Which code edition does my exam use?

This is the question worth getting right before you spend a dollar on books, and it is the one most often answered wrongly on forums. The code edition your state adopted for construction is not necessarily the edition your licensing exam is written against. Those two things move separately, and the gap between them is where most wasted book spend happens.

South Carolina is the clearest example. The state has adopted the 2023 NEC for construction, with local implementation from January 2027 — but the PSI bulletin dated 27 August 2026 still lists the 2017 NEC as the reference for the residential electrical exam. A candidate who reads the adoption news and buys a 2023 book has bought the wrong book, and will not find out until test day.

Editions we have verified

Each row below was taken from that state's own board or testing-vendor bulletin, not from a third-party summary.

Three of those seven are not on the current Code. That is normal, not an error, and it is the reason a generic "latest edition" recommendation is useless.

Once you know your edition, this is the book

We stock four cycles because four cycles are in active use. Match the row to the edition your own bulletin names.

Whichever cycle you need, check the binding and tab rules for your board before ordering — several refuse spiral binding or third-party tabs at the door.

How to check your own, in four steps

1. Find your licensing board, not a prep site. Search for the board by name — "[state] board of electrical examiners" — and work from its pages.
2. Find the candidate information bulletin for your specific licence. Boards publish one per licence class, and they differ.
3. Read the reference list, and note its revision date. Bulletins are revised between sittings.
4. Check your authorisation-to-test email. Once you are approved to sit, that email is the version that counts. It overrides anything else, including this page.

Why the gap exists

A model code is published on a three-year cycle. A state then adopts it through its own legislative or regulatory process, which takes anywhere from a few months to several years. The licensing board then has to revise its exam bank and its bulletin to match — a third, separate step, because rewriting an item bank is slow and expensive work.

So at any moment a state can be in three places at once: building to one edition, examining on an older one, and preparing to move to a newer one. Add that different codes adopt on different schedules — a 2021 Mechanical Code beside a 2024 Fuel Gas Code is usually correct — and a reference list spanning several years is normal rather than exceptional.

State by state, what else catches people

Texas — 2026 NEC

• Unless a question says otherwise, all conductors are to be considered copper.
• Do not apply Code exceptions or optional calculation methods unless directed to.
• Finish one portion early and the unused time does NOT roll over to the other.

Source: PSI TDLR Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin, rev. 15 September 2026.

Virginia — 2020 NEC

• Roughly 10% of items are unscored experimental questions.
• Single integrated paper — calculation questions are mixed through, not sat separately.
• Handheld calculators are not permitted, which is unusual and catches people out.

Source: Virginia Board for Contractors / PSI exam guide.

Georgia — 2023 NEC

• Scored on a SCALED score of 70, not a raw percentage.
• Content splits into Regulations and Laws (30 items) and Technical Functions (110 items), so roughly one question in five is non-technical.
• Class I is Restricted; Class II is Unrestricted. The exams are separate.

Source: PSI Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board candidate bulletin.

Alabama — 2023 NEC

• The pass mark is 75%, not 70%. On 80 questions you can miss 20.
• Alabama uses Prov, not PSI — registration and rules differ from neighbouring states.
• Alabama moves to the 2026 NEC on 1 January 2027. Testing before then, study the 2023.

Source: Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors / Prov candidate information.

North Carolina — 2020 NEC

• Still on the 2020 NEC until the Board says otherwise — do not buy a 2023 or 2026 book for this exam.
• One 100-question exam covers Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited; the class is set by experience and bonding, not a different paper.
• Partially open book — licensing law and the NASCLA guide sections are closed.

Source: NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors / PSI.

Florida — 2023 NEC

• Two separate sections: Technical and Safety (100 questions, five hours) and Business and Finance (50 questions, two and a half hours). Each passed on its own at 75%.
• The Business and Finance half is not electrical — estimating, financial statements, contract law, liens, insurance, bonding, personnel. Plenty of good electricians fail there.
• Alarms and limited energy is weighted far more heavily than in most states. Do not skip Article 760.
• Many Florida counties run their own journeyman exams through Prov or GITS. Those are different exams with different references.

Source: Florida DBPR Examination Information Bulletin / ECLB candidate information.

South Carolina — 2017 NEC

• The big one: the PSI bulletin dated 27 August 2026 still lists the 2017 NEC. The state adopted 2023 for construction, but the exam reference has not moved with it.
• Buying a 2023 book for this exam is the most common and most expensive mistake in South Carolina.
• The Commercial/Electrical Contractor exam is a different paper: 80 questions, 56 to pass, five hours.

Source: PSI South Carolina Candidate Information Bulletin, 27 August 2026.

Your state, in detail

We have written up licensing requirements, adopted editions and exam-room rules for 53 jurisdictions — every state, plus Chicago, Indianapolis and Wichita, which license locally rather than statewide. Each write-up is verified against that state's own board or testing vendor and names its source.

Find your state's exam guide →

We deliberately do not publish a single 50-state edition table. Editions differ by licence class within one state, and boards revise without notice. A table like that would be wrong somewhere within a week of publishing, and a wrong code year costs a candidate a few hundred dollars and a sitting.

If your bulletin disagrees with us

Your bulletin wins. Tell us what it says and we will supply what it says — and we will correct this page. Boards revise without announcement, and we would rather be told than keep publishing something stale.

Browsing more widely? Start from electrical code books or the state study guides.