1.4 The Journeyman Examination: Format, Scheduling, Open-Book Rules & Retakes

Alaska Journeyman Electrician Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Alaska Certificates of Fitness, Law & Exam Logistics

1.1 The Alaska Certificate of Fitness System 1.2 Journeyman Eligibility: 8,000 Hours and How Alaska Counts Them 1.3 Trainee, Residential Wireman, Lineman, Provisional & Reciprocal Certificates 1.4 The Journeyman Examination: Format, Scheduling, Open-Book Rules & Retakes 1.5 Adopted Codes, Fees, Renewal, Inspection & Enforcement

2 Chapter 2: Using the 2020 NEC

2.1 Article 90: Purpose, Scope, Arrangement & Enforcement 2.2 Navigating the Code Book: Structure, Index & Tabbing Strategy 2.3 Article 100 Definitions You Must Know Cold 2.4 Electrical Theory for the Exam: Ohm's Law, Power & Three-Phase

3 Chapter 3: General Requirements — Article 110

3.1 Approval, Listing, Interrupting Rating & Terminations 3.2 Temperature Limitations of Terminations — 110.14(C) 3.3 Working Space, Access, Egress & Illumination — 110.26(A) through (D) 3.4 Dedicated Equipment Space, Guarding & Over-1000-Volt Installations

4 Chapter 4: Conductors and Ampacity — Article 310

4.1 Conductor Types, Insulation Markings & Table 310.16 4.2 Ambient Temperature Correction and Alaska's Cold 4.3 Adjustment for More Than Three Current-Carrying Conductors 4.4 Putting It Together: Full Conductor-Sizing Problems 4.5 Parallel Conductors, Dwelling Service Sizing & Conditions of Use

5 Chapter 5: Wiring Methods and Materials — NEC Chapter 3

5.1 Article 300 General Requirements and Underground Cover 5.2 Thermal Movement: Expansion Fittings and Table 352.44 5.3 Boxes and Enclosures: Box Fill and Pull Box Sizing 5.4 Cable Assemblies: NM, MC, AC, SE, UF and TC 5.5 Raceways: RMC, IMC, EMT, FMC, LFMC, PVC and ENT 5.6 Conduit Fill: Chapter 9 Tables and Annex C 5.7 Cable Trays, Wireways, Busways, Gutters and Surface Raceways

6 Chapter 6: Branch Circuits and Feeders

6.1 Branch-Circuit Ratings, Conductor Sizing & Multiwire Circuits 6.2 Required Outlets and Receptacle Spacing in Dwellings 6.3 GFCI Protection — Article 210.8 6.4 AFCI Protection and Receptacle Requirements 6.5 Feeders and Outside Branch Circuits — Articles 215 and 225 6.6 Grounded Conductor Identification, Switches & Panelboards

7 Chapter 7: Overcurrent Protection — Articles 240 and 242

7.1 Article 240 Fundamentals: Ratings, Locations & Conductor Protection 7.2 Feeder Tap Rules — 240.21(B) 7.3 Transformer Secondary Conductors — 240.21(C) 7.4 Fuses, Circuit Breakers, Series Ratings & Article 242 Surge Protection

8 Chapter 8: Services and Load Calculations

8.1 Service Conductors, Clearances and Service Equipment 8.2 Service Disconnects, the 2020 Rule Change, SPDs and Service GFPE 8.3 Article 220 Part II: General Lighting, Receptacles and Demand Factors 8.4 The Standard Dwelling Calculation — Article 220 Part III 8.5 Optional Dwelling and Multifamily Calculations 8.6 Commercial and Industrial Load Calculations 8.7 Neutral Load Calculations and Harmonics — 220.61

