What's on the Virginia Journeyman Electrician Exam? All 24 Areas and How to Study Them
The PSI outline for the Virginia journeyman electrician exam: 70 scored items, 10 on Virginia law, the rest on the 2020 NEC, fundamentals and NFPA 70E safety — the 2023 renumberings to avoid, and a study plan built on the weights.
Contents
What's on the Virginia Journeyman Electrician Exam?
PSI's candidate bulletin for the Board for Contractors publishes the journeyman outline as 24 lettered areas and the number of scored items in each. It is one exam with one passing score — the law questions are scored together with everything else — so you need 49 of 70 in total, not a pass in each area.
Virginia law (10 items)
| Area | Items |
|---|---|
| A. Standards of Practice | 3 |
| B. Standards of Conduct | 2 |
| C. Renewal and Reinstatement | 2 |
| D. Definitions | 1 |
| E. Qualification for Licensure | 1 |
| F. Revocation of Licensure | 1 |
These come from the Board's regulations (18VAC50-30) and Title 54.1 Chapter 11 of the Code of Virginia — both in the DPOR regulations booklet you bring with you.
Code and theory (60 items)
| Area | Items |
|---|---|
| G. General Electrical Knowledge | 3 |
| H. Requirements for Electrical Installations | 2 |
| I. Electrical-Electronic Fundamentals | 2 |
| J. Branch Circuits | 4 |
| K. Service and Feeders | 5 |
| L. Grounding and Bonding | 6 |
| M. Conductors and Cables | 7 |
| N. Raceways and Boxes | 7 |
| O. Special Occupancies | 3 |
| P. Special Equipment | 2 |
| Q. Electrical Signs and Outline Lighting | 1 |
| R. Motors and Controls | 5 |
| S. Utilization Equipment | 4 |
| T. Lighting | 2 |
| U. General Low Voltage | 1 |
| V. Communication Systems | 1 |
| W. Fire Detection and Alarm | 1 |
| X. Safety | 4 |
Up to 10 more questions may be unscored experimental items. They count against your time, and you will not know which they are.
Where the weight is
- Wiring methods lead. Conductors and cables plus raceways and boxes are 14 items — one question in five.
- Grounding and bonding (6) and service and feeders (5) are next, with motors and controls (5).
- Safety (4) is tested from NFPA 70E (2024), not the NEC — a separate book you bring and need to know your way around.
- The law areas (10) are as many points as grounding and branch circuits together, and the answers are in a booklet in front of you.
On the 2020 NEC, not the 2023
Virginia adopted the 2020 NEC effective January 18, 2024, and the exam tests it. Much current study material is written for the 2023 edition, which renumbered or added these rules:
| Topic | 2020 NEC (your exam) | 2023 NEC |
|---|---|---|
| Dwelling general lighting load (3 VA/ft² in both) | 220.14(J) | 220.41 |
| Non-dwelling general lighting unit loads | Table 220.12 | Table 220.42(A) |
| Lighting load demand factors | Table 220.42 | Table 220.45 |
| Non-dwelling receptacle demand factors | Table 220.44 | Table 220.47 |
| EV charging load in a load calculation | No such rule | 220.57 |
| Class 1 remote-control and signaling circuits | Article 725 | Articles 722 and 724 |
A study plan built on the weights
- Wiring methods and grounding first. Areas L, M and N are 20 items between them.
- Read the law booklet once, cover to cover. Ten items, open book — easy points if you know where each topic sits.
- Learn NFPA 70E's layout. Four safety items come from it, not from the NEC.
- Practice the 2020 load-calculation tables, not the 2023 numbers above.
- Tab and highlight your own books. Permanent tabs and highlighting are allowed; removable tabs and handwritten notes are not.
- Sit a timed, full-length exam. 70 questions in 3½ hours is 3 minutes each, and experimental items eat into that.
Our free practice test gives you 10 questions on the 2020 NEC. The full exam prep has timed full-length practice exams weighted like the PSI outline, including the law and 70E safety areas, with calculations worked out step by step and every answer citing its section. For the day itself, see Virginia Journeyman Electrician exam day.
Ready to pass Virginia Journeyman Electrician?
Start your prep with unlimited practice tests and codebook-referenced answers.
Start Studying →
