Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Twenty questions, answered

Minnesota Electrician Exam Questions, Answered and Cited

The questions people type before a Minnesota electrical licensing examination, answered short and cited. Where two official sources disagree, both are named. Where DLI has published nothing, the answer says so instead of guessing.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

Who runs the Minnesota electrician exam?

DLI runs it directly. There is no third party test vendor, and no PSI, Pearson VUE or Prov appears anywhere in the DLI examination documentation.

Examinations are held weekly, generally every Wednesday, at the Department of Labor and Industry, 443 Lafayette Road N., St Paul, MN 55155.

How many questions is the Minnesota electrician exam?

Eighty for the Class A master, Class A journeyworker and power limited technician papers. Seventy for the maintenance electrician. Fifty for the lineman. Twenty five for the Class B and satellite system installer licenses.

All of those counts are from the Licensing Examination Guide.

How long is the Minnesota electrician exam?

Five and a half hours, for every examination type. The guide states it once and applies it to all of them.

The session runs 8:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. So an 80 question paper gives about four minutes a question and a 25 question paper gives over 13.

What is the passing score for the Minnesota exam?

Seventy percent, on every examination. That is 56 correct out of 80, 49 out of 70, 35 out of 50 and 18 out of 25.

Do I bring my own code book to the Minnesota exam?

No. The guide says a copy of the National Electrical Code, or the National Electrical Safety Code for the lineman examination, is provided in the soft-cover format and does not include tabs or other aids.

No other materials or electronic devices, including cell phones, are allowed in the building. That is the building, not just the room.

Can I use tabs or a marked up code book?

No, because you cannot bring a book at all. The provided copy has no tabs or other aids in it.

Whether you may mark the copy DLI hands you is not addressed anywhere in the guide. It is neither permitted nor prohibited in the text, so ask the proctor.

What calculator can I bring?

An electronic calculator of the common desk type that includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root and percentage functions.

That specification rules out a programmable calculator and it rules out a phone.

Which NEC edition is the Minnesota exam on?

The 2026 edition. DLI states that electrical licensing exams will transition to the 2026 NEC beginning Sept. 8, 2026, and that date has passed.

Be careful with the examination guide, which prints only the August 17, 2026 permit date beside a sentence about the examination questions. The two dates are three weeks apart.

What changed in the exam on September 8, 2026?

DLI has not published it. The guide says the examination question format, degree of difficulty and length of examination has been in effect since Sept. 8, 2026, and gives no before and after.

The same date is the code transition date, so the two are likely the same event, but no state document says so and we are not going to state it as fact.

When did Minnesota adopt the 2026 NEC?

The rules were filed with the Secretary of State on July 20, 2026 and took effect August 17, 2026. Permits filed before that date comply with the 2023 edition and permits filed on or after it comply with the 2026 edition.

The Notice of Adoption was published in the State Register on August 10, 2026.

Did Minnesota amend the 2026 NEC?

No. The Statement of Need and Reasonableness records that the Board of Electricity voted unanimously to adopt the 2026 NEC without amendments, on the recommendation of a review committee that met three times in autumn 2025.

There is no Minnesota amendment part to cite. Minnesota Rules chapter 1315 has one active part left, 1315.0200.

Why does the published rule still say the 2023 NEC?

We do not know, and we are not going to guess. As read on September 7, 2026 the Revisor of Statutes text of 1315.0200, subpart 1a still incorporates the 2023 edition and carries a July 20, 2023 electronic publication stamp.

DLI says the amending rule was filed on July 20, 2026 and took effect August 17, 2026. Both are official Minnesota sources and we print both.

What moved between the 2023 and 2026 editions?

Load calculations left Article 220 for Article 120, and Article 220 is vacant in the 2026 book. Energy management systems left Article 750 for Article 130. Transformer overcurrent protection went from 450.3 to 450.5.

Protection against physical damage went from 300.4 to 300.6, and the bar on re-bonding neutral downstream went from 250.24(A)(5) to 250.24(B). The full list is here.

How do I schedule the Minnesota exam?

Application first. The guide says before anyone may schedule an examination date, the individual's examination application must be approved by the department, and that walk-ins are not permitted.

The mn.gov elicense entry puts the whole cycle at approximately 60 days, dependent on experience verification, board approval and examination scheduling.

How much is the Minnesota exam fee?

Fifty dollars, and it is the same for every license type. The application form says the paid application fee is not refundable and that cash is not accepted by mail or walk-in.

The guide adds that fees for applicants who do not qualify for examination are not refundable either.

When can I retake the Minnesota exam?

Thirty days after notification that you failed. Results are e-mailed generally within two weeks of the examination, so the clock starts from the notification rather than the exam day.

A retake needs a new application and a new $50 examination fee.

What is the Minnesota electrician exam pass rate?

It depends on how the board counted. Published journeyworker figures run 69, 40, 60, 32, 42 and 45 percent across three sets of minutes.

The most recent, from April 14, 2026, is 45 percent of test takers out of 349 testers. The whole range is here with the meeting and the basis on each figure.

Is the lineman exam different?

Yes. It is 50 questions and it is the one Minnesota electrical examination taken on the National Electrical Safety Code rather than the National Electrical Code.

Our practice material is written to the National Electrical Code and does not cover the safety code.

Does DLI publish an exam content outline?

No. The guide gives question counts, a time limit and a pass mark, and publishes no subject matter outline or weighting for any electrical examination.

What it does list is what is in the room: the code book, a Laws and Rules Booklet and a calculator. Read that as a subject list rather than a packing list.

Are accommodations available for the Minnesota exam?

The guide does not mention special accommodations, and it does not mention examinations in a language other than English. A targeted read for both found nothing in the document.

That is an absence of information rather than a prohibition. Call DLI at 651-284-5034 before you apply.

What this page cites

• DLI Licensing Examination Guide The question counts, the 5.5 hour limit, the 70 percent pass mark, the room rules, the scheduling and the retake rule. source
• DLI electrical codes and standards The August 17, 2026 permit date and the September 8, 2026 examination transition. source
• DLI rulemaking docket, Minnesota Rules chapter 1315 The adoption trail, the July 20, 2026 filing and the August 10, 2026 Notice of Adoption. source
• Statement of Need and Reasonableness The unanimous board vote to adopt the 2026 NEC without Minnesota amendments. source
• Minnesota Rules 1315.0200 The published rule text, which as read on September 7, 2026 still names the 2023 edition. source
• Board of Electricity minutes, April 14, 2026 The most recent published pass rates and tester counts. source
• DLI personal exam application The $50 fee, the no refund rule and the examination contact details. source
• NEC 2026 renumbering, article by article Our record of the numbers that changed address between the 2023 and 2026 editions. source