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Texas Maintenance Electrician Licensing Exam – Practice Test

What This Practice Exam Covers

The Texas Maintenance Electrician exam is 60 questions, 180 minutes, and you need a 70% to pass. That's 42 correct answers minimum. The exam spans 9 topic areas, from NEC fundamentals and branch circuit calculations to hazardous locations and motor circuits.

This practice test gives you two options:

Free practice exam: 10 questions per attempt, pulled from a limited question pool. You can retake it as many times as you want. Use it to get a feel for how these questions are worded and what the exam actually demands before committing to serious prep.

Full practice exam (paid): 60 questions, 180-minute time limit — same format as the real exam. Questions are drawn from a pool of 368+ items, so each attempt gives you a different mix. No two attempts are identical. Every question maps to the official exam topic list provided by the test provider.

What You'll Be Tested On

Definitions, Calculations, Theory, and Plans — 5 items
This section covers NEC fundamentals: how code language works (mandatory "shall" vs. permissive "shall be permitted"), how the authority having jurisdiction enforces requirements, and how to run basic load calculations using demand factors and unit loads. You also need to know GFCI and AFCI protection requirements by location and occupancy type, grounding electrode system requirements, and overcurrent protection conductor rules. Five questions doesn't sound like much, but these concepts show up embedded in other sections too.

Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems — 8 items
One of the heavier sections. You need to size service conductors for both overhead and underground installations, locate and rate disconnecting means correctly, and know the rules for overcurrent protection at the service. Grounding and bonding is a core focus here: the grounding electrode system, main bonding jumper sizing, and grounding electrode conductor sizing from the NEC tables. Separately derived systems — including where the system bonding jumper goes and how grounding applies — are also tested.

Electrical Feeders — 3 items
The 125% rule for continuous loads is fundamental here. Know how to calculate minimum feeder conductor ampacity, apply demand factors for dwelling, multifamily, and commercial occupancies, and apply correction and adjustment factors from the ampacity tables. Ground-fault protection of equipment kicks in for feeders rated 1000 amperes or more — know that threshold. Feeder equipment grounding conductor sizing rounds out this section.

Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors — 10 items
The largest single topic block. You will calculate conductor ampacity for continuous and noncontinuous loads, size overcurrent protection under Articles 210.20, 240.4, and 240.6, and apply correction and adjustment factors from Tables 310.16 and 310.17 — including ambient temperature derating and bundling adjustments. GFCI requirements under Article 210.8 and AFCI requirements under Article 210.12 are directly tested. Expect specific location-by-location questions: a bathroom counts differently than a garage, and a dwelling unit counts differently than a commercial space.

Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials — 9 items
Know your cable types cold: NM, NMC, AC, MC, MI, SE, USE, and UF — where each is permitted and where it is prohibited. Underground burial depth requirements are tested. So are securing and supporting intervals for cables and raceways, physical protection requirements through framing members, and conductor insulation types and their markings. This section rewards candidates who know specifics, not generalities.

Electrical Equipment and Devices — 10 items
Tied with Branch Circuits as the biggest section. Switch ratings and permitted uses (Articles 404.11 and 404.14), receptacle grounding and replacement rules (Article 406), panelboard and switchboard overcurrent protection (Article 408), and luminaire installation and support requirements (Article 410) are all in play. Motor circuit conductors, overload protection, and disconnects under Article 430 appear here too, as does air-conditioning equipment under Article 440. Don't underestimate this section's breadth.

Motors and Generators — 4 items
Motor conductor sizing under 430.22 and 430.24, short-circuit and ground-fault protective device ratings from Table 430.52(C)(1), overload protection trip percentages under 430.32, and disconnecting means requirements under 430.102, 430.109, and 430.110 are the core. Generator requirements — overcurrent protection, conductor ampacity, and disconnecting means under 445.12, 445.13, and 445.18 — round out this section.

Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means — 3 items
Switch connection rules and grounded conductor requirements, motor disconnecting means location and rating, and service disconnecting means rules from Article 230 are tested here. Circuit breaker and switch enclosures in damp or wet locations also appear, along with motor controller types and ratings.

Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions — 8 items
Hazardous locations. You need to classify by Class (I, II, III) and Division (1 and 2), identify the correct protection technique for each — explosionproof, dust-ignitionproof, intrinsic safety, purged/pressurized — and know which wiring methods are permitted in each. Sealing and drainage requirements for conduit systems in hazardous locations are tested directly. Equipment marking requirements, including material group and temperature class (T codes), are on the exam. Grounding and bonding in classified locations is also tested.

Worked Sample Questions

Question 1 — Branch Circuit Calculations and Conductors

At least _____ mm of free conductor shall be left at each outlet, junction, and switch point for splices or connection of luminaires or devices.

• A. 100 mm
• B. 125 mm
• C. 150 mm
• D. 200 mm

Correct Answer: C — 150 mm

NEC 300.14 sets this at 150 mm (6 inches), measured from the point where the conductor emerges from its raceway or cable sheath. The measurement point matters — it's not from the back of the box. This is a straight recall question. Know the number and the measurement starting point. Source: NEC 300.14

Question 2 — Electrical Equipment and Devices

For flexible cords and cables used in ambient temperatures other than 30°C (86°F), what correction factors must be applied?

• A. Temperature correction factors from Table 310.15(B)(1)(1) corresponding to the cord temperature rating
• B. A fixed 80% derating factor regardless of temperature
• C. Temperature correction factors from Table 400.5(A)(3)
• D. No correction factors are required for flexible cords

Correct Answer: A

NEC 400.5(A) directs you to Table 310.15(B)(1)(1) — not a table within Article 400. The correction factor applied depends on the temperature rating of the cord or cable. Answer C is a trap: Table 400.5(A)(3) exists, but it is not the correction factor table. Know which table governs which calculation. Source: NEC 400.5(A)

Question 3 — Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials

When raceways are exposed to different temperatures and condensation is a problem, what must be done?

• A. Install expansion joints every 10 feet
• B. Use only metal raceways
• C. Seal the raceway to prevent air circulation
• D. Install drain holes at low points

Correct Answer: C

NEC 300.7(A) requires sealing the raceway to prevent warm air from circulating into a colder section where it would condense. The other answers describe real installation practices, but none of them is what 300.7(A) requires. Read the question carefully — it asks specifically about the condensation problem, not general raceway installation. Source: NEC 300.7(A)

How to Read Your Score

70% is the passing threshold — 42 out of 60 questions correct.

Your first practice attempt is a diagnostic, not a judgment. Use it to find out which of the 9 topic areas are costing you the most points. A topic-by-topic breakdown tells you where to put your study hours — don't spend equal time on every section when Branch Circuit Calculations and Electrical Equipment and Devices together account for 20 of the 60 exam questions.

If you score between 70% and 79% on a practice attempt, do not assume you are ready. Practice conditions are typically less stressful than the real exam, and the real question mix may weight your weak areas more heavily. A score in the low 70s on practice means you have identified the floor, not the ceiling — keep drilling the sections where you are dropping points.

Scores below 60% early in your prep are normal. The 9-topic breadth of this exam is substantial. Focus on Special Occupancies, Motors, and Services first if you are unfamiliar with those areas, since they carry significant weight and require specific technical recall rather than general electrical knowledge.

Where Candidates Lose Points

Wrong units. The Branch Circuit and Wiring Methods sections mix metric and imperial values. Question 1 above asked for millimeters — candidates who recall "6 inches" but can't convert lose that point. Know both.

Wrong table. The ampacity sections test whether you grab Table 310.16 vs. 310.17, and whether you apply the temperature correction column that matches the conductor's actual temperature rating — not just the default. Using the wrong table gives a number that looks plausible but is wrong.

Skipping adjustment steps. Multi-step ampacity questions require you to apply both ambient temperature correction and bundling adjustment factors before you size the overcurrent device. Candidates who stop after one step consistently choose a too-large conductor or device.

Hazardous location classification errors. Special Occupancies accounts for 8 questions. Candidates who can identify Class I but cannot distinguish Division 1 from Division 2, or who confuse explosionproof with dust-ignitionproof, drop multiple points in a single section.

Time mismanagement. 180 minutes for 60 questions is 3 minutes per question. Motor circuit calculations and load calculations can each take 4–5 minutes if you work them fully. Practice under timed conditions so you know which question types slow you down.

Misreading NEC language. "Shall" is mandatory. "Shall be permitted" is permissive. Confusing the two turns correct-answer choices into wrong ones on Definitions and Control Devices questions.

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