Kentucky Contractor License Exams (2026): Journeyman to Master, by the Numbers

August 27, 2026

Kentucky’s Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses the trades, with Prov running the examinations. The step from journeyman to master is steeper here than in most states, in both length and pass mark.

The master step is a real jump

Examination	Questions	Time	Pass
Journeyman Electrician	80	3 hours	–
Master Electrician	100	5 hours	75%
Journeyman HVAC	60	3 hours	70%
Master HVAC	100	4 hours	70%

All are open book. Electrical is referenced to the NEC; HVAC to the Kentucky Mechanical Code alongside the IMC.

Two things stand out. The electrical master exam raises the pass mark to 75 percent while also adding twenty questions and two hours. And the HVAC master paper is two-thirds longer than the journeyman, going from 60 questions to 100, which is one of the larger single-step increases you will find.

Five hours is an endurance problem

The master electrician paper runs five hours. That is long enough that concentration, not knowledge, decides some results. If your practice has consisted of half-hour sessions, sit at least one full-length timed run before exam day so hour four is not a surprise.

A note on the plumbing exams

Kentucky’s plumbing licensing runs through the Division of Plumbing, which does not publish question counts for its examinations in the way the electrical and HVAC bulletins do. We have not been able to source an official figure, so rather than quote one we would encourage you to confirm the current format directly with the Division before you build a study plan around a specific length.

Kentucky exam prep

Before you register

Note that the electrical master pass mark is 75 percent, higher than the journeyman.
Budget for length. The master papers run four and five hours.
For plumbing, confirm the exam format with the Division of Plumbing directly.