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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

Open book, closed list

Georgia Electrical Exam Book Rules: The Seven Books

The Georgia electrical exams let you carry references, and then name exactly which ones. Here's the seven item list from PSI's bulletin, what each book is doing on it, and the marking rules that decide whether your book survives check in.

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On this page
  1. The rule in one line
  2. The seven references for the electrical exams
  3. What you may write in them
  4. How to tab a book you'll actually use
  5. The code edition, and why it matches the state
  6. The low voltage list is different
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The rule in one line

Only the reference materials listed in the bulletin may be used during the examination. No other reference materials are allowed.

That makes the exam open book and closed list at the same time. The books do the remembering, and your job is knowing where in them to look.

Every reference below is one you buy and bring. PSI doesn't supply them.

The seven references for the electrical exams

Georgia State Electrical, 2023 National Electrical Code, or the NEC Handbook

The one that carries most of the technical half. Georgia allows either the code or the handbook, which isn't true in every state, and the handbook's commentary can be worth the extra bulk if you're used to reading it.

American Electricians' Handbook, 2021, 17th edition

A general trade reference. Useful for the practical installation questions where the code tells you the limit but not the method.

Contractors Guide to Business, Law, and Project Management, Georgia, 5th edition, NASCLA

This is the book behind the 30 business and law questions on both papers. It's the reference people skip, and business and law is more than a fifth of the scored questions.

Employer's Tax Guide, Circular E, 2025 or 2026, IRS

Payroll and withholding. It pairs with the NASCLA book on the administrative questions.

Code of Federal Regulations Title 29, Part 1926, OSHA

Construction safety. Tab the subparts you'd actually reach for rather than trying to learn it.

Printreading Based on 2020 NEC, American Technical Publishers

Plan reading. Note the edition: the bulletin lists this one against the 2020 code while the code reference itself is 2023. That's what the list says, so bring the edition the list names.

Ugly's Electrical References, 2023, Jones and Bartlett

The pocket reference. Fast for formulas and conversions when you don't want to open the big book.

What you may write in them

References may be highlighted, underlined or tabbed with permanent tabs.

Photocopied materials and handwritten notes aren't allowed. Additional material found in your reference is removed and confiscated, so anything loose between the pages is gone for good.

Permanent is the operative word on tabs. Sticky notes you can peel off aren't the same thing as a tab set that's fixed in place, so buy a proper set and fit it before the week of the exam.

How to tab a book you'll actually use

A tab set out of the box tabs every article. That's fine for the code, and it's the wrong instinct for the other six books.

Tab those by question rather than by chapter. On the NASCLA book, tab lien deadlines, contracts, employment, insurance and project close out. On Circular E, tab the deposit rules and the withholding tables. On CFR 1926, tab the subparts on electrical safety, fall protection, scaffolds and excavations.

Then use them under time. Run a drill where you find twenty rules against a clock, and re-cut the tabs you never reached for. The article drill does that for the code half.

The code edition, and why it matches the state

The exam references the 2023 National Electrical Code, and that's also the edition in force across Georgia as the state minimum standard code with Georgia amendments.

That's a friendlier position than several states are in. The book you study, the book you take in and the book the inspector holds are the same edition.

The Georgia amendments effective January 1, 2026 sit on top of that 2023 book. The amendments page lists them, and which edition the exam uses covers the numbering.

The low voltage list is different

If you're sitting a low voltage exam, the list changes. Five references apply to all four classes, including the 2023 code as the Georgia State Electrical Code, the NASCLA business book, Circular E, CFR 1926 and an ADA employer guide.

The telecommunications exam requires the BICSI Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, 2014, 13th edition, and the general exam treats it as optional.

Alarm and unrestricted add NFPA 72-2016, NFPA 101-2015, UL 681-2018 and UL 1076-2018. The low voltage exam page has the counts and the outline.

Questions people ask

Is the Georgia electrical exam open book?

Yes, but only for the seven references the bulletin lists. Anything not on that list is removed from you at check in.

Which NEC edition can I bring?

The Georgia State Electrical 2023 National Electrical Code, or the National Electrical Code Handbook. That's the same edition Georgia enforces statewide.

Can I highlight and tab my code book?

Yes. Highlighting, underlining and permanent tabs are all allowed. Photocopies and handwritten notes aren't, and loose material inside a book is confiscated.

Do I really need the NASCLA business book?

Thirty of the 140 scored questions on both electrical papers are regulations, laws and administrative functions, and that book is the reference for them. Skipping it means skipping more than a fifth of the paper.

Why does the list name a 2020 printreading book?

Because that's what the bulletin lists. Printreading Based on 2020 NEC sits alongside a 2023 code reference, so bring the edition the list names rather than a newer one.

Does PSI provide any of the books?

No. Every reference is one you buy and carry in yourself, and it has to match the list.

Put it to the test

Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown

Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.

Start the free practice testSee the $79 question bank

All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.

What this page cites

If your book is the other edition

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Georgia State Board of Electrical Contractors, PSI, or any licensing authority, school or union.

The Georgia examinations allow only the references on the bulletin list. The National Electrical Code on that list is the 2023 edition.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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