Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

The residential specialty

Florida Residential Electrical Contractor Exam Format

Residential Electrical Contractor is one of the specialty scopes the board certifies, and its paper is the same shape as the unlimited one: 100 questions, five hours, open book, 75 percent. The business paper still applies.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

The scope behind the paper

The board lists residential electrical contracting among its specialty categories, class code 043, and the Know Your Scope chart names Residential Electrical Specialty as a certified scope. The registered version, ET, covers residential electrical work inside a single jurisdiction.

Rule chapter 61G6-7 is the specialty electrical contractors chapter. Rule 61G6-7.001 carries an effective date of 25 September 2024.

The paper itself

100 questions. Five hours. Open book. The vendor codes it RE. The pass mark is 75 percent and a passing score stays good for three years.

The 50 question business paper applies to this area the way it applies to every other. Both have to be passed before the license is issued.

The books

NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, 2023 edition, is reference RN9 and applies to this area. The OSHA volume RN7 and the Florida Contractors Manual RN50 apply to every area.

The list also carries the dates future editions take over. The 2026 National Electrical Code is scheduled to become the reference edition on August 21, 2027, and several of the other books move on the same date.

Out of state exams that reach this category

Three out of state records appear on the board's endorsement matrix for the residential specialty. Georgia's Class I qualifies for Residential Specialty, determined in March 1998 and March 2010. North Carolina's Limited License qualifies for Residential Specialty, determined in March 1998.

The NASCLA Residential Electrical exam was recognized in May 2020 for the residential specialty technical part, with the Florida business exam still required.

Money and booking

The certified examination application to the department is $263.25. The computer based exam fee paid to the vendor is $123.75. A retake is $67.25. The board's page says application fees are not refundable.

Pearson VUE runs the paper for the department. It's computer based and the department's page says it's available on a daily basis at testing sites, so you're picking a date rather than waiting for a sitting. You become eligible to schedule within 72 hours after your application is approved.

Book by phone on 888.204.6230 or online through the vendor's Florida page. The booklet asks you to call at least five business days before the date you want.

How to prepare for it

Residential work is where dwelling load calculations, receptacle spacing, ground fault and arc fault locations and the pool and spa rules live. All four are code lookups with arithmetic attached.

The free sets worth working first are power calculations, receptacle spacing, ground fault and arc fault locations and pools and spas. One caution: our sets carry the 2026 numbering and this exam is on the 2023 book, which the practice hub explains set by set.

We're not a training provider, an approved course or an examination vendor, and nothing here is endorsed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board or Pearson VUE. We're independent of all three.

Questions people ask

How many questions is the Florida residential electrical contractor exam?

100 questions with a five hour limit, open book, plus the separate 50 question business paper.

What's the passing score?

75 percent, the same mark the booklet applies to every section.

Which code edition does it reference?

The 2023 edition of NFPA 70, listed as reference RN9. The 2026 edition is scheduled to take over on August 21, 2027.

Does a NASCLA residential exam count in Florida?

The board's endorsement matrix recognized the NASCLA Residential Electrical exam in May 2020 for the residential specialty technical part. The Florida business exam is still required.

Is the residential license limited to houses?

The board lists it as a specialty category, class code 043, and the Know Your Scope chart names Residential Electrical Specialty. Read the chart for what your scope covers before you apply.

What does it cost?

The examination application to the department is $263.25, the computer based exam fee to the vendor is $123.75, and a retake is $67.25.

What this page cites

• Florida Electrical Contractors candidate information booklet The booklet marked effective February 2026. Source for the question counts, the time limits, the 75 percent pass mark, the tab rule, the identification rule and the retake rule. Read 5 September 2026. source
• Approved reference list, electrical contractors The list of books allowed in the room, by reference number and edition, with the certification areas each one applies to and the dates future editions take over. Read 5 September 2026. source
• Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board home page The board's own page: license types with their prefix letters, the specialty class codes, renewal dates and the continuing education table. Read 5 September 2026. source
• Know Your Scope chart The board's chart setting out what each certified and registered license covers. Read 5 September 2026. source
• ECLB endorsement matrix The board's table of out of state examinations it has found substantially equivalent, in full or in part, with the date of each determination. Read 5 September 2026. source
• Rule chapter 61G6-7, specialty electrical contractors The rule chapter for specialty electrical contractors, with the effective date of each rule in it. Read 5 September 2026. source