JourneymanIQ
Michigan journeyman · rules

Michigan electrician exam passing score

The number to hit is simple. Where the points come from, and the five-point gap over most states, is what decides whether you hit it. Here is the score and what should drive your study.

Last reviewed June 2026

75%
To pass
80
Questions
2 hours 30 minutes
Time
2023 NEC
Code

What 75% actually costs you

Michigan passes at 75%, where most states pass at 70%. On an 80-question test that is a real difference. At 75% you can miss 20 questions. At 70% you could miss 24. Those four extra misses are exactly the cushion a Michigan candidate does not get, so the margin you build in prep is what carries you over.

  • Pass mark: 75% of the scored questions, set by LARA.
  • Room to miss: roughly 20 of 80, versus 24 in a 70% state.
  • Result: PSI scores it and hands you the outcome at the center. No waiting weeks.

Where the points get lost

LARA does not publish a Michigan journeyman pass rate, so ignore any site quoting one. The honest read on difficulty is not a percentage, it is two things that decide the score for most candidates.

  • The clock. 80 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes is under two minutes each. Calculation questions eat far more than that, so slow lookup is what drains the time you needed for the math.
  • The open-book trap. Open book on the 2023 NEC sounds like a gift, but it punishes anyone who has not drilled navigation. If you do not know which NEC article a question lives in, the book does not save you, it costs you minutes you do not have.
  • Dense, heavily tested chapters. Grounding and bonding under Article 250, plus conduit fill, box fill, and motor sizing, are where the misses cluster. Spread study evenly and you under-prepare the parts that decide 75%.

What you can bring

Open book here is not open-everything. You bring your own bound 2023 NEC, the Michigan Electrical Code Part 8 rules, and the two state acts. Factory tabs and printed markings only. No handwritten notes, no personal index, and the NEC Handbook is not allowed. A clean, well-tabbed book you have practiced with is worth more than a fat one you have never opened under a timer.

How to cross the line

Find your weakest chapters first, then weight your time toward them and rehearse lookup under the clock. A free diagnostic shows you exactly where you stand against the chapters Michigan tests, so you study to the 75% mark, not to a feeling.

Where these exam facts come from: LARA Electrical Examination, Licensing & Application Information, PSI Candidate Information Bulletin (Michigan Electrical), Michigan Electrical Code, Part 8 Rules (2023 NEC).

Ready to see what is between you and 75%? Take the free Michigan diagnostic.

See your projected score before you book the $100 exam.

A free 15-minute diagnostic shows where you land against the 75% mark and which NEC chapters are costing you the most, so you walk in knowing the gap instead of guessing.

Start the free diagnostic →
Related reading