NC Unlimited Electrical License Requirements (2026) + Practice Test

The main NC Unlimited electrical license requirements are 9,000 hours of experience, two Supervise and Direct statements and 70% on a 100-question exam on the 2020 NEC. In each statement, a person who knows your electrical experience vouches that you can supervise all of an Unlimited contractor's electrical work. After you pass, you prove you could be bonded on jobs over $150,000, through a bonding company or a bank credit line. NCBEEC, the state licensing board, issues it, and it covers jobs of any size.

NC unlimited electrical license requirements, step by step

1. Be 18 with 9,000 hours (4½ years at 2,000 hours a year), at least 8,000 primary.
2. Apply. Send the Examination Application, the forms above and the $125 fee to NCBEEC.
3. Book and take the exam within 90 days. Each approval covers one attempt. After a fail, wait 3 months and apply again.
4. Apply for the license with the New License Application, $200 fee and bonding proof. An LLC or corporation must first register with the NC Secretary of State.
5. Take the board's free 4-hour Laws and Rules class within 12 months after, or up to 90 days before, you become a qualified individual, the board's term for someone certified after passing its exam (rule .1101).

What is a Supervise and Direct statement?

A one-page NCBEEC form only Unlimited applicants file. Each of two signers states:

• How long they've known you
• That they know your electrical experience
• That you can supervise and direct all the electrical work of an Unlimited contracting business

Co-workers, employers or professional associates can sign. They also rate your character.

How does the bonding requirement work?

You prove you could be bonded, using one of these:

• Unlimited Statement of Bonding Ability: your bonding company or agent says you'd qualify for a bond over $150,000, without committing to issue one.
• Line-of-credit letter: from your company's bank, on letterhead, signed by a bank official, for $150,001 or more.

Either must be in the license's name. See JCR's bondability statement guide.

What's on the NC Unlimited exam?

Approximate questions per subject (handbook):

Unlimited questions are harder, and these topics are added:

• High-voltage grounding, overcurrent protection and wiring
• Traveling cables and machine rooms
• Emergency systems, health care and places of assembly
• Hazardous locations, including aircraft hangars (Unlimited only), gas stations and garages

Bring your own 2020 NEC, 2013 NFPA 72 (fire alarm code) and NASCLA Contractors Guide, NC Electrical 14th edition (business and law), with permanent tabs only (no sticky notes, stapled or divider tabs).

NC unlimited electrical license practice test: 8 questions

These lean toward large services and motors.

Question 1: Motor feeder

A feeder supplies three 230-volt, 3-phase squirrel-cage motors: 20 hp, 10 hp and 5 hp. Terminals are rated 75°C, and no other loads are on the feeder. What is the smallest copper THWN feeder conductor allowed?

1. 4 AWG
2. 3 AWG
3. 2 AWG
4. 1 AWG

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, 2 AWG. Use Table 430.250 currents (430.6(A)(1)): 54 A, 28 A and 15.2 A. Section 430.24 takes 125% of the largest motor plus the rest: (54 × 1.25) + 28 + 15.2 = 110.7 A. In the 75°C column of Table 310.16, 3 AWG is 100 A (too small) and 2 AWG is 115 A. Choice B skips the extra 25%.

Question 2: Motor short-circuit protection

The 20 hp, 230-volt, 3-phase squirrel-cage motor from Question 1 gets dual-element (time-delay) fuses for branch-circuit short-circuit and ground-fault protection. The motor starts fine at the normal setting. What is the largest standard fuse allowed?

1. 90 A
2. 100 A
3. 110 A
4. 150 A

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: B, 100 A. Table 430.52 allows 175% for a dual-element fuse: 54 × 1.75 = 94.5 A. That's not a standard size, so 430.52(C)(1) Exception No. 1 lets you go to the next standard size in Table 240.6(A): 100 A. The larger limit in Exception No. 2 applies only when the motor won't start.

Question 3: Parallel feeder ampacity

A 3-phase, 4-wire feeder uses two parallel sets of 500 kcmil THHN copper, all in one raceway. The neutrals carry only unbalanced current. The space is 30°C and the terminals are rated 75°C. What is the total ampacity of each paralleled phase?

