Connecticut E-1 Electrical Contractor

Two PSI exams. The E-1 trade exam is 100 scored questions in 4 hours, open book, and you need 70% (70 correct). Services, feeders and branch circuits, conductors and cables, and photovoltaics are the largest areas (10 each), then special occupancies (9). Every contractor also takes the Business and Law exam: 50 questions in 2 hours, 70% to pass, open book on the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Connecticut 6th edition.

Not yet. This product prepares you for the E-1 trade exam on the NEC. You still need to pass Business and Law to get the license, and our Business and Law prep is coming. A passed portion stays valid for two years, so you can pass one exam and then take the other later.

Two years as a licensed unlimited journeyperson (E-2), or six years of equivalent experience and training: 12,000 hours on the job (8,000 as an apprentice plus 4,000 licensed) and 720 classroom hours, proven with notarized employer letters. You apply to the Department of Consumer Protection ($150), and once approved you have one year to start testing, with no limit on attempts.

PSI allows the 2020 or the 2023 NEC, or either NEC Handbook. Connecticut’s building code still adopts the 2020 NEC: the update to the 2023 NEC was due July 1, 2026, but the legislature’s regulation review committee rejected it in December 2025 and again in April 2026. The 2026 NEC is not on the exam.

Yes. You bring your own references: the 2020 or 2023 NEC, OSHA’s construction standards (29 CFR 1926), Ugly’s Electrical References, NFPA 72 (2013), Dunlop’s Photovoltaic Systems, the 2012 National Electrical Safety Code and Convert Your Home to Solar Energy. Highlighting, underlining, margin notes and permanent tabs are allowed; sticky notes are not, and questions and answers written into a book are prohibited. A silent, non-programmable calculator is allowed.

Connecticut does not publish it. At its September 2024 meeting the Electrical Work Examining Board noted that the data showed more candidates failing than passing.

No. PSI gives it at test centers: West Hartford and Milford in Connecticut, four Massachusetts sites, or any other PSI center in the country.

You see your score on screen, get a report of your weak areas, and can spend 30 minutes reviewing the questions you missed. You cannot rebook the same day, but you can retest as soon as two days later, as many times as you need within your one-year eligibility.

A $150 application fee to the Department of Consumer Protection, $59 to PSI for each attempt at the trade exam and $59 for each attempt at Business and Law, and a $150 license fee after you pass.

Every year, for $150. You need 4 hours of continuing education each year, done by June 30, in person or in live online classes approved by the board; none is required for your first renewal.