What's on the Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician Exam? Topics, Code Changes, and a Study Plan

What's on the Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician Exam?

The Department of Safety and Professional Services does not publish a content outline for the journeyman exam, and it publishes no pass rates. What it does publish is the format and the references, and those are enough to plan around.

The format

100 questions
4 hours
Open book, 70% to pass
Questions on the 2023 NEC, in effect in Wisconsin since September 1, 2026, and reflected in the exam questions from October 1, 2026
The Wisconsin rules: SPS 316 (the state electrical code) and SPS 305 (credentials)

How our practice exams weight it

Because DSPS publishes no weights, the split below is our own blueprint, built from the NEC chapters and the Wisconsin rules the exam draws on. It is how our 100-question practice exam is weighted, not an official DSPS breakdown.

Area	Questions (of 100)
Branch Circuits and Load Calculations	12
Grounding and Bonding	12
Wiring Methods, Raceways, and Boxes	12
Services and Feeders	10
Conductors	8
Equipment for General Use	8
Motors, Controls, and Transformers	8
General Knowledge and Definitions	6
Overcurrent Protection	6
Special Occupancies	6
Special Equipment and Systems	6
Wisconsin Electrical Code (SPS 316)	4
Wisconsin Credential Rules (SPS 305)	2

The top three areas are 36 questions between them, and branch circuits, grounding and wiring methods reach into almost every other topic.

On the 2023 NEC

Wisconsin moved straight from the 2017 NEC to the 2023 NEC, so study material written for the older edition numbers several load-calculation rules differently:

Topic	Older editions	2023 NEC (your exam)
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 rule	220.57: 7,200 VA or the nameplate, whichever is larger
Class 1 remote-control and signaling circuits	Article 725	Article 724 (general rules in Article 722)

Wisconsin's changes to the NEC

Subchapter IV of SPS 316 holds Wisconsin's changes, additions and omissions to the NEC, organized by NEC article. Where the two disagree, the SPS 316 wording is the rule in Wisconsin. One example: SPS 316.230 (3) (b) adds a department rule to NEC 230.70 (A) — raceways containing service conductors, or service-entrance cable not in a raceway, may not extend more than 8 feet into a building to the service disconnect.

Tab your binder's copy of SPS 316 next to the matching NEC articles (210, 220, 225, 230, 250 and so on) so you check both every time.

A study plan

Branch circuits, load calculations, grounding and wiring methods first. About 36 of the 100 questions on our blueprint.
Then services, feeders, conductors and equipment. Conductor ampacity with correction and adjustment shows up in many of them.
Learn the 2023 numbering. If your notes cite Table 220.12 or Article 725, update them to the table above.
Read SPS 316 and SPS 305 once, start to finish. They are short, and they go in your binder.
Sit a timed, full-length exam. 100 questions in 4 hours is 2.4 minutes each — open book helps only if you know where to look.

Our free practice test gives you 10 questions on the 2023 NEC. The full exam prep has a timed 100-question practice exam built on the blueprint above, with calculations worked out step by step and every answer citing its section. For the day itself, see Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician exam day, and for both Wisconsin exams, the Wisconsin electrician hub.

What's on the Wisconsin Journeyman Electrician Exam? Topics, Code Changes, and a Study Plan