- Who Needs the New Hampshire Journeyman Exam
- The Qualification Pathways Under Elec 304.01
- Documenting Your Field Hours
- Board Approval, Registration and Eligibility Window
- What You Are Qualifying To Sit: Format and Scope
- The Code Edition Question You Should Not Guess At
- Test-Day Rules: References, Calculators and Remote Delivery
- Moving From Massachusetts or Another State
- What Keeps the License Active
- Scheduling Prep Around Your Eligibility Window
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Elec 304.01 requires 8,000 practical hours under a Board-licensed journeyman or master, plus an education or experience alternative.
- The education alternative is 600 electrical-schooling hours, including 24 safety hours; approved school practical credit can cover up to 2,000 hours.
- You need Board approval first; testing eligibility lasts 365 days, and retakes require a two-day interval.
- The exam is 110 multiple-choice questions in 270 minutes, with a 70% passing score and a $90 fee per attempt.
Who Needs the New Hampshire Journeyman Exam
The New Hampshire Journeyman Electrician License Exam (NH-JE) is the written examination administered for the New Hampshire Electricians' Board, which sits within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC). Prov, Inc. delivers the test. If you plan to perform electrical work in the state as a licensed journeyman, this is the credential gate between your apprenticeship and your license.
This page covers qualifying for the exam: what the rules require before you may sit, how to document it, and what logistics follow approval. If you are still deciding whether the license makes sense for your career, the NH-JE ROI analysis and the NH-JE salary guide treat that question separately. For a plain-language introduction to the credential itself, see What Is NH-JE?
The Qualification Pathways Under Elec 304.01
Elec 304.01 sets the journeyman qualification structure. It has two layers: a field-experience baseline that every applicant on the standard path must meet, and an alternative that supplements it.
Layer one: 8,000 practical hours
The rule requires 8,000 hours of practical, field-based apprenticeship experience performed under a Board-licensed journeyman or master electrician. The supervisor's license matters: hours worked under someone who was not licensed by the Board are not what the rule describes.
Layer two: the education or experience alternative
On top of the field hours, the rule prescribes an alternative. Based on the retrieved text, the options are:
- Electrical schooling: 600 hours of electrical schooling, including 24 hours of safety instruction. A qualifying electrical associate degree or higher is recognized within this schooling provision.
- Licensed elsewhere: ten years of licensure as a journeyman or master in another jurisdiction.
- Prior New Hampshire examination: a previous New Hampshire journeyman or master examination.
| Requirement element | What the retrieved rule text says |
|---|---|
| Practical field hours | 8,000 hours under a Board-licensed journeyman or master |
| Schooling alternative | 600 electrical-schooling hours, including 24 safety hours |
| Degree recognition | Qualifying electrical associate or higher degree recognized within the schooling provision |
| Out-of-state licensure alternative | Ten years licensed as a journeyman or master elsewhere |
| Prior exam alternative | A previous NH journeyman or master examination |
| School-based practical credit | Up to 2,000 hours, with documentation and no concurrent double counting |
Documenting Your Field Hours
Eight thousand hours is only useful if you can prove them. The retrieved rule describes the kinds of evidence the Board looks for in field experience: employment dates, the type of work performed, and the supervising master's signature. Think of each entry as answering three questions: when, doing what, and who vouches for it.
How school credit interacts with field hours
Approved school-based practical credit can cover up to 2,000 of the 8,000 hours. Two cautions apply. First, it requires documentation, so keep transcripts, lab or practical-hour records, and anything that shows what the program covered. Second, hours cannot be counted twice at the same time. If you were in a school program and on a job site during the same hours, you generally cannot claim both for the same hour.
- Keep dated records from every employer, not just the current one.
- Describe work in terms the Board can evaluate: residential, commercial, industrial, service work, and so on.
- Collect supervising master signatures while you still have contact with the person; chasing them years later is painful.
- Separate your school hours from your job-site hours in your own tracking so you never double count.
Key Takeaway
Start your documentation file on day one of the apprenticeship, not the month you want to apply. Employment dates, work type and supervisor signatures are the three evidence pillars the rule text points to.
Board Approval, Registration and Eligibility Window
You do not simply book a seat. Board approval is required before you test. After approval, your eligibility to test lasts 365 days, which makes the sequence matter: do not get approved until you are within realistic reach of being exam-ready, or you may spend part of the year of eligibility just studying.
Fees and retakes
- Exam fee: $90 per attempt, including retakes, effective February 1, 2025.
