Preparing for the Arkansas Journeyman Electrician exam? This guide explains who qualifies, how to apply through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing — Electrical Examining Board, how the exam is scheduled through Prov, the NEC edition currently listed for each exam, which reference books are allowed, and the exact rules for tabs, highlighting, and notes.
Quick Answer: What Do You Need?
| Licensing authority | Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing — Electrical Examining Board |
| Testing provider | Prov, Inc. (in-person or at-home via Prov's Examroom remote-proctoring service) |
| Experience needed (Journeyman) | USDOL-certified apprenticeship + 8,000 hours qualifying OJT, or 16,000 hours out-of-state OJT in a licensed jurisdiction (unless your state reciprocates) |
| Exam fee | $80 computer-based / $56 paper-pencil |
| Journeyman exam format | 60 questions, 3 hours, 70% to pass, open book |
| NEC edition | 2023 NEC for the Journeyman and Master exams; see below for a discrepancy on the Residential Journeyman exam |
| Tabs/notes | Permanent tabs and pen highlighting/underlining allowed; handwritten notes are NOT allowed |
Which Arkansas Electrical Exam Do You Need?
The Board, through Prov, administers eight distinct exams. This guide focuses on the Journeyman Electrician exam — the most common path — but the table below shows the full landscape, since Arkansas licenses a wider range of specialty classifications than most states in this series.
| Exam | Format | NEC Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Electrician | 60 Q, 3 hrs, 70% | 2023 |
| Master Electrician | 60 Q, 3 hrs, 70% | 2023 |
| Residential Journeyman Electrician | 40 Q, 2 hrs, 70% | 2023 per the exam's own title — but its reference list names "2020"; see below |
| Residential Master Electrician | 60 Q, 3 hrs, 70% | 2023 |
| Master Sign Electrician | 40 Q, 2 hrs, 70% | 2023 |
| Industrial Maintenance Electrician | 50 Q, 2 hrs, 70% | 2023 (plus several NCCER/trade references) |
| Electrical Heating & A/C Installation Contractor | 60 Q, 3 hrs, 70% | 2023 |
| Parking Lot Lighting Endorsement | 20 Q, 1 hr, 70% | 2023 (plus a federal parking-lot-lighting guide) |
Journeyman, Master, Residential Journeyman, and Master Electrician exams are each offered in English or Spanish.
Journeyman Eligibility Requirements
- Completion of a USDOL-certified apprenticeship plus 8,000 hours of qualifying on-the-job training, OR
- 16,000 hours of qualifying OJT completed out-of-state in a licensed jurisdiction — unless your state has a reciprocal agreement with Arkansas, in which case the standard 8,000-hour threshold may apply instead.
- All hours are capped at 2,000 hours per year maximum — overtime hours are not creditable.
- Qualifying military experience may count with a DD-214 and service record documenting job duties and training; the Board decides how much credit to grant.
- Hours must be verified on the Board's own Electrician Employment Verification form, signed and notarized by the contracting Master Electrician — self-certification is not accepted, and no other verification format will be acknowledged.
For comparison, Master Electrician requires 12,000 hours (or 16,000 out-of-state), Residential Journeyman requires 2 years of apprenticeship plus 4,000 hours, and Residential Master requires 2 years of apprenticeship plus 8,000 hours — note that the Residential Journeyman and Residential Master licenses explicitly do not reciprocate with other states, per the Board's own verification form.
How to Apply
- Complete the appropriate application on the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners' online portal.
- Attach a completed, notarized Electrician Employment Verification form from each qualifying employer (make copies if you've worked for more than one).
- Once the Board approves your application, you'll receive a registration letter with a 10-digit Candidate ID (beginning with 200) to use when scheduling with Prov.
- Per the bulletin's FAQ, you'll be eligible to schedule your exam for six months after approval — though a separate section of the same bulletin describes a one-year retesting eligibility window (see Retesting below). Confirm your exact deadline with the Board directly, since the bulletin itself isn't fully consistent on this point.
What Is on the Journeyman Exam?
| Subject Area | Items |
|---|---|
| General Knowledge of the Electrical Trade and Calculations | 9 |
| Service, Feeders, Branch Feeders and Overcurrent Protection | 8 |
| Raceways and Enclosures | 8 |
| Conductors | 7 |
| Motors and Controls | 7 |
| Grounding and Bonding | 6 |
| Utilization and General Use Equipment | 6 |
| Special Occupancies and Equipment | 4 |
| Safety | 3 |
| Low Voltage Circuits, Including Alarms and Communications | 2 |
| Total | 60 items, 3 hours, 70% to pass |
The exam is delivered by computer, either at a Prov testing center or, if your equipment meets Prov's technical requirements, at home through Prov's Examroom remote-proctoring service. You'll get your score on-site with no additional charge for scoring.
What NEC Edition Does Arkansas Use?
The Journeyman, Master, Residential Master, Master Sign, Industrial Maintenance, Electrical Heating & A/C, and Parking Lot Lighting exams all list the 2023 NEC as their reference edition.
