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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Twenty questions, answered

Colorado Electrician Exam and Code Questions: Answered

The questions people type before a Colorado electrician examination, answered short and tied to PSI's bulletin, the Board's rules or the Secretary of State filing. Where two official sources disagree, both are named. Where we could not confirm something, the answer says so.

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On this page
  1. How many questions is the Colorado electrician exam?
  2. How long do I get?
  3. What score do I need to pass?
  4. Which NEC edition is the exam based on?
  5. Can I bring my own code book?
  6. Can I tab or highlight the code book?
  7. Can I still ask for the 2023 code book?
  8. What does the exam cost?
  9. How long do I wait to retake it?
  10. Can I cancel or reschedule?
  11. What identification do I need?
  12. Where are the test centers in Colorado?
  13. Will I find out which areas I failed?
  14. Is there an official exam content outline?
  15. What is the Colorado exam pass rate?
  16. How many Colorado electrician exams are there?
  17. Why is there a six year apprentice exam?
  18. Do I take the exam before or after I apply?
  19. Which NEC edition does Colorado enforce for work?
  20. Are the Denver electrical exams the same as the state exam?
  21. What this page cites

How many questions is the Colorado electrician exam?

Ninety scored items, on every one of the four Colorado papers. PSI lists Residential Wireman, Journeyman Wireman, Master Electrician and CO Journeyman Wireman (6 plus Year Apprentice Exam) with the same scored format.

Non-scored items carry 30 extra minutes on top. The residential wireman paper takes up to 7 of them and the other three take up to 10.

How long do I get?

240 minutes for the scored items, plus 30 minutes for the non-scored ones. That is four hours of scored time and four hours thirty minutes of seat time.

Two minutes forty seconds a scored question is the working figure to practice against.

What score do I need to pass?

70 percent, which PSI prints as 63 items correct out of the 90 scored items.

The same mark applies to all four papers, from the residential wireman exam to the master electrician exam.

Which NEC edition is the exam based on?

The 2026 National Electrical Code, since August 1, 2026. The bulletin sentence reads: Effective 8/1/2026: all examination questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code book.

The bulletin also still prints the earlier paragraph naming the 2023 book, unmarked as superseded, which is why people get confused. The edition page quotes both in full.

Can I bring my own code book?

No. PSI provides the code book and a formula page at the test center, and the bulletin says you may not use any other materials.

There is nothing to bring and nothing to carry in. That is the single biggest difference between Colorado and most other states.

Can I tab or highlight the code book?

No. The bulletin says you may not write, highlight, underline, and/or index on the references.

That applies to PSI's own copy, and since there is no other copy in the room, tabbing is not an option at all. The book rules page covers what to practice instead.

Can I still ask for the 2023 code book?

Until November 1, 2026. The bulletin says the 2023 code book can be provided upon request until 11/1/2026, and that after this date the 2023 book will no longer be provided as an option.

It does not say how you make the request, and it does not say the questions revert for anyone who does. Read literally, you would sit a 2026 examination holding a 2023 book.

What does the exam cost?

$78 for the examination and $73 for a retest.

PSI prints, in capitals, that examination fees are not refundable or transferable and that the examination fee is valid for one year from the date of payment. So a fee paid and unused expires.

How long do I wait to retake it?

No waiting period is published. What the bulletin says is that it is not possible to make a new examination appointment on the same day you have taken an examination.

Its worked example has a candidate who fails on a Wednesday calling the next day, Thursday, and retesting as soon as Friday, depending upon space availability.

Can I cancel or reschedule?

Yes, without forfeiting the fee, if your cancellation notice is received 2 days before the scheduled examination date.

The fee is forfeited if you do not cancel in time, do not appear, arrive after the examination start time, or do not present proper identification.

What identification do I need?

Board rule 3 CCR 710-1.8.A requires positive photo identification for admission to the examination area.

PSI wants identification carrying your signature and photo, valid and unexpired, and accepts a state driver's license, a state identification card, a US Government issued passport, a US Government issued military identification card, a US Government issued alien registration card, or Canadian government issued identification.

Where are the test centers in Colorado?

Ten sites: Broomfield, Colorado Springs, Denver at Centennial, Denver at Wheat Ridge, Durango, Englewood, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Lakewood at Red Rocks Community College, and Pueblo.

There is no site in Aurora, Thornton or Arvada. The test day page has every address.

Will I find out which areas I failed?

No. Board rule 3 CCR 710-1.8.C says examination results will be provided in writing in a pass or fail format and that results will not be given in any other manner.

Rule 1.8.D says examinations shall not be subject to review by candidates, so there is no appeal to look at the paper either.

Is there an official exam content outline?

None that we found, on any Board, DORA or PSI page. No subject list, no weighting.

Board rule 3 CCR 710-1.8.B goes the other way and treats examination content and answers as proprietary property. The exam content page explains what we use instead.

What is the Colorado exam pass rate?

No figure is published by the State Electrical Board, DORA or PSI, and no annual exam volume is published either.

The state's regulatory review archive lists no sunset or sunrise review of the State Electrical Board that might carry one. Treat any published rate you see as unsourced.

How many Colorado electrician exams are there?

Four: Residential Wireman, Journeyman Wireman, Master Electrician, and CO Journeyman Wireman (6 plus Year Apprentice Exam).

There is no electrical contractor examination and no apprentice examination in Colorado.

Why is there a six year apprentice exam?

Because C.R.S. 12-115-115(4)(a)(I) requires an apprentice registered at least six years, with eight thousand hours and the other journeyman requirements met, to take the journeyman examination at least every three years in alignment with the license renewal cycle until they pass.

C.R.S. 12-115-115(5) lets the Board suspend the apprentice registration for not sitting it.

Do I take the exam before or after I apply?

Before. The Board's journeyman application preview asks for a passing score on the PSI examination, and the master preview says you must have taken and passed the examination before submitting the application.

How PSI establishes eligibility to book is not described on any page we read, so ask PSI when you schedule.

Which NEC edition does Colorado enforce for work?

The 2026 edition, effective July 15, 2026, adopted by amending Rule 1.5 of 3 CCR 710-1 under Secretary of State tracking number 2026-00171.

That is seventeen days before the exam moved. Several published texts still print older editions, including the Board's own license application previews, which say the current NEC code in use in Colorado is the 2023 NEC. The timeline page prints all of it.

Are the Denver electrical exams the same as the state exam?

No. The ICC bulletin dated June 3, 2026 lists Denver exams 380 and 377, both through Pearson VUE at $115, both 40 questions, both open book, and both referencing the 2014 National Electrical Code.

Different vendor, different format, and four editions behind the state code. The Denver exams page has the detail.

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All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.

What this page cites

If your notes still say 2023

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Colorado State Electrical Board, PSI, or any licensing authority, school or union.

The Colorado examinations are open book only in the sense that PSI puts a book on the desk. PSI provides the National Electrical Code and a formula page at the test center, bars writing, highlighting, underlining and indexing on them, and allows no other materials. The questions have followed the 2026 edition since 1 August 2026, and the 2023 book is provided on request until 1 November 2026.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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