NC SP-SFD License (2026): Single Family Dwelling Requirements + Exam

The NC SP-SFD license lets you contract electrical work on single-family detached homes and their garages, sheds and yard lighting. You need 3,000 hours of experience and 70% on a 40-question, 3-hour exam on the 2020 NEC. It's open book: you bring your own code books. The NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (NCBEEC) issues it. PSI, its testing company, gives the exam.

How do you get an NC SP-SFD license?

1. Send the Board an Examination Application and the $125 fee. Include an Employer Statement Form (your employer's notarized record of your hours). Add two Character Statement Forms (signed by people who vouch for you).
2. Once approved, you have 90 days and one attempt to pass at PSI. You see your score when you finish.
3. Send the New License Application and $100 fee. You become the license's listed qualified individual: the person who passed the exam and must supervise the work.

What can you wire with an NC SP-SFD license?

Rule .0803 covers wiring in or on a single-family dwelling or its ancillary (accessory) structures:

• Single-family dwelling: a house or manufactured home for one family, not attached to another building. Porches and additions used as part of the home count.
• Ancillary: a structure that goes with the home, like a detached garage, shed, barn, pump house, electric fence or yard lighting.
• Home business: a side use like tax or legal services still counts. No stock can be displayed or sold, and it can use no more than one worker who lives elsewhere.

Fire alarm or pool bonding work at the home is covered too. Townhomes and duplexes are not.

What experience does the single family dwelling electrical license in NC need?

At least 3,000 hours, 2,000 or more of them primary (rule .0202), and you must be 18.

• Primary: journeyman, foreman, estimator for a licensed contractor and similar roles (100%).
• Secondary: related work or training. A state-approved apprenticeship counts 100%. Helper and other apprentice time, 80%.

What is on the SP-SFD exam?

Approximate questions by topic, from the 2026 handbook:

What books can you bring?

Only your own 2020 NEC (NFPA 70), 2013 NFPA 72 and NASCLA guide. NC enforces the 2017 NEC on one- and two-family dwellings through its state amendments, but the SP-SFD exam tests the 2020 NEC, so study that edition.

• Books must be bound.
• Tabs must be permanent (stuck on for good), like JCR permanent tabs. Sticky notes and divider tabs aren't allowed.
• Notes made ahead are fine. Pencil notes must be highlighted.
• PSI provides calculators and scratch paper.

How much does the NC single family detached dwelling license cost?

$125 to apply and test (non-refundable), then $100 a year. A failed-exam review is $25. A late renewal adds $25. If you fail, wait 3 months, then reapply and pay again (rule .0211).

SP-SFD vs. Limited: which should you get?

Both need 3,000 hours, $100 a year and 8 CE hours. The buildings and exam differ.

Pick Limited if you might take small commercial jobs or townhomes. It covers SP-SFD work too (rule .0801(d)). An SP-SFD license can't be reclassified (upgraded). Switching takes a new application and exam (rule .0501(d)). See Limited vs. Intermediate vs. Unlimited.

How much CE does an SP-SFD license need?

8 hours a year, at least 4 of them classroom hours from attending a class (rule .1101). JCR's live Zoom classes count as NC classroom credit. Recorded courses can cover the rest.

New qualifiers must also take the Board's free 4-hour Laws & Rules class within 12 months after becoming a qualified individual, or up to 90 days before (rule .1101(a)). It counts for 4 hours at the first renewal.

One JCR 8-hour CE class ($230) covers a full year. See NC CE requirements.

SP-SFD exam practice test: 5 dwelling questions

Work each one in your 2020 NEC before you look.

Question 1: Wall receptacle spacing

In a dwelling family room, wall receptacles must be placed so that no point measured horizontally along the floor line of any wall space is more than how far from a receptacle outlet?

1. 4 ft
2. 6 ft
3. 10 ft
4. 12 ft

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: B, 6 ft. 2020 NEC 210.52(A)(1) sets the 6-ft rule, which works out to receptacles no more than 12 ft apart. Under 210.52(A)(2), any wall space 2 ft or wider counts.

Question 2: General lighting demand

A 2,000 sq ft single-family home has the two required small-appliance circuits and one laundry circuit. Using the standard method, what is the demand load for general lighting, small-appliance and laundry loads?

1. 4,725 VA
2. 5,625 VA
3. 6,000 VA
4. 10,500 VA

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: B, 5,625 VA. General lighting is 2,000 × 3 VA = 6,000 VA (220.14(J)). Add 1,500 VA each for the two small-appliance circuits and the laundry circuit (220.52(A) and (B)): 10,500 VA. Table 220.42 takes the first 3,000 VA at 100% and the other 7,500 VA at 35%: 3,000 + 2,625 = 5,625 VA. JCR's dwelling service load calculation walks the full method.

Question 3: GFCI locations

In a single-family dwelling, which 125-volt, 15-ampere receptacle does NOT need GFCI protection under 210.8(A)?

1. A receptacle in a finished basement
2. A receptacle in the attached garage
3. A receptacle in a bedroom with no sink
4. A receptacle in the laundry area

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, a bedroom with no sink. 2020 NEC 210.8(A) lists garages, basements (finished or not) and laundry areas, among others. A bedroom isn't listed unless the receptacle is within 6 ft of a sink. Bedroom outlets do need AFCI under 210.12(A). See JCR's GFCI requirements guide.

Question 4: Two ground rods

A dwelling service uses two rod electrodes. What is the minimum spacing between them?

1. 4 ft
2. 6 ft
3. 8 ft
4. 10 ft

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: B, 6 ft. 2020 NEC 250.53(A)(3) requires multiple rod, pipe or plate electrodes to be at least 6 ft apart. A single rod needs a supplemental electrode under 250.53(A)(2) unless its resistance to earth is 25 ohms or less. Don't confuse this with rod length: rods must be at least 8 ft long (250.52(A)(5)).

Question 5: Box fill at a switch

A nonmetallic box with no internal clamps holds three 14/2 NM cables, each with a ground, and one single-pole switch. What is the minimum box volume?

1. 14.0 cu in.
2. 16.0 cu in.
3. 18.0 cu in.
4. 20.0 cu in.

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, 18.0 cu in. Six insulated conductors count as 6. The switch counts as 2, based on the largest conductor on it (314.16(B)(4)). Up to four grounds count as 1 (314.16(B)(5)). That's 9 × 2.00 cu in. for 14 AWG (Table 314.16(B)) = 18.0 cu in. JCR's box fill guide has more examples.

SP-SFD license questions people ask

What does SP-SFD stand for?

Special Restricted Single Family Detached Residential Dwelling, created by G.S. 87-43.4.

Is there an NC residential electrical license?

For single-family detached homes, NC's license is the SP-SFD. Townhomes, duplexes and other attached homes need a Limited, Intermediate or Unlimited license.

Is the SP-SFD exam easier than the Limited exam?

It's shorter (40 questions in 3 hours vs. 100 in 6) and has no plan reading. Both need 70%.

Where can I find an SP-SFD practice test?

Try the five above and the SP-SFD samples in the PSI handbook. JCR's SFD Mock Exam has 140+ more.