Rhode Island Electrical Contractor (Certificate A / Class A)

Like the journeyperson exam: 80 questions in 4 hours, written by DLT and the Board of Examiners of Electricians, answered in ink, closed book by rule unless the Board permits otherwise, 70% to pass, on the 2023 NEC and general trade knowledge. A contractor plans and runs the work, so our area blueprint gives load calculations, motors, and special occupancies and equipment more weight than the journeyperson blueprint.

Yes. The Board’s rules call the electrical contractor license Certificate A; it is widely known as the Class A license. It is the step after Certificate B (Class B), the journeyperson license, and you must hold Certificate B for two years before you apply.

At least 12,000 hours (six years) of experience and a Rhode Island Certificate B (Class B) journeyperson license held for at least two years. An out-of-state contractor qualifies the same way: hold a Rhode Island journeyperson license for two years and have six years of experience. The application fee is $75, and the Certificate A license costs $240 for two years once you pass.

It lets a person, firm or corporation carry on the business of electrical contracting. On its own it does not let the holder personally do the wiring; that takes a journeyperson license, which every Certificate A holder already has. A firm or corporation is licensed through the member or officer who passed the exam.

The 2023 NEC. Rhode Island adopted it as the Rhode Island Electrical Code effective December 1, 2025 (before that, the 2020 NEC), and the Board’s rules base the exam on the edition adopted at the time you test. No move to the 2026 NEC has been announced. Every question here cites the 2023 section.

Closed book by rule. Under 260-RICR-30-15-7, anyone found referring to notes or books during the exam, “except by permission by the board,” is disqualified. DLT does not publish whether the Board allows the code book at a given sitting, and prep providers disagree, so plan for closed book and ask DLT at (401) 462-8580 when your exam notice arrives. Answers are written in ink.

Answer each question before you look anything up. Theory, definitions, the ampacities you use every day, box fill, grounding and the common dwelling rules should come from memory, and the area scores show where you are weak. Every explanation names the 2023 NEC section, so check it afterward and learn the rule, not just the answer.

No. The exam is 80 questions in 4 hours, but DLT’s study material for electricians lists only the current state-approved NEC and “General Trade Knowledge,” with no content outline or area weights. The area counts in our practice exam are our own blueprint: NEC chapter weighting like comparable state exams, plus electrical theory and calculations. Treat them as a study guide, not the real split.

DLT documents no law or business section for the electrician exams; its study list is the NEC and general trade knowledge. Rhode Island’s changes to the 2023 NEC are few: it deletes 90.6, reads the I-codes as Rhode Island’s own codes, adds a three-family smoke and CO alarm exception to 210.25, deletes Exception No. 5 to 230.24(A), and rewrites 230.82 on supply-side equipment and meter disconnects.

Mail DLT Professional Regulation the notarized application with the $75 non-refundable fee and your documents. Applications must arrive at least 15 working days before an exam date. DLT gives the exams itself, first come, first served with limited space, and mails you the time and place once you are approved. Only approved applicants are admitted.

You need 70%. With 60% or more you may review your exam with members of the Board. To try again, apply for a later exam; check with DLT whether a new application fee applies.

Every two years, on your birthday. Certificate A and Certificate B renewals need 15 clock hours of Board-approved continuing education covering the currently adopted NEC and ICC codes. A late renewal adds $12 a month, and a license not renewed within two years of expiring is forfeited, so you would need to apply and test again.