handwritten notes are not allowed in the exam.
8. Sit a timed, full-length exam. 100 questions in 4 hours is 2.4 minutes each.

Our free practice test gives you a feel for the questions on the 2023 NEC. The full exam prep has full-length practice exams weighted to this outline, scaled to 100, with every answer explained. For the day itself, see Utah Residential Journeyman Electrician exam day.