The Residential Journeyman Electrician exam is the exception worth flagging carefully: its exam description header reads "Arkansas Residential Journeyman Electrician utilizing the 2023 NEC," but the reference list immediately below it names "NFPA 70 - National Electrical Code 2020, 2023" — an internal inconsistency in Prov's own bulletin that we could not resolve from the document itself. If you're sitting the Residential Journeyman exam specifically, confirm directly with Prov or the Board which edition to actually bring before you buy a codebook.
Your exam may require or permit additional references. This product includes only the books/options listed on the product page — always confirm your exact exam's required edition with Prov before purchasing.
What Books Are Allowed?
The Journeyman, Master, Residential Master, Master Sign, and Electrical Heating & A/C exams are all open book with a single reference: the NEC itself. The Industrial Maintenance exam allows a longer list of trade references (Basic Safety, NEC, NCCER Industrial Maintenance Electrical & Instrumentation Levels 1 & 2, American Electrician's Handbook 17th Edition, Standby and Emergency Systems, E&I Drawings, and Motor Controls), and the Parking Lot Lighting exam additionally allows a printed copy of the federal Guide to FEMP Designated Parking Lot Lighting.
Not allowed, under any circumstances: photocopied books or added photocopied pages (unless specifically listed as permitted for a given exam), practice exams, and test-prep study guides of any kind.
Tabs, Highlighting, and Notes
- Permanent tabs: allowed — gummed tabs, self-adhesive tabs with printable inserts, or insertable tab dividers for three-ring binders.
- Movable tabs: never permitted, including repositionable tabs and Post-it notes/flags.
- Highlighting and underlining: allowed if done before the exam, and must be done in pen, not pencil.
- Handwritten notes: not allowed in any portion of a reference book, at any time, "unless authorized by your licensing jurisdiction" — and nothing in Arkansas's own materials grants that authorization.
- Additional papers: formula sheets, index cards, or stickers (even a simple Ohm's Law sticker) cannot be added, glued, or taped into a reference book.
- During the exam: you may not highlight, underline, mark, or write anything in your materials.
Reference materials that don't meet these rules will be rejected at check-in, and using unauthorized materials during testing results in confiscation, termination of your exam, and forfeiture of your fee.
Fees & Test Locations
Exam fees are $80 for computer-based testing and $56 for paper/pencil testing. Arkansas has six fixed Prov testing centers — Conway (UCA), El Dorado (SACC), Fayetteville (UAF), Jonesboro (NEA), Little Rock (UAPTC), and Paragould (BRTC) — plus nationwide Prov centers and the at-home Examroom remote-proctoring option for candidates whose computer setup qualifies.
Retesting & Reviews
- You may retake a failed exam as often as needed within your eligibility period (stated as six months in one part of the bulletin and one year in another — confirm your specific deadline with the Board).
- After your eligibility period expires, you'll need to submit a retake form plus a new exam fee to the Board.
- After failing the same exam category twice, and scoring within 10% of the 70% passing threshold, you may request a 90-minute proctored review of your missed questions for an $80 fee.
- A Hand Score re-check is available for $25 within 90 days of your exam date if you believe your results weren't scored correctly.
Reciprocity
Arkansas's own Employment Verification form references reciprocal agreements for the Master and Journeyman classifications — out-of-state applicants from a reciprocal jurisdiction may qualify under the standard hour thresholds rather than the higher 16,000-hour out-of-state pathway. Residential Master and Residential Journeyman licenses explicitly do not reciprocate under any circumstances, per the same form. We could not locate a published list of specific reciprocal states in the Board's primary materials — contact the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners directly at 501-682-4548 or adll.electrical@arkansas.gov to confirm whether your state qualifies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What NEC edition does the Arkansas Journeyman exam use?
The 2023 NEC. Note that the separate Residential Journeyman exam has an internal inconsistency in its own reference list — confirm directly with Prov if you're sitting that specific exam.
Can I write notes in my NEC before the exam?
No. Arkansas does not allow handwritten notes in reference books at any time — only permanent tabs and pre-exam pen highlighting/underlining are permitted.
Can I self-certify my own work hours?
No. Your Employment Verification form must be signed and notarized by the contracting Master Electrician — applicants cannot certify their own experience.
How long is my eligibility to test after approval?
The bulletin isn't fully consistent — one section states six months, another describes a one-year retesting window. Confirm your specific deadline with the Board when your application is approved.
Does Your Book Spot USA guarantee I'll pass?
No. We sell official, correctly-prepared reference materials — no book or study guide can guarantee an exam result, and we don't claim otherwise.
Get the Correct Codebook
Once you've confirmed which exam and NEC edition applies to you, shop our current Arkansas-ready NEC codebooks — pre-tabbed with permanent tabs, no handwritten notes, matching the Board's marking rules.
Ordering for a crew, apprenticeship class, or training program? Request bulk pricing.
Official Sources
- Prov, Inc. — Arkansas Department of Labor Electrical Examining Board Candidate Information Bulletin, ARDOL-Electrical 2023.11.10 (republished October 2025)
- Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners — Electrician Employment Verification form, ABOEE (1-2025)
Your Book Spot USA is not affiliated with the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, the Arkansas Board of Electrical Examiners, Prov, Inc., or NFPA. Candidate bulletins and licensing rules change — this page reflects our verification as of the date above. Spot something outdated? Let us know and we'll correct it.
