Free practice questions for the North Carolina electrical contractor exam — Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited — given for the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC), with a written explanation on every answer, in English, Spanish, and Russian.
8 questions, about 4 minutes. No account needed — pick an answer to see whether it's right and read the explanation, the same explanations you get on every question in the full course.
Practice across the full question bank.
Each explanation shows why the correct answer works.
Spend more time on the questions you miss.
Practice under exam-style time pressure before exam day.
Every question tells you why the correct answer is correct and defines the terms it uses — so you learn the rule, not just the answer.
Questions are written from scratch against the official codes and agency publications for this exam — never copied from the real exam.
Every question and explanation is fully translated, with the English exam term kept alongside — not a shallow machine translation.
LICENA is a practice tool, not a school. We don't promise a pass — we help you understand the material and walk in prepared.
The full course is 500 questions in 5 blocks, written from the code text and open official sources: the 2020 National Electrical Code (each code item checked against the 2023 edition), NFPA 72 (2013 edition), the licensing law in G.S. 87 Article 4 and the Board's rules in 21 NCAC 18B. The bank is built to the Unlimited scope, so it also covers Limited and Intermediate; explanations mark the topics the Limited exam does not test. Calculation, business and estimating questions give every number in the question. Honest limit: the NASCLA Contractors' Guide (North Carolina Electrical edition) and the handbook's Lighting and Power Plans are not reproduced, so questions that turn on their exact pages are not in this bank, and no question is keyed to a section North Carolina amends.
Exam structure, topics, who needs it and official resources.
North Carolina licenses electrical contractors through the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC), and the Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited licenses each take a 100-question exam that also covers the state's licensing law and Board rules. PSI gives it by computer — up to 6 hours, open book, 70% to pass, with a $125 application and exam fee; the NCBEEC handbook lists no Spanish or translated exam version. Code questions follow the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2013 edition of NFPA 72. Practice it in the free sample above: no sign-up, with a written explanation on every question.
North Carolina licenses electrical contractors statewide through the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC), under Article 4 of Chapter 87 of the General Statutes and the Board's rules in 21 NCAC 18B. The Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited licenses differ in the size of project they allow: G.S. 87-43.3 sets up the classes, the Board sets the project values in 21 NCAC 18B .0303, and Unlimited has no project-value limit. All three exams use the same format — 100 multiple-choice questions in up to 6 hours — but the handbook says the Intermediate and Unlimited exams cover more areas and are harder.
The handbook's subject table splits the questions into eleven areas (approximate counts, Limited / Intermediate / Unlimited): bonding and grounding 10 / 11 / 11; overcurrent protection 9 / 9 / 9; wiring methods and terminations 10 / 10 / 10; boxes and fittings 8 / 7 / 7; service entrance and equipment 11 / 9 / 9; motors and control wiring 7 / 8 / 9; special occupancies and hazardous locations 6 / 9 / 9; load calculations 11 / 11 / 11; appliances, equipment and lighting 7 / 7 / 7; general 3 / 3 / 3; and laws, rules, business practices, plans and estimating and the fire alarm code 18 / 16 / 15. Grounding and load calculations are the largest code areas at every level.
The Limited exam does not test high-voltage grounding, overcurrent protection or wiring, emergency systems, health care facilities, places of assembly and theaters, hazardous locations, machine rooms or elevator traveling cables. The Intermediate exam adds those areas except aircraft hangars, which only the Unlimited exam covers. LICENA's bank is built to the Unlimited scope, so it covers all three levels, and its explanations mark the topics the Limited exam leaves out.
The exam is open book. You bring your own 2020 National Electrical Code, the 2013 edition of NFPA 72 (the National Fire Alarm Code) and the NASCLA Contractors' Guide to Business, Law and Project Management (North Carolina Electrical edition); the law questions come from G.S. 87 Article 4 and 21 NCAC 18B, which the handbook prints in full. Books may be highlighted and annotated before the exam, only permanent tabs are allowed, and calculators are provided at the test center. In the field, North Carolina enforces the 2020 code with state amendments, and one- and two-family dwellings stay on the 2017 code. The exam names the 2020 NEC, so LICENA keys its questions to the 2020 text, checks each one against the 2023 edition and does not key the sections North Carolina amends.
The Board also issues Special Restricted licenses for single-family detached dwellings, plumbing and heating, electric signs, elevators, groundwater pumps, fire alarm and low voltage, and swimming pool bonding. Their exams are shorter — 40 questions in 3 hours for most, 50 questions for Fire Alarm/Low Voltage and 25 for Swimming Pool Bonding — and this course does not target them.
You apply to NCBEEC with the $125 fee; once the Board approves the application, PSI emails your eligibility and you book the exam through PSI. Bring two forms of valid ID and your own reference books, and arrive 30 minutes early; results are given at the test center when you finish. Six hours for 100 questions is about three and a half minutes a question, enough time to look things up in the code. The NCBEEC handbook lists no Spanish or translated exam version, so LICENA keeps the English exam term next to every translation.
The full course is 500 questions in five blocks: grounding, bonding and overcurrent protection · general requirements, wiring methods, conductors and boxes · services and load calculations · motors, equipment and special occupancies · North Carolina law, Board rules, business, plans and fire alarm. At 30 questions a day that is under three weeks: one pass to find the gaps, a second pass on the blocks you missed, then the timed final — 100 questions in 6 hours, graded at 70%, like the real exam. The free OSHA construction practice test drills the federal jobsite safety rules.
Try the full bank free for 3 days — no card needed. Then $9.99 for your first month and $19.99/month after that if you decide to continue, cancel anytime. A school sells a full prepaid package; this is a question bank you can stop at any time — and you study on your phone, in your language, whenever you have a few minutes.
Continue North Carolina Electrical Contractor practice The free sample above stays free. Creating an account is free — no card needed.LICENA gives you practice questions to study with. We are not an accredited school and we do not guarantee that you will pass any exam.
LICENA provides online practice only. Registration, testing and licensing are handled by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC) and its exam vendor PSI — not by LICENA. LICENA is not affiliated with NCBEEC, PSI or NFPA.