- Retake interval: at least two days between attempts.
- Other licensing charges: separate state licensing fees exist but are not quantified here because they were not verified. Check the Board for current amounts. Our certification cost breakdown tracks the pieces of the budget.
Delivery options
The exam is computer-delivered. You can test at a Prov test center or remotely through Examroom.ai. Remote testing has its own system and equipment instructions that are separate from the center rules, so read those well ahead of your date. For scheduling mechanics and windows, see the NH-JE exam dates guide.
What You Are Qualifying To Sit: Format and Scope
Knowing the exam shape helps you judge when you are truly ready to apply.
| Feature | NH-JE detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Computer-delivered multiple-choice written examination |
| Questions | 110 |
| Time | 270 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Administrator | Prov, Inc., for the NH Electricians' Board (OPLC) |
| Fee | $90 per attempt, retakes included |
A 70% passing score is a cut score, not a pass rate. It tells you what you must earn, not how many candidates succeed; official cohort pass-rate statistics were not verified. See the passing score guide and the pass rate discussion for how to read those figures responsibly.
The twelve subject headings
The two retrieved Prov candidate information bulletins share twelve official examination subject headings:
- General Electrical Knowledge
- Equipment for General Use
- Motors and Generators
- Control Devices
- Special Conditions
- Special Equipment
- Special Occupancies
- Services and Service Equipment
- Branch Circuits and Conductors
- Feeders
- Wiring Methods & Materials
- Administrative
These are exam headings from the bulletins, not a preparation curriculum. Percentage weights are not published, so do not trust anyone who gives you precise percentages. What the bulletins do give is question counts per heading, which the next section explains. For a deep walk through each area, use the NH-JE exam domains guide.
Why the headings matter before you even apply
Your apprenticeship probably exposed you unevenly to these areas.
- Field-heavy areas like Wiring Methods & Materials and Branch Circuits and Conductors may feel familiar.
- Motors and Generators carries 19 questions in both bulletins, a large block that often outstrips a candidate's day-to-day exposure.
- Administrative covers rules, licensing and legal content that no amount of site experience teaches.
The Code Edition Question You Should Not Guess At
This is the single most important verification item for anyone who is qualifying now, because it affects what you buy and what you memorize.
Two Prov bulletins list the exam scope, and they do not match:
| Item | NH Electrician CIB 2025.12.12 | NH Electrician CIB 2026.08.06 |
|---|---|---|
| Label on printed page 7 | Journeyman Electrician (2023) | Journeyman Electrician (2020) |
| Question allocations, Domains 1-12 | 22, 9, 19, 5, 2, 2, 2, 12, 6, 8, 14, 9 | 21, 9, 19, 5, 2, 2, 2, 12, 6, 8, 14, 10 |
| Total questions | 110 | 110 |
| NEC reference | Reference list includes both a 2023 NEC entry and a separate 2020 NEC entry | Specifies the 2020 NEC |
Read the differences carefully. General Electrical Knowledge is the largest heading in both bulletins, but the allocation shifts from 22 to 21 questions, while Administrative moves from 9 to 10. Motors and Generators holds steady at 19. Both versions total 110.
Bulletins are also permissive about bringing older or newer reference editions, but that generic permission does not tell you which edition the question bank is built on. Until the conflict is resolved, avoid any prep product that claims to be verified against one specific edition's question bank. Ask the Board or Prov in writing, keep the answer, and then buy materials.
Test-Day Rules: References, Calculators and Remote Delivery
Qualifying also means preparing for what you will actually have at the table. The bulletins describe the reference environment this way:
- Allowed: prior highlighting, pen underlining and permanent tabs in your references; authorized printed state reference documents.
- Prohibited: handwritten notes, movable tabs or sticky notes, and practice tests.
- Calculator: a simple four-function calculator is permitted at test centers. Remote candidates must follow the separate remote system and equipment instructions.
The listed references include the American Electrician's Handbook (17th edition), Ugly's Electrical References (2020), NH Elec 300-400 and RSA 319-C, and named 2017 state amendments, in addition to the NEC entries discussed above. Because permanent tabs are allowed but movable ones are not, tab your books well in advance with permanent tabs and test your navigation speed. Over 270 minutes, quick code lookup is a skill, and it is why a code book setup deserves attention as part of your study plan.