9 Chapter 9: Grounding and Bonding — Article 250

9.1 System Grounding, 250.24 and the Main Bonding Jumper 9.2 The Grounding Electrode System — 250.50 through 250.53 9.3 Grounding Electrode Conductor Sizing and Installation 9.4 Bonding: Services, Metal Piping, Structural Metal and Other Systems 9.5 Equipment Grounding Conductors: Types, Sizing and Continuity 9.6 Separately Derived Systems and Separate Buildings 9.7 Ground-Fault Protection of Equipment and Grounding of Specific Equipment

10 Chapter 10: Equipment for General Use — NEC Chapter 4

10.1 Flexible Cords, Cables and Fixture Wires 10.2 Switches, Receptacles and Industrial Control Panels 10.3 Luminaires, Lampholders and Recessed Installations 10.4 Appliances and Fixed Electric Space Heating 10.5 Deicing, Snow Melting, Pipeline and Vessel Heating 10.6 Motors Part I: Full-Load Current, Conductors and Overload Protection 10.7 Motors Part II: Short-Circuit Protection, Controllers, Disconnects and HVAC

11 Chapter 11: Transformers, Generators and Special Occupancies

11.1 Transformers — Article 450 11.2 Generators, Storage Batteries and Energy Storage Systems 11.3 Hazardous (Classified) Locations — Articles 500 through 506 11.4 Garages, Hangars, Fuel Dispensing, Bulk Storage and Spray Application 11.5 Health Care Facilities — Article 517 11.6 Agricultural Buildings, Manufactured Homes, RV Parks and Marinas 11.7 Assembly, Theaters, Carnivals, Temporary Installations and Pools

12 Chapter 12: Special Equipment, Special Conditions and Exam Strategy

12.1 Signs, Cranes, Elevators, Electric Vehicle Charging and Welders 12.2 Solar Photovoltaic, Interconnection and Stand-Alone Systems 12.3 Wind Electric Systems and Fire Pumps 12.4 Emergency, Legally Required Standby, Optional Standby and COPS 12.5 Class 1, 2 and 3 Circuits, Fire Alarm, Optical Fiber and Communications 12.6 Cold-Climate Practice in Alaska: Code Basis and Engineering Judgment 12.7 Exam-Day Strategy: Navigation, Calculation Workflow and Time Management

1.4 The Journeyman Examination: Format, Scheduling, Open-Book Rules & Retakes

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The electrician journeyman examination is administered by the Alaska Department of Labor's Mechanical Inspection Section, not by a commercial testing vendor such as PSI or Prometric.

8 AAC 90.115(a) allows a holder of the appropriate trainee certificate to request an examination appointment at division offices in Anchorage, Juneau, or Fairbanks; department testing runs on the first and third Wednesday of each month.

The exam is OPEN BOOK and the only listed reference for the Electrical Journeyman test is the National Electrical Code 2020; there is a four-hour maximum time limit on all Mechanical Inspection exams.

8 AAC 90.115(c) sets the minimum passing score at 70 percent, and 8 AAC 90.115(d) requires a 30-day wait after a failed exam before retesting.

Alaska does not publish the number of questions on the electrician journeyman exam or a weighted content outline; treat the entire adopted 2020 NEC as the syllabus.

Last updated: August 2026

Who Actually Gives the Exam

A widespread misconception — repeated by several commercial prep sites — is that the Alaska journeyman electrician exam is delivered by a national testing vendor. It is not. 8 AAC 90.115(a) puts the exam in the hands of the state:

an individual who holds the appropriate trainee certificate of fitness may request an appointment to take an examination for electrician journeyman, power lineman journeyman, residential wireman, plumber journeyman, plumber restricted PG, or plumber restricted PU at the offices of the division in Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks .

The confusion has a real source. The Electrical Administrator license — a completely different credential issued by the Department of Commerce under AS 08.40 — is a vendor-delivered exam. The journeyman certificate of fitness is not. If an exam question or a prep book tells you to schedule your Alaska journeyman COF exam with a commercial vendor, it is describing the Administrator exam.

Note also the prerequisite hidden in 8 AAC 90.115(a): the person requesting the appointment holds the appropriate trainee certificate of fitness . The exam is not open to walk-ins.

