Can I bring my own NEC book to the TDLR exam?
You bring your own soft-bound NEC to the TDLR exam. PSI accepts any soft-bound edition, but the questions are written to the NEC 2026, so bring that one. Notes and highlighting are allowed only if added before the session, and the only tabs allowed are permanent tabs made or supplied by the NEC publisher. Loose-leaf, spiral, ring-bound books, homemade tabs, loose paper, and the NEC Handbook are not allowed.
Last reviewed June 2026 · Answered by JourneymanIQ staff
Bring a soft-bound NEC 2026
The exam is open book against your own copy. PSI accepts any soft-bound edition, but the questions are written to the NEC 2026, so bring that one. It has to be soft-bound. Loose-leaf, spiral, and ring-bound copies are not allowed, and neither is the NEC Handbook.
Mark it up before the session
Highlighting, underlining, and notes are allowed only if you add them before the exam, not during. Permanent index tabs made or provided by the NEC publisher are fine. Homemade tabs, loose paper, and taped or stapled pages are not.
Verify on the PSI bulletin
Book rules get tightened from time to time. Check the current PSI candidate bulletin before your test date so a tab or a binding does not cost you entry at the door.
Soft-bound NEC 2026, marked before the session, publisher tabs only. Confirm on the PSI bulletin.
Sources
Practice questions and explanations on JourneymanIQ are original. We paraphrase the NEC and cite article numbers, and we do not reproduce NEC text or real exam questions.
What to do next
If this answer exposed a weak spot, do not study every topic at once. Take the diagnostic, get the weak-topic order, then drill the first two.
Run the full diagnosticFind your weak topics before test day
The diagnostic is free, 15 questions, no signup. It shows you which NEC sections to focus on, in priority order.