Rhode Island Master Electrician Exam Prep

About the Rhode Island Master Electrician license

Rhode Island licenses electricians through the RI Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety — Professional Regulations Unit, under the state's Board of Examiners of Electricians. What this guide calls the Master Electrician credential is Rhode Island's senior individual license, issued as Electrical Contractor (Certificate A). It requires you to first hold a Rhode Island Journeyperson's license (Certificate B) for at least two years, document at least six years total experience in the trade, and pass a more demanding exam that adds heavier load-calculation, design, and code-application content. A holder at this level can typically pull permits, supervise journeypersons and apprentices, design installations, and serve as the qualifying individual for a licensed contracting business.

The exam is National Electrical Code (NEC) based, because Rhode Island adopts the NEC as its electrical code. Unlike many states, Rhode Island's electrician exams are closed book: state regulation (260-RICR-30-15-7 §7.5(C)) disqualifies any candidate found referring to notes or books during the exam except by specific board permission. Plan to prepare as a closed-book candidate — the values, tables, and formulas in this guide need to be memorized, not just tabbed, because you will not have the code book open in front of you on test day. Confirm the current policy with DLT before you test.

Know these scope facts cold, because the exam asks them in plain-language form: the license is held by the individual, not the company; most installations require a permit and inspection before concealment (rough-in) and again at final; you must work within the classification you hold; and performing electrical work without the required license, or beyond your scope, is a violation that can cost you the license and carry civil penalties.

How Rhode Island licensing works

• Experience: the Journeyperson exam requires at least four years of documented trade experience plus 576 hours of DLT-approved related instruction. The Master/Contractor (Certificate A) exam requires at least six years total trade experience and a Journeyperson (Certificate B) license held for at least two years before you may apply.
• Education: the 576 hours of approved instruction (classroom or an approved apprenticeship program) count toward the journeyperson experience that underlies the master credential.
• Application: submit the notarized application, a $75 non-refundable processing fee, and notarized proof of experience from a present or past employer to the DLT Professional Regulations Unit before you are approved to sit.
• Exam administration: exams are administered directly by RI DLT — not by a third-party vendor such as Prometric or PSI — and are closed book. The passing score is 70 percent (260-RICR-30-15-7 §7.5); confirm the current question count and time limit with DLT before you test.
• Renewal: licenses renew on a two-year cycle on the licensee's birthday and require continuing education (commonly around 15 hours), including code-update hours each time a new NEC edition is adopted.

Before you rely on any value in this guide, confirm the currently adopted NEC edition with DLT. Ampacities, GFCI/AFCI scope, working-clearance distances, and receptacle-spacing rules all change between editions, and the exam is written to the edition your state has adopted — not necessarily the newest one published.