Master Electrician (2023 NEC) Pass Rate, Format & Study Guide

The Master Electrician exam (ICC code R16, 2023 NEC edition) is part of the International Code Council's National Contractor/Trades examination program, which gives licensing agencies an independent appraisal of a tradesperson's competence. It is a 100-question, open-book, five-hour exam that tests whether a master electrician can apply the National Electrical Code to services, feeders, branch circuits, wiring methods, equipment, motors and special occupancies.

Many cities, counties and states require a master electrician to pass a Code Council exam before they will issue a licence, and the master licence is what allows an electrician to pull permits, run jobs and supervise others. Because the exam is open book, it rewards candidates who can find and apply the right NEC rule fast and who can do load, conductor and overcurrent calculations accurately, which is exactly what the job demands on site.

The exam is aimed at experienced electricians, typically journeyman electricians and electrical contractors, who are applying for a master electrician licence in a jurisdiction that uses the ICC exam. ICC notes that passing the exam does not guarantee that a licensing agency will award you a licence, so confirm your jurisdiction's experience and application requirements first.

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.

ICC requires a 10-day wait before you can retake a failed exam and strongly recommends allowing time to study the approved references before registering a second time. Retakes are registered through Pearson VUE like the first attempt. If you submitted a technical challenge on a failed exam and then retake it, you forfeit the challenge for that attempt. Your licensing jurisdiction may add its own rules on retakes, so check them with the agency.

The exam has 100 four-option multiple-choice questions with one correct answer each, and you must answer 75 percent correctly to pass. There is no guessing penalty, so ICC advises answering every question. ICC states that its questions do not follow answer-letter patterns. Results for exams taken electronically are available immediately after you finish. Because the exam is open book and the time limit is five hours, speed with the 2023 NEC and Ugly's Electrical References matters as much as knowledge: ICC says you will not have time to look up every answer.

The exam has 100 four-option multiple-choice questions, each with one correct answer, and a 5-hour time limit. It is open book, and the approved references are the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) and Ugly's Electrical References (any edition). The exam is based on the 2023 NEC and 2021 International Codes. It is delivered through Pearson VUE, results are available immediately, there is no guessing penalty, and a score of 75 percent is required to pass.

• General Knowledge12%
• Services and Service Equipment16%
• Feeders4%
• Branch Circuits and Conductors16%
• Wiring Methods and Materials19%
• Equipment and Devices10%
• Control Devices3%
• Motors and Generators8%
• Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions12%

ICC's R16 outline has nine content areas: General Knowledge (12%), covering electrical theory, general load calculations, code definitions and terms and plan reading; Services and Service Equipment (16%); Feeders (4%); Branch Circuits and Conductors (16%); Wiring Methods and Materials (19%); Equipment and Devices (10%); Control Devices (3%); Motors and Generators (8%); and Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (12%), which includes swimming pools, mobile home and RV parks, data processing equipment, emergency systems and fire alarm systems.

ICC does not set eligibility for the exam: it states that it is not a licensing agency and that the jurisdiction in which you want to work decides which examination you need and what other requirements apply, such as work experience and the application process. ICC cannot recommend which exam to take, so check with your licensing agency before you register through Pearson VUE.

ICC's June 30, 2026 bulletin lists the R16 Master Electrician exam at $120 through Pearson VUE (the bulletin's pricing was last updated in January 2026). You pay when you schedule at pearsonvue.com/ICC, where vouchers can also be purchased. ICC states that requirements, dates, locations, fees and references are subject to change, so confirm the current price before you register. You should also budget for the approved references: a copy of the 2023 NEC and Ugly's Electrical References.

ICC's bulletin sets no renewal or continuing-education requirement for the exam itself; a master electrician licence is issued and renewed by the licensing jurisdiction, which sets its own renewal period, continuing-education hours and fees. Check those rules with your city, county or state agency.

ICC's outline gives Wiring Methods and Materials the largest share (19%), followed by Services and Service Equipment (16%) and Branch Circuits and Conductors (16%), so those three domains cover just over half of the exam. Because the exam is open book, plan your study around navigating the 2023 NEC quickly (articles, tables and the index) and around the load, conductor-sizing and overcurrent calculations that fill the General Knowledge, Services, Feeders and Branch Circuit domains. Practise timed sets with your own tabbed NEC, since ICC advises basing answers on the approved references rather than field habit.

ICC updates exams when the NEC edition changes: its list shows separate Master Electrician exams on the 2014, 2017, 2020 and 2023 NEC. The R16 exam covers the 2023 NEC, so make sure your jurisdiction accepts that edition. ICC revises its bulletin several times a year (pricing, outlines and references), so check the current bulletin before you study.