1. 608 A
2. 688 A
3. 760 A
4. 860 A

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: B, 688 A. Each conductor of a parallel set counts (310.15(C)(1)), and neutrals carrying only unbalanced current don't (310.15(E)(1)). Six current-carrying conductors take 80%. THHN 500 kcmil is 430 A at 90°C: 430 × 0.80 = 344 A. That's under the 380 A in the 75°C column, so it stands (310.15(A)). Two conductors per phase: 688 A.

Question 4: Equipment grounding in parallel runs

A 600 A circuit breaker protects a feeder run as two parallel sets, each in its own PVC conduit. What is the smallest copper equipment grounding conductor required in each conduit?

1. 4 AWG
2. 3 AWG
3. 1 AWG
4. 1/0 AWG

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, 1 AWG. Table 250.122 lists 1 AWG copper for a 600 A device. Section 250.122(F) requires one in each raceway, sized from the full rating of the overcurrent device. Choice A splits the 600 A between the conduits, which the code doesn't allow.

Question 5: Main bonding jumper

A service has three parallel sets of 500 kcmil copper per phase. What is the smallest copper main bonding jumper allowed?

1. 2/0 AWG
2. 3/0 AWG
3. 4/0 AWG
4. 250 kcmil

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, 4/0 AWG. Section 250.28(D)(1) sends you to Table 250.102(C)(1). Three sets of 500 kcmil equal 1,500 kcmil, over 1,100 kcmil, so Note 1 applies: at least 12½% of the area. 1,500 × 0.125 = 187.5 kcmil. Chapter 9, Table 8 puts 3/0 at 167,800 circular mils (too small) and 4/0 at 211,600.

Question 6: Grounding electrode conductor for a parallel service

A service has three parallel sets of 4/0 AWG copper per phase. The grounding electrode conductor runs to a metal underground water pipe. What is the smallest copper size allowed?

1. 4 AWG
2. 2 AWG
3. 1/0 AWG
4. 2/0 AWG

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: D, 2/0 AWG. Table 250.66 sizes parallel conductors by their equivalent area (column heading and Note 1): 3 × 211.6 kcmil = 634.8 kcmil. The "over 600 through 1100" row calls for 2/0 copper. Choice B is the row for a single 4/0 conductor.

Question 7: Commercial branch-circuit load

A 208-volt, 3-phase branch circuit feeds a balanced 15 kVA continuous load and nothing else. The breaker and its assembly aren't listed for 100% continuous operation. What is the smallest standard overcurrent device allowed?

1. 45 A
2. 50 A
3. 60 A
4. 70 A

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, 60 A. Current: 15,000 ÷ (208 × 1.732) = 41.6 A. Section 210.20(A) requires at least 125% of the continuous load: 41.6 × 1.25 = 52 A. The next standard size up in Table 240.6(A) is 60 A. Choice A forgets the 125%.

Question 8: Doors near large equipment

A 1,200 A switchboard with overcurrent devices has a personnel door 15 ft from the edge of its working space. Which of these does 110.26(C)(3) require for that door?

I. It must open in the direction of egress.
II. It must have listed panic hardware or listed fire exit hardware.

1. I only
2. II only
3. Both I and II
4. Neither I nor II

Show the answerHide the answer

Answer: C, both. Section 110.26(C)(3) covers equipment rated 800 A or more with overcurrent, switching or control devices. Personnel doors less than 25 ft from the working space must open in the direction of egress and have listed panic hardware or listed fire exit hardware.

Common questions about the NC Unlimited license

How many hours do you need for an unlimited electrical license in NC?

9,000, at least 8,000 primary. Each employer lists them on an Employer Statement Form.

What can you do with an unlimited electrical license in NC?

Take any electrical project, regardless of value (G.S. 87-43.3). Intermediate licensees stop at $150,000 per project (rule .0303). See JCR's license comparison.

Can I take the Unlimited exam without holding a Limited license first?

Yes. Rule .0201 doesn't require a lower license first.

Do I need a bond to get an NC Unlimited license?

No, you don't buy a bond. You file a bonding company's statement or a bank line-of-credit letter with your license application.

How much does an NC Unlimited electrical license cost?

$125 to apply and test, then $200 a year. A failed-exam review or late renewal is $25. Renewals need 8 hours of approved continuing education.

More practice: JCR's free 25-question mock exam, free NC practice test and pass rate data.