Michigan Electrician ExamJourneyman and master, open book

Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04

Before you buy the book

Michigan Electrician Exam Book Rules: No Marks, Which Books

Michigan lets you carry four documents into the room and will not let you write in any of them. Factory markings and factory tabs on the code book are allowed, anything you added yourself is not, and that single rule makes most of the tabbing advice written for other states useless here.

Test yourself: free practice questions

On this page
  1. The four documents on the list
  2. Which edition of the code book to buy
  3. The marking rule, which is the whole page
  4. Why the advice you have read elsewhere does not apply
  5. Binding, and the three staples
  6. The Handbook stays out
  7. What to do this week
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

The four documents on the list

PSI's reference list for every Michigan electrical examination names four items: the National Electrical Code, 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230, and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8. A straight edge rule is allowed alongside them provided it carries no calculations.

That is a wider list than most states publish. Three of the four are law rather than code, which is why the content outlines name the Skilled Trades Regulation Act and the Stille-DeRossett-Hale single state construction code act as things the paper tests.

The two acts and the Part 8 rules are free. LARA links all of them from its construction codes rules and acts page, so the only item you have to buy is the code book.

Which edition of the code book to buy

The 2023 edition. LARA's examination page says the questions are based on the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8, and the Part 8 rules adopting the 2023 NEC took effect on 12 March 2024.

A draft rule set numbered 2026-17 LR would move the state to the 2026 edition 120 days after it is filed. As of 4 September 2026 it is not filed, and buying a 2026 book now puts you on the wrong numbering for your paper.

Which edition is tested tracks the filing and lists the sections whose number differs between the two books.

The marking rule, which is the whole page

PSI states that reference materials cannot have any highlights, underlining or marking of any type. The code book entry adds one narrow allowance: factory markings or highlights, with factory tabs only.

Read that as written. A tab set you applied yourself is a mark you added. A margin note from a class is a mark you added. A highlighter run down 210.8 two years ago on the job is a mark you added.

PSI also says a candidate caught writing, highlighting, underlining or indexing before or during the examination will be reported to the Bureau of Construction Codes. That is a licensing consequence rather than a test center one.

So the compliant Michigan book is a clean book. If you want tabs, buy a copy that came from the publisher with them fitted rather than a tab sheet you stick on.

Why the advice you have read elsewhere does not apply

Most exam preparation written in the United States assumes you spend a month tabbing and highlighting your code book. In several states that is the standard advice and it is correct there.

In Michigan it is the thing that gets your book refused. The instinct to prepare the book harder than anybody else is exactly the instinct to suppress.

What replaces it is navigation practice on a clean book. You learn where things live rather than marking where they live, which is slower to build and impossible to lose at the door.

The study plan puts that first, because it is the part of Michigan preparation that has to start earliest.

Binding, and the three staples

All materials have to be bound. For the printed documents, PSI asks for three staples down the left edge, each document kept separate from the others.

So a single stack holding the two acts and the Part 8 rules together does not satisfy it. Print them, staple each one on its own, and check the staple count before you leave the house.

No additional loose papers are permitted. Anything not bound into a document is not part of it, taped and clipped included.

The Handbook stays out

PSI states plainly that the NEC Handbook is not allowed in the examination room.

The Handbook is a different product from the code book. It wraps the code in commentary and artwork, it costs more, and it is thicker, which is why it is the version a helpful supplier reaches for when you ask which one explains itself.

Buy the softbound code book. It is the cheaper purchase and it is the one that goes in.

What to do this week

Check what you already own. If your only code book is marked, it is not usable for this examination and you need a clean copy, so find that out now rather than the night before.

Print the two acts and the Part 8 rules from LARA and staple each one three times down the left edge.

Decide the tab question. Either buy a factory tabbed code book or plan to work untabbed, and then practice the way you will sit.

Read the current bulletin before you travel. It carries an effective date, it is free, and if it disagrees with anything here then it is right and this page is stale.

Questions people ask

Can you tab the NEC for the Michigan electrician exam?

Only with factory tabs. PSI allows factory markings or highlights with factory tabs only on the code book, and says reference materials cannot carry highlights, underlining or marking of any type. A tab set you applied yourself is a mark you added.

Can you highlight your code book for the Michigan exam?

No. Factory highlights are allowed and anything you added is not. PSI states that a candidate caught writing, highlighting, underlining or indexing before or during the examination will be reported to the Bureau of Construction Codes.

What books can you bring to the Michigan electrician exam?

Four documents: the National Electrical Code, 2016 PA 407, 1972 PA 230 and the Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8. A straight edge rule with no calculations on it is allowed as well. All of it has to be bound and unmarked.

Is the NEC Handbook allowed on the Michigan exam