ElectricianCards

Free California electrician practice test

Ten questions in the shape of the real thing. No account, no email, nothing saved — answer them and you get the reasoning and the code reference for every one.

The real exam is 100 questions in 4 hours 30 minutes at 70% to pass — about 2:42 each, including the time you spend searching the code on screen. Time yourself. Ten questions should take you about twenty-seven minutes; if it takes much longer, speed is the thing to work on.

Question 1 of 10

A cable or raceway run through a hole in a wood stud must be kept how far back from the nearest edge of the stud?

A. 3/4 inch B. 1 inch C. 1-1/4 inches D. 1-1/2 inches

Question 2 of 10

Which table gives the allowable ampacity of insulated conductors rated up to 2000 volts in a raceway, cable, or directly buried?

A. Table 310.12 B. Table 310.16 C. Table 250.66 D. Table 220.55

Question 3 of 10

What weight does a manufacturer's installation instruction carry under the NEC?

A. It is advisory only B. It is enforceable — listed equipment must be installed per its listing and labelling C. It applies only to residential work D. It applies only where the AHJ adopts it separately

Question 4 of 10

In the single-phase voltage-drop formula VD = 2 × K × I × L ÷ CM, what does CM stand for and where do you find it?

A. Conductor material, from Article 100 B. Circular mils of the conductor, from Chapter 9 Table 8 C. Continuous multiplier, from 210.19 D. Conduit measurement, from Chapter 9 Table 4

Question 5 of 10

Which article governs grounding and bonding?

A. Article 210 B. Article 230 C. Article 250 D. Article 310

Question 6 of 10

For a motor branch circuit, which current do you use to size the conductors, and which do you use for the overload device?

A. Nameplate FLA for both B. Table FLC for both C. Table FLC for the conductors, nameplate FLA for the overload D. Nameplate FLA for the conductors, Table FLC for the overload

Question 7 of 10

Flexible cord may be used as a substitute for the fixed wiring of a structure:

A. Where it is protected by conduit B. Never C. In dwellings only D. Where the run is under 6 feet

Question 8 of 10

Under NFPA 70E, what are the two distinct electrical hazards a worker is protected against?

A. Shock and arc flash B. Shock and overload C. Arc flash and ground fault D. Overload and short circuit

Question 9 of 10

A 120-volt circuit reads correct voltage to ground on the ungrounded conductor, but lights dim and brighten as loads change elsewhere. The most likely cause is:

A. An undersized breaker B. An open or high-resistance neutral C. A failed GFCI D. Reversed polarity at the receptacle

Question 10 of 10

A load that runs for three hours or more is a continuous load. How does that change the sizing?

A. Multiply by 80% B. Multiply by 125% C. Multiply by 150% D. No change — it affects the overcurrent device only

Nothing is saved · no account needed

Written by Chris Furman · last reviewed September 2026

I built Electrician Cards after watching a friend prepare for this exam and discovering how much of the published advice is written for a closed-book test. I am not an electrician — everything here is researched from the candidate bulletin, the 2023 NEC's own structure, and the official content outline, and it is checked against them again whenever it changes. Always verify against the code book itself.