Journeyman Electrician Exam (ICC) Pass Rate, Format & Study Guide

The ICC Journeyman Electrician exam is a national written trades examination from the International Code Council, delivered by PearsonVUE and accepted by many state and local licensing authorities for journeyman electrician licenses. The exam has 80 multiple-choice questions, is open book, and you are given 4 hours.

Electrical work is licensed by state or local law, and many jurisdictions use the ICC journeyman electrician exam as the written test. Passing the exam is a required step before the licensing authority issues the license.

Electricians preparing for a journeyman license in a jurisdiction that uses the ICC exam, and candidates retaking it. Experience and application requirements are set by the licensing authority; check them before you register.

The certifying body does not publicly publish an official pass rate for this exam. Be wary of third-party sites citing a specific number here — treat any pass-rate claim you see elsewhere for this exam as unverified.

The ICC bulletin states you must wait 10 days before retaking a failed exam; the exam fee applies again.

Passing standard: The Code Council lists the passing score for each exam in its online exam catalog rather than in the national bulletin; the catalog entry was not read, so no passing score is quoted here. The exam has 80 multiple-choice questions, is open book, and you are given 4 hours. No official pass rate for this exam was available in the sources we reviewed, so none is quoted here.

The exam has 80 multiple-choice questions, is open book, and you are given 4 hours. Format: 80 multiple-choice questions · open book · 4 hours. Passing standard: The Code Council lists the passing score for each exam in its online exam catalog rather than in the national bulletin; the catalog entry was not read, so no passing score is quoted here.

• General Knowledge6%
• Services and Service Equipment11%
• Feeders4%
• Branch Circuits and Conductors19%
• Wiring Methods and Materials26%
• Equipment and Devices13%
• Control Devices4%
• Motors and Generators6%
• Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions11%

The content outline spreads questions across 9 areas: General Knowledge (6.0%); Services and Service Equipment (11.0%); Feeders (4.0%); Branch Circuits and Conductors (19.0%); Wiring Methods and Materials (26.0%); Equipment and Devices (13.0%); Control Devices (4.0%); Motors and Generators (6.0%); Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (11.0%).

The Code Council does not issue the license: your state or local licensing authority sets the experience, application and fee requirements and decides whether it accepts the ICC exam; confirm with the authority that will license you before you register.

The ICC National Contractor/Trades Bulletin lists a PearsonVUE fee of US$120. License application fees and any experience or apprenticeship requirements are set by the licensing authority and are separate.

After you are licensed, your licensing authority sets renewal and continuing education requirements; check it for the current hours and deadlines.

Start with the heaviest areas of the content outline: Wiring Methods and Materials (26.0%); Branch Circuits and Conductors (19.0%); Equipment and Devices (13.0%). Then work through the remaining areas, practise jurisdiction-specific rules separately from the general content, and finish with timed full-length practice runs of 80 questions in 4 hours.

Content outlines, fees and passing standards change; this guide follows the materials listed under Verification as of October 2026. Check the licensing authority and test administrator before you register.