Moving From Massachusetts or Another State
Many candidates ask whether a Massachusetts license transfers directly. The retrieved Elec 304.01 text does not describe a blanket reciprocity agreement. What it does describe is that ten years of licensure as a journeyman or master in another jurisdiction is one of the prescribed alternatives that can supplement the field-hours requirement, and that a previous New Hampshire journeyman or master examination is another.
Practically, that means:
- Do not assume your out-of-state license waives the New Hampshire written exam.
- Gather proof of how long you have been licensed and at what level.
- Ask the Board directly how your specific history is evaluated, and get that answer before paying for anything.
Reciprocity treatment can change by rule amendment, and it was not verifiable in a Board-hosted source for this article, so treat any claim you read online as a lead to confirm, not a fact to rely on.
What Keeps the License Active
Qualification does not end when you pass. Two ongoing obligations are worth knowing about before you start, because they affect the long-term cost of holding the license.
Renewal and code-cycle education
These are separate duties that people often confuse.
- Biennial renewal: under Elec 401.01, amended effective May 4, 2024, renewal is set at two years from issuance. Some older descriptions say three years; treat those as outdated.
- Code-change education: Elec 403.01 requires 15 hours on the latest NEC changes, including at least one hour on New Hampshire laws, rules and installation concerns, completed by the end of the calendar year following the NEC edition's publication.
- The code-cycle obligation is separate from the biennial licensing cycle, so you can owe education on one clock and renewal on another.
If you are weighing the long-term economics of licensure, these recurring obligations belong in the budget alongside the exam fee. The general overview pages NH-JE Certification and What Is NH-JE Certification? give additional context, and NH-JE jobs looks at where licensed journeymen work.
Scheduling Prep Around Your Eligibility Window
Because eligibility lasts 365 days after approval, a short, deliberate prep plan fits better than an open-ended one. This is one place where generic study technique is worth borrowing, but only when anchored to the exam's actual structure. A sensible order is to start with the heaviest allocation, then the area your fieldwork leaves thinnest.
General Electrical Knowledge and Motors and Generators
- General Electrical Knowledge is the largest heading in both bulletins (22 or 21 questions).
- Motors and Generators holds 19 questions in both, so it earns real time even if your jobs rarely involved motor calculations.
Wiring Methods & Materials, Branch Circuits and Conductors, Equipment for General Use
- Wiring Methods & Materials carries 14 questions; Branch Circuits and Conductors carries 6.
- Equipment for General Use carries 9; practice fast lookup with your tabbed code book.
Services, Feeders, Special areas and Administrative
- Services and Service Equipment carries 8 questions and Feeders carries 12.
- Special Conditions, Special Equipment and Special Occupancies are small but count; Administrative is 9 or 10 depending on which bulletin governs.
A note on Administrative: some commercial courses do not cover it. For example, one major provider's public New Hampshire page states that Administrative topics are excluded. If you use a course like that, plan to cover rules, RSA 319-C and the Elec 300-400 series on your own, using the actual references the bulletins list.
If you want targeted drills, our practice test site offers original questions organized by area. They are original practice items and are not copies of live exam content. For a faster review sheet before test day, the NH-JE cheat sheet condenses must-know facts, and how hard the exam is helps you calibrate effort. You can also check yourself against exam-style questions on the main practice platform before you commit to a test date.
Frequently Asked Questions
The retrieved Elec 304.01 text requires 8,000 hours of practical field apprenticeship experience under a Board-licensed journeyman or master, plus one of the prescribed alternatives, such as 600 hours of electrical schooling that includes 24 safety hours. Approved school-based practical credit can cover up to 2,000 hours, with documentation and no concurrent double counting.
Yes. Board approval is required first. After approval, your testing eligibility lasts 365 days, and the exam fee is $90 per attempt, including retakes. Confirm current application procedures and any separate licensing charges directly with the Electricians' Board at OPLC.
The retrieved rule describes field-experience evidence as including employment dates, the type of work performed and the supervising master's signature. Collecting those as you work makes documentation far easier than reconstructing it later.
The retrieved text does not describe a blanket reciprocity arrangement. It does list ten years of licensure as a journeyman or master elsewhere as one alternative that can supplement the field-hours requirement. Ask the Board how your specific history would be evaluated before you assume any waiver.
This is unresolved in the published sources. One Prov bulletin labels the exam Journeyman Electrician (2023) and lists both 2023 and 2020 NEC entries, while a newer bulletin labels it Journeyman Electrician (2020) and specifies the 2020 NEC. Confirm the governing edition with OPLC or Prov before purchasing or tabbing code books.