When and Where

From the department's Testing Information page:

Your application packet must be processed and approved first — allow 7 to 10 business days .

Department testing is offered in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks on the first and third Wednesday of each month .

Proctored testing in other Alaska cities is offered through Department of Labor Job Centers .

Alaska-based plumbing and electrical unions offer testing at their own facilities — contact the union hall.

Special requests and testing accommodations go through the Anchorage office .

A government-issued picture ID must be presented at the time of testing.

Results are emailed . For exams taken outside Anchorage, wait 5 to 7 working days before calling.

The Three Alternate Delivery Routes

8 AAC 90.115(b) lets an applicant request an exam at a location other than the three division offices by written request to the Anchorage office. The department may then:

Provide the exam at the requested location , if it can reasonably supply the resources;

Refer the applicant to an approved third-party testing facility — the applicant pays the cost, and for the result to be valid the facility must supply its own examination and document the passing score to the department; or

Refer the applicant to an approved exam proctor — the applicant pays, and the proctor must return the applicant's examination to the department for grading .

Subsection (e) adds a fourth route: an Alaska-based union may administer its own examination if an agreement on examination standards is in place with the department, evidenced by a sworn affidavit from a union official on a department form showing a score of not less than 70 percent .

The distinction in route 2 is subtle and testable: the third-party facility supplies its own exam, whereas a proctor administers the department's exam and returns it for grading.

Open Book — and Exactly One Book

The department's Testing Information page lists the permitted reference for each exam:

• Certification Format Reference material
• Electrical Journeyman Open Book National Electrical Code 2020
• Residential Wireman Open Book National Electrical Code 2020
• Lineman Journeyman Open Book Lineman & Cableman's Handbook 13th; National Electrical Safety Code 2017
• Plumber Journeyman Open Book Uniform Plumbing Code 2018

Boiler Operators Closed Book ASME Sections 1, 4, 6, 7, 8; NBIC; Alaska statutes and regulations; Steingress texts

Two consequences follow for your preparation. First, buy and live in the 2020 NEC — not the 2023 or the 2017. Second, because the exam is open book, it will not reward memorization of table values; it will reward speed of lookup and correct rule selection . Chapter 2 of this guide is devoted to navigating the book.

Before test day, confirm with Mechanical Inspection what tabbing and annotation are permitted in your code book. Policies on removable tabs, loose notes, and highlighting vary between the division offices, job centers, proctors, and union halls that may administer your exam.

Score, Time and Retakes

• Item Rule Source
• Time limit Four (4) hour maximum on all exams MI Testing Information
• Passing score 70 percent minimum 8 AAC 90.115(c)
• Retake wait 30 days from the date of the failed exam 8 AAC 90.115(d)
• Union-administered Not less than 70 percent, sworn affidavit 8 AAC 90.115(e)

The only exception to the 70 percent rule anywhere in Mechanical Inspection's catalog is Boiler Operator 2nd Class, at 60 percent. The 30-day retake wait in 8 AAC 90.115(d) applies to an exam administered by the department or conducted by a proctor.

Why There Is No Published Question Count or Blueprint

Alaska publishes the format, the reference, the time limit, the passing score, and the retake rule — and nothing else. It does not publish the number of items on the electrician journeyman exam, and it does not publish a weighted content outline of the kind you see for national certification exams.

Be skeptical of any prep source that states a precise item count for this exam. Where a figure appears, it is usually borrowed from the DCCED Electrical Administrator exam or from another state.

The practical consequence is straightforward: with no published weighting, the syllabus is the adopted code . 8 AAC 90.160(a) says the certificate authorizes work subject to the NEC established in AS 18.60.580 and 8 AAC 70.025, and the state names the 2020 NEC as the exam reference. The rest of this guide therefore works through the 2020 NEC systematically, chapter by chapter, with the calculation types that any journeyman-level code exam has to include.