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

Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

SP-PH, SP-WP, SP-ES, SP-EL

NC Special Restricted Electrical Exams: Format and Fee

Four of the Board's special restricted classifications share one paper shape: 40 multiple choice questions over three hours, open book, at a minimum grade of 70. They also share an application requirement the others do not have, which is verification of employment with a related business.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

On this page
  1. The four classifications on this page
  2. Why these classifications exist
  3. The paper
  4. The books you may carry
  5. Who can sit for them
  6. Money, booking and retakes
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The four classifications on this page

The Board publishes seven special restricted classifications. Two of them have their own pages here because their papers differ: Fire Alarm / Low-Voltage at 50 questions and Swimming Pool at 25. Residential Dwelling has its own page because most searchers arrive looking for it by name.

That leaves four that sit together on the same 40 question, three hour paper:

Each carries an annual license fee of $100.

Why these classifications exist

G.S. 87-43.3 authorizes the Board to create special restricted licenses for two situations. One is a specific phase of electrical contracting of a special, limited nature. The other is people who do electrical work as an incidental part of a primary business that is not electrical contracting.

Read the four names again with that sentence in front of you and the logic is clear. A mechanical contractor, a well driller, a sign company and an elevator company each do electrical work inside a trade that is not electrical contracting.

The scope of each one is set in Section .0800 of Title 21 NCAC 18B. We have not paraphrased those scopes, because the boundary of a restricted license is the part that decides whether a job is legal.

The paper

Forty multiple choice questions, a maximum of three hours, a minimum grade of 70 out of a possible score of 100. Open book.

Four and a half minutes a question is the most time the Board gives on any of its papers. It is a shape that rewards knowing your way around the code book more than it rewards recall.

The handbook groups SP-SFD with these four for the 40 question format, so a candidate comparing the two will find the same length and the same clock.

The books you may carry

The 2020 National Electrical Code, required.

NFPA 72 is not allowed for these four. The 2013 National Fire Alarm Code is on the list for Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited, SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV only.

Lighting and Power Plans are not used on these papers either. The handbook prints them at the back for Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited only.

So the code book is the whole of what you carry. The licensing law in Chapter 87 Article 4, the Board's rules in 21 NCAC 18B and the NASCLA Contractors' Guide, North Carolina Electrical Edition, are closed book, which means those marks come out of preparation rather than lookup.

Binding and marking rules apply the same way to every candidate. Book rules covers what is refused at the door.

Who can sit for them

Age 18, a duly filed application, and two written statements about your character.

At least 3,000 hours of experience, of which at least 2,000 hours must be primary experience, plus verification of employment with a related business.

That last item is the one that separates these four from SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV. The Board wants to see that you work in the trade the restricted license belongs to, which is consistent with the statute's reasoning for creating the classification.

The Board publishes an Employer Statement Form for the employment side of an application. Read the hours page for how the credit percentages work.

Money, booking and retakes

The application and examination fee is $125 in every classification and is not refundable. The annual special restricted license fee is $100. An examination review costs $25.

PSI schedules the seat after Board approval, and approval gives you 90 days to use it. Two days notice on a cancellation protects the fee; a missed appointment forfeits it.

After a failure, three months before you may sit again in the same classification. That is the Board's rule for every classification it examines.

Questions people ask

How many questions are the NC special restricted exams?

Forty multiple choice questions in a maximum of three hours for SP-PH, SP-WP, SP-ES, SP-EL and SP-SFD. Fire alarm and low voltage is 50 questions in three hours, and swimming pool bonding is 25 in one hour.

What is the pass mark?

A minimum grade of 70 out of a possible score of 100. The Board applies that standard to every qualifying examination it runs.

It is an application requirement for SP-EL, SP-PH, SP-WP, SP-ES and SP-SP on top of the 3,000 hours. The Board publishes an Employer Statement Form for the employment side of an application.

Can I bring NFPA 72 to these exams?

No. The handbook allows the 2013 National Fire Alarm Code for Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited, SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV only.

What does a special restricted license allow?

The scope of each one is set in Section .0800 of the Board's rules in Title 21 NCAC 18B. The statute describes them as covering a specific phase of electrical contracting of a special, limited nature, or electrical work done as an incidental part of another primary business.

How much is a special restricted license?

One hundred dollars a year, the same figure for all seven special restricted classifications. The application and examination fee is $125 and is not refundable.

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.

Start the free practice testSee the $79 question bank

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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