Updated for Virginia’s current rules and 2020 NEC exams Virginia has two separate licensing tracks: the Journeyman or Master Electrician credential belongs to you; the Class A, B, or C contractor license belongs to the business. Most applicants should handle the individual license first, then add the contractor-business license only if they will bid or contract electrical work. Virginia Exam PrepVirginia Continuing Education The short version: your Virginia pathway 1 Choose the personal credentialJourneyman electricians install, repair, and maintain electrical systems according to plans, specifications, and code. Master electricians can do that work and also plan and lay out installations and supervise electrical work. Virginia generally lets you qualify for the Master exam after holding a Journeyman license for at least one year or after nine years of practical experience. A Master can serve as the Qualified Individual for a business seeking the Electrical (ELE) contractor specialty, but the individual Master license is not itself a contractor license. 2 Confirm your DPOR eligibility pathVirginia accepts several combinations of education and practical experience: generally 1–8 years of experience depending on education or training. A Virginia Works-approved apprenticeship can create a separate Journeyman examination exemption. 3 Apply to DPOR before PSIThe Board must approve you to test. After approval, schedule the correct Journeyman or Master exam with PSI. 4 Prepare for both parts of the examBuild speed in the 2020 NEC and calculations, but do not ignore Virginia’s tradesman regulations and conduct rules. 5 Add the contractor-business license only if neededContracting electrical work requires a separate Class A, B, or C business license with the ELE specialty. Master Electrician alone is not the business license. First, separate the individual license from the business license Individual tradesman license Issued to a person as a Journeyman Electrician or Master Electrician. This is the PSI electrical exam path JCR’s Virginia products support. Contractor business license Issued to the company or sole proprietorship as Class A, B, or C, with the Electrical (ELE) specialty. It has separate business, experience, education, and—in Class A or B—exam requirements. If you want to become licensed as an electrician, start with the tradesman rules. If you want your company to contract directly with customers, pull permits as the contractor, or bid electrical work, plan for both tracks. Step 1: confirm how you qualify Journeyman Electrician pathways Virginia’s current rule lets a Journeyman applicant qualify through any one of these education-and-experience combinations: Related engineering bachelor’s degree + 1 year of practical experience Associate degree or certificate from at least a two-year trades-related program + 2 years 240 hours of formal vocational training + 4 years 160 formal hours + 5 years 80 formal hours + 6 years 40 formal hours + 7 years No formal vocational training + 8 years of practical experience Read the controlling rule at 18VAC50-30-39. Gather school records and employer verification before applying; missing documentation can delay approval. Registered-apprenticeship exception: successful completion of an apprenticeship program approved by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (Virginia Works) exempts the applicant from the Journeyman examination. You still need to follow DPOR’s licensing process and provide the required completion proof. See 18VAC50-30-50. Master Electrician pathways A Master Electrician applicant generally qualifies by either: Holding a valid Journeyman license in the same trade for at least 1 year; or Documenting 9 years of practical experience in the electrical trade. That nine-year path is current. Older pages and study materials sometimes still show a different number. Step 2: apply to DPOR before scheduling with PSI Virginia is a pre-approval state. Submit the Tradesman Exam & License Application and the required education and experience documents to the Virginia Board for Contractors. After the Board approves your eligibility, schedule with PSI. Do not register for a random “Virginia electrical exam” before approval. Make sure your authorization, PSI account, and product choice all say the same credential: Journeyman or Master Electrician. Step 3: know the exam you are taking Exam Questions Time Passing score Current PSI fee Journeyman Electrician 70 210 minutes 49 correct $100 Master Electrician 90 270 minutes 63 correct $125 Journeyman question mix — 70 questions Standards of Practice — 3 Standards of Conduct — 2 Renewal and Reinstatement — 2 Definitions — 1 Qualification for Licensure — 1 Revocation of Licensure — 1 General Electrical Knowledge — 3 Requirements for Electrical Installations — 2 Electrical-Electronic Fundamentals — 2 Branch Circuits — 4 Service and Feeders — 5 Grounding and Bonding — 6 Conductors and Cables — 7 Raceways and Boxes — 7 Special Occupancies — 3 Special Equipment — 2 Electrical Signs and Outline Lighting — 1 Motors and Controls — 5 Utilization Equipment — 4 Lighting — 2 General Low Voltage Requirements — 1 Communication Systems — 1 Fire Detection and Alarm Systems — 1 Safety — 4 Master question mix — 90 questions Standards of Practice — 3 Standards of Conduct — 2 Renewal and Reinstatement — 2 Definitions — 1 Qualification for Licensure — 1 Revocation of Licensure — 1 General Electrical Knowledge — 4 Requirements for Electrical Installations — 3 Electrical-Electronic Fundamentals — 5 Branch Circuits — 7 Service and Feeders — 8 Grounding and Bonding — 8 Conductors and Cables — 7 Raceways and Boxes — 7 Special Occupancies — 4 Special Equipment — 2 Electrical Signs and Outline Lighting — 2 Motors and Controls — 8 Utilization Equipment — 5 Lighting — 2 General Low Voltage Requirements — 1 Communication Systems — 1 Fire Detection and Alarm Systems — 2 Safety — 4 The exams are open book and are available through PSI at test centers and, when offered for your authorization, by remote proctoring. Fees, delivery options, and rules can change, so confirm the current PSI Virginia candidate bulletin before paying or testing. Both outlines include 10 questions on Virginia-specific licensure and conduct topics. The remaining questions cover electrical trade knowledge, calculations, and the current exam references. JCR’s exam prep concentrates on the technical portion while pointing candidates to the official Virginia regulation material they must also study. Step 4: organize the allowed references The current Virginia exams use the 2020 National Electrical Code, Virginia’s Individual License and Certification Regulations, and the other electrical reference named in the PSI bulletin. Check the exact title and edition shown in your current bulletin instead of relying on an old book list. Bring your own approved references; PSI does not supply them. Permanent tabs are allowed. Removable tabs are not. Highlighting, underlining, and indexing completed before the exam are allowed under the current rules. Loose paper and unbound material are not allowed, and you may not write in the references during the exam. Open book does not mean low pressure. A Journeyman candidate averages three minutes per question; a Master candidate also has calculations and design work competing for that time. The advantage comes from knowing where to look before the clock starts. Step 5: choose the right preparation format Virginia self-study Choose a credential-specific Journeyman or Master bundle with a printed manual, 100 lessons and 20+ hours of instruction, permanent Code tabs, and 500+ practice questions. Virtual continuing education JCR’s current virtual classes are for continuing education. For exam prep, choose self-study or a classroom date. Raleigh classroom Virginia students also attend JCR’s in-person exam-prep classes in Raleigh when they want a classroom and direct instructor interaction. See Raleigh classes. Classroom track record JCR’s classroom exam-prep students have a 93% pass rate. A practical study order is: learn the NEC’s structure, work the major calculation types, practice timed lookups, study the Virginia regulation categories, then take full timed mock exams. Most candidates need several weeks of consistent work—not one weekend of cramming. Step 6: understand reciprocity before paying for an exam Virginia has specific reciprocity or examination-waiver agreements, but they are not a blanket rule for every license from another state. Current agreements cover certain credentials from Alabama, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio. The credential level and benefit differ by state. For example, North Carolina’s Intermediate or Unlimited electrical contractor credential can relate to Virginia’s Master and contractor-business process; it is not a general waiver for every North Carolina electrical credential. Read DPOR’s current reciprocal-agreements chart and ask DPOR to confirm your exact license before buying exam prep. Step 7: add the contractor-business license if you will contract work A Master Electrician credential does not, by itself, license a business to contract electrical work. The business applies separately for a Class A, B, or C contractor license and adds the ELE specialty. Choose Class A, B, or C based on the project and annual monetary limits that fit the business. Name a qualified individual for ELE. For electrical, that person must hold the current Master Electrician credential and meet the specialty experience required for the contractor class. Complete 8 hours of pre-license business education. This is required for new contractor applicants in all three classes. Handle the designated-employee business exam where required. Class A and Class B have business-exam requirements; Class C does not have that exam requirement. Submit the business application with the entity, financial, experience, and other class-specific documentation. Important product distinction: JCR’s Virginia Journeyman and Master electrical exam-prep products are for the individual technical exam. They are not a Virginia contractor Business exam-prep product. The DPOR Contractors page and the Board’s contractor examination information explain the separate business track. After licensing: Virginia electrical continuing education Virginia’s current regulation requires 3 hours of Board-approved electrical continuing education during each three-year license term. If you hold both Journeyman and Master Electrician credentials in the same trade, one 3-hour electrical CE course satisfies the renewal CE requirement for that trade. JCR is a DPOR-approved Virginia electrical CE provider. Attend live virtual Virginia CE or review eligible Raleigh classroom options. Your actual license expiration date controls the deadline, so confirm it in DPOR’s records. The controlling renewal rule is 18VAC50-30-120. Some older DPOR FAQ language still describes the former two-year term; the current Administrative Code says three years. Your next move If you have not applied yet, identify your Journeyman or Master eligibility path and start collecting documentation. If DPOR has already approved you, choose the prep format that matches how you learn. If you already hold the credential and only need renewal credit, go straight to Virginia CE. Virginia Exam PrepVirginia CE Official sources to check before applying or testing Virginia DPOR Tradesmen page Current Virginia qualification rule Current PSI candidate bulletin Virginia DPOR Contractors page Virginia reciprocity and exam-agreement chart