Electrician exam prep
West Virginia electrical contractor license: the NASCLA exam route
West Virginia’s Contractor Licensing Board licenses electrical contracting businesses. Its own trade exam is Prov’s WV Electrical Contractor exam, and NASCLA lists the Board as accepting the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Electrical Contractors. This page is for contractors who want the national exam, which is also accepted in many other states.
Practice for the exam West Virginia accepts
NASCLA Electrical Contractor
100 questions, 270 min · 2023 NEC
The national NASCLA Electrical Contractor exam, on the 2023 NEC (the exam allows 2020 or 2023).
The license and the exam
- License
- Electrical contractor classification
- Issued by
- West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board (Division of Labor)
- Who needs it
- Businesses that contract electrical work in West Virginia. The individual journeyman, master and specialty electrician licenses come from the State Fire Marshal, with their own exams; this exam does not replace them.
- Accepted exam
- NASCLA Accredited Examination for Electrical Contractors (listed by NASCLA as accepted for “Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician”)
- Given by
- PSI
- Format
- 100 scored questions, 270 minutes, open book (NEC 2020 or 2023, OSHA 29 CFR 1926/1910, NFPA 70E, Ugly’s and the NASCLA Contractors Guide)
- To pass
- 75 of 100
- NEC editions accepted
- 2020 NEC, 2023 NEC
Steps to the license
- Confirm with the Contractor Licensing Board that it will accept a NASCLA Electrical Contractor score in place of its WV Electrical Contractor trade exam.
- Register for the NASCLA exam with PSI and pass it (75 of 100).
- Pass the Board’s separate Contractor Licensing Act exam, given by Prov.
- Apply to the Board for the electrical classification. NASCLA sends your score to the Board through its National Examination Database.
Before you book
- NASCLA’s participating-agency page lists the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board as accepting the Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician exam (dated December 2020). The Board’s current Prov bulletin describes only its own exams, so confirm before you book.
- The Board’s own trade exam is Prov’s WV Electrical Contractor exam: 75 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass, open book on the 2023 NEC.
- NASCLA changes the exam’s content outline on January 1, 2027. Our practice exam is weighted to the 2027 outline; exams taken through December 31, 2026 still follow the older one, which puts more weight on project management, safety and theory.
Frequently asked questions
Does West Virginia accept the NASCLA electrical exam?+
NASCLA lists the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board as accepting its Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician exam. The Board’s current Prov bulletin covers only its own WV Electrical Contractor and Contractor Licensing Act exams, so confirm with the Board before you book. You still take the Contractor Licensing Act exam either way.
Does the NASCLA exam give me a West Virginia master electrician license?+
No. Individual journeyman and master electrician licenses come from the State Fire Marshal, which gives its own exams. The NASCLA exam is for the Contractor Licensing Board’s electrical contractor classification.
Which NEC edition is the NASCLA exam on?+
NASCLA allows the 2020 or 2023 NEC (or its Handbook) and says code questions are based only on those editions. Our practice exam uses the 2023 NEC.
Sources
- NASCLA, participating agency: West Virginia Contractors Licensing Board (accepted: Electrical Contractor/Master Electrician) (as of December 2020; fetched 2026-11-13)
- Prov, West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board Candidate Information Bulletin (effective 2026-10-31)
- PSI, NASCLA Accredited Examination for Electrical Contractors bulletin (2026 and 2027 outlines) (pages dated 2026-11-11)