Buy the correct NASCLA Contractors Guide for your exact state and license. Each state guide has its own title and edition. Use JCR’s state requirements page to find your exam’s reference list, then match the guide’s title and edition before ordering.
Which edition should you buy?
Find your license in the table below. It covers 12 states and both South Carolina licensing paths. Use the linked exam requirements to confirm the edition for your test date.
Two examples: NC electrical candidates need the North Carolina Electrical guide. South Carolina residential candidates need the South Carolina Residential Builders guide.
| Exam or license path | Guide listed |
|---|---|
| North Carolina electrical | North Carolina Electrical, 14th |
| South Carolina residential Business Management and Law | South Carolina Residential Builders, 8th or 9th — Through April 8, 2027. From April 9, 2027, the exam uses the 9th edition only. |
| South Carolina commercial Business Management and Law | South Carolina Commercial Contractors, 9th — This is a different guide from the residential version. |
| Tennessee contractor Business and Law | Tennessee, 4th |
| Virginia Class A and B contractor business exam | Virginia, 11th — For the company’s designated employee, separate from the journeyman or master electrical exam. |
| Georgia Class I and II electrical contractor | Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board, 5th — Choose the Construction Industry guide, not the Residential/General Contractors guide. |
| Connecticut contractor Business and Law | Connecticut, 6th |
| Mississippi contractor Business and Law | Mississippi, 6th |
| New Jersey electrical contractor Business and Law | New Jersey, 2nd |
| New Mexico contractor Business and Law | Basic, 14th — Also study the listed New Mexico licensing law and rules. |
| Arkansas contractor Business and Law | Arkansas, 8th — For the contractor business license, separate from the electrician’s trade license. |
| Ohio contractor Business and Law | Ohio, 4th — PSI provides a copy at the test center. Its bulletin also allows candidates to bring their own. |
| Hawaii contractor Business and Law | Hawaii, 1st (2022) — Study reference only: this exam is closed book. |
Taking a different state exam? Use NASCLA’s state exam directory and your licensing board’s reference list. Alabama, for example, requires its own Business and Law exam for reciprocity applicants. Follow the Alabama Electrical/Prov listing for its current study references. A state’s appearance in the directory does not mean every electrical license uses that guide.
South Carolina residential and commercial contractors use different guides. Check the program name as closely as the year. Our SC business and law guide explains the two paths.
Prepare for your electrical exam with JCR
Learn to find answers in the code book, work through calculations and practice for test day.
Live classes teach the 2020 NEC. Check your state’s exam requirements before choosing a course. NC prep includes NC business and law. For another state, also study any business-and-law material required for your license. Need the code book? JCR carries the 2020 NEC softbound book.
Is the NASCLA guide the same as the NASCLA exam?
No. The guide is a book about running a contracting business. The NASCLA electrical contractor exam is a trade examination accepted by participating licensing agencies.
Some state exams require a NASCLA guide even when you take the state’s own trade exam. If you take the NASCLA trade exam, you must still meet the receiving state’s business and law requirements.
Can you bring it into the exam?
Follow the allowed-reference list, not the study-material list alone. A book may help you prepare without being permitted at your desk.
NC Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited, SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV candidates must bring the North Carolina Electrical guide, the 2020 NEC and the 2013 NFPA 72. Prepare those books under the NC exam’s reference and marking rules.
Hawaii’s contractor Business and Law exam is closed book, even though the NASCLA guide is a study reference. Ohio provides its guide at the test center and also allows a personal copy under PSI’s marking rules.
For other states, check binding, highlighting, handwriting and tab rules separately. “Open book” doesn’t mean loose notes or every book you own.
How to study the guide efficiently
- Read the exam outline and mark the subjects it tests.
- Find the chapters on contracts, estimating, project management, insurance, taxes and liens that match that outline.
- Answer five practice questions with the guide open. Name the issue first: a contract, employee injury, unpaid invoice, tax or insurance requirement.
- On your practice paper, write the supporting page beside each answer. If you guessed, find the passage that settles the question before moving on.
- Use only the tabs and markings your exam permits.
For example, “Which insurance covers an employee injured at work?” should send you to workers’ compensation. An unpaid-invoice question may send you to contracts or lien law. Practice choosing the right chapter before hunting for a sentence. Repeat missed questions the next day without looking at your notes.
Common buying questions
Can I use a newer edition?
Only when your bulletin permits it. Some programs allow later non-code references. Others name an exact edition or publish a transition date. Don’t apply one state’s policy to another.
Do journeyman candidates need this book?
Buy it only if your journeyman exam requires it. The contractor’s business exam and the journeyman trade exam have separate reference lists.
References checked October 25, 2026. Confirm the current bulletin for your exam date.
