Which reference books does California provide at the test center for the General Electrician exam?
California provides three references at the test center, on screen as searchable PDFs: the 2023 NEC, the 2024 NFPA 70E, and the 2022 Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide. You may not bring your own copies, so tabs or highlights you added at home do not come with you. Get fast at searching for the Code's own words and section numbers instead.
Last reviewed June 2026 · Answered by JourneymanIQ staff
Three references, all provided
The 2023 NEC for installation and calculations, the 2024 NFPA 70E for electrical safety, and the 2022 Cal/OSHA Pocket Guide for state safety rules. Know which book holds which type of answer.
On-screen PDFs only
The references open as PDFs next to the question. You search them with the magnifying glass or Ctrl+F and zoom in to read, and you reopen them on each new question. Any tabbing system you practiced with at home will not be there, so practice searching for the exact term or section number, then checking the table of contents when a word shows up too many times.
Match the question to the book
Installation and calculation questions point to the NEC. Arc-flash and safe-work-practice questions point to 70E. General jobsite safety points to the Cal/OSHA guide. Sorting fast saves minutes.
Three searchable PDFs are waiting for you. Knowing the Code's words and section numbers beats tabs you cannot bring.
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
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