Rhode Island Electrician & Plumber Exam Prep

Getting your Rhode Island contractor license? Contractor Pathway offers an original, exam-focused study guide and four full-length practice exams for every Rhode Island classification that requires a state board exam — currently 4 courses across Electrical and Plumbing. Choose your classification below and study with 30-, 60-, or 90-day access at $99, $129, and $169.

Who licenses contractors in Rhode Island

These are the Rhode Island classifications we build exam prep for, each licensed by its responsible board:

Always confirm the current code edition, experience requirements, fees, and passing score with the board and testing vendor before you schedule. Contractor Pathway is an independent exam-prep provider and is not affiliated with any Rhode Island board or testing vendor.

How to get licensed in Rhode Island

Rhode Island runs two separate systems. General construction work is registered with the Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board (CRLB) inside the State Building Office; electricians and plumbers are licensed by their own boards at the Department of Labor and Training.

1. Register before you touch a permit. Anyone doing residential or commercial construction work — building, remodelling or repairs — must be registered with the CRLB. Contractors and subcontractors without a valid registration are prohibited from performing contracting work or obtaining a building permit in any of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns.
2. Know what the CRLB licenses beyond registration. The Board registers and regulates contractors generally, and separately licenses commercial roofers, home inspectors, underground utility contractors, water filtration, well drilling and pump installers. If your work falls in one of those categories, registration alone is not enough.
3. Journeyperson electrician (Certificate B): 8,000 hours. Applicants for the Journeypersons Certificate B licence must have at least 8,000 hours (four years) of experience as a registered apprentice. Hours worked outside a registered apprenticeship will not count.
4. Electrical Contractor (Certificate A): 12,000 hours and two years as a B. Applicants for the Contractor’s Certificate A must have at least 12,000 hours (six years) of experience and have held a Rhode Island Certificate B for two years. Both conditions apply — the hours alone do not qualify you.
5. Licensed trades may not need a CRLB registration. Plumbers and electricians licensed by the Department of Labor and Training generally do not need to register with the CRLB unless they are contracting work outside the scope of that licence. Check the scope before adding general work to your offering.

Sources: Rhode Island Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board, its contractor FAQs and laws, rules and regulations; electrical certificates from the Board of Examiners of Electricians, 260-RICR-30-15-7 and RI DLT Professional Regulation. Contractor Pathway is an independent exam-preparation provider and is not affiliated with these agencies.

Choose your Rhode Island classification

Each course includes a comprehensive study guide — often 10,000 words or more — worked calculations, code-section breakdowns, common exam traps, a glossary, and a 30/60/90-day study plan — plus four full-length practice exams matched to the topic weightings of the Rhode Island test.