North Carolina Electrician PrepLicense, exam and code, in one place

Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

The middle classification

NC Intermediate Electrical Contractor Exam: Format

The Intermediate paper is the same shape as the Limited one, 100 questions over six hours at a minimum grade of 70. The difference sits either side of the exam room: nearly twice the hours to qualify, and a statement of bonding ability before the license goes active.

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On this page
  1. What changes from Limited to Intermediate
  2. The project value the license allows
  3. Who can sit for it
  4. The books you are allowed to carry
  5. The bonding statement, and when it bites
  6. Money, booking and the clock
  7. If you do not pass
  8. How to prepare for it
  9. Questions people ask
  10. What this page cites

What changes from Limited to Intermediate

The examination does not get longer and it does not get shorter. One hundred multiple choice questions, a maximum of six hours, a minimum grade of 70 out of 100, open book.

Three things change. The experience floor rises to at least 5,750 hours with at least 5,000 of them primary. The annual license fee rises to $150. And the license cannot be activated until a statement of bonding ability is on file.

So the Intermediate step is an eligibility and money step rather than a harder paper. That is worth knowing before you decide which classification to apply for.

The project value the license allows

The Board's licensing page describes the Intermediate classification as a single electrical contracting project of a value not in excess of $150,000.

G.S. 87-43.3 prints $200,000 for the same classification, with the phrase as established by the Board. The section history line ends with 2022-11, s. 1(a) and 2024-49, s. 3.2(a).

The Board's 2025 license application still works from the lower set: the Intermediate statement of bonding ability on that form is for $60,001. We cannot tell you which figure the Board is enforcing today, so both are cited and the Board's licensing staff are the people to ask before you bid.

Who can sit for it

Minimum age 18. A duly filed application. Written statements from at least two people attesting to your character.

Then the hours: at least 5,750 hours of experience, of which at least 5,000 hours must be primary experience. At the rule set's rate of 2,000 hours to a creditable year, that is close to three years with two and a half of them primary.

The gap between the total and the primary floor is only 750 hours here, which is much tighter than the Limited gap. Secondary experience will not carry you far into this classification, so read how the hours are counted before you file.

The books you are allowed to carry

The reference list is the same as the Limited list, because the Board treats Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited as one group for references.

Two books go in with you:

Three more are closed book, studied before the day and left outside:

Lighting and Power Plans are printed at the back of the handbook rather than carried in.

Three of those references are not code books at all. The statute, the rules and the NASCLA business guide say something about how the paper is built: part of it is licensing law and business practice rather than conductor sizing, and that part you answer from memory.

The bonding statement, and when it bites

A statement of bonding ability is required to activate a license in the Intermediate and Unlimited classifications. It is not an examination requirement, so it does not stop you sitting.

It stops the license going active afterwards. The Board publishes an Intermediate bonding ability form, and the amount on the 2025 application is $60,001.

If you are the qualified individual for someone else's company, the bonding side is the company's problem rather than yours. If the license is going to be yours, start that conversation with a surety before the results arrive.

Money, booking and the clock

The application and examination fee is $125 in every classification and is not refundable. The Intermediate annual license fee is $150. An examination review is $25.

Once the Board approves you, PSI schedules the seat and you have 90 days from approval to sit. A cancellation two days before the date keeps the fee alive; a missed appointment does not.

Centers sit in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Greensboro, Durham and Cary candidates travel.

If you do not pass

Three months from the date of the failed examination before you can sit again in the same classification. The Board's examinations page prints the same rule as 90 days.

You can also apply for an examination review at $25. Retakes covers what the review is and is not.

How to prepare for it

The Board publishes no prep class and recommends none. It tells candidates to read the handbook cover to cover, use the examination subject matter scope in it as the study map, put in about an hour a day and practice calculations.

For the business law and rules part, the licensing law and the Board rules are the study material, and both are closed book. Read them until you can answer without them, because they do not go into the room with you.

For the code part, start with the free practice test, then work the topic sets and check your method against the calculators.

Questions people ask

Is the NC Intermediate exam harder than the Limited exam?

The paper is the same length and the same standard: 100 questions, six hours, a minimum grade of 70. What rises is the experience you must file first and the license fee afterwards.

How many hours do I need for the Intermediate classification?

At least 5,750 hours of experience, of which at least 5,000 hours must be primary experience. The Board's rules treat 2,000 hours as one creditable year.

Do I need a bond to take the Intermediate exam?

No. The statement of bonding ability is needed to activate a license in the Intermediate classification, not to sit the examination.

What project value does an Intermediate license allow?

The Board's licensing page says a single project of a value not in excess of $150,000. G.S. 87-43.3 prints $200,000 with the words as established by the Board, so the two sources differ and both are cited on this page.

What does the Intermediate license cost each year?

The annual license fee is $150. The application and examination fee, paid once per attempt, is $125 and is not refundable.

Which books can I take into the Intermediate exam?

The same two as Limited and Unlimited: the 2020 NEC, which is required, and the 2013 edition of NFPA 72. The licensing law, the Board rules and the NASCLA North Carolina Electrical Edition guide are closed book, and the Lighting and Power Plans are printed in the handbook.

Put it to the test

Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown

Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.

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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 book is the other edition

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

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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