Is the TDLR Journeyman exam open book?
Yes. Both parts of the TDLR Journeyman exam are open book against your own soft-bound NEC 2023. Open book does not mean easy. You still have 26 calculation questions in 110 minutes and 59 knowledge questions in 130 minutes, so the exam is won on how fast you find rules, not on having the book.
Last reviewed June 2026 · Answered by JourneymanIQ staff
Open book, your own copy
You bring a soft-bound NEC 2023. Notes, highlighting, and publisher tabs are allowed if added before the session. The book being open is exactly why speed matters more than memory.
The clock is the real test
Two parts, timed separately, scored separately, 70 percent on each. If you are slow in the book, open book turns into a time trap. That is what fails most candidates, not missing knowledge.
Build lookup speed before test day
Drill the high-yield tables until you land on them cold. The codebook speed room and the tabbing guide both target this exact skill.
Open book, your soft-bound NEC 2023. The exam is decided by lookup speed under the clock.
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.
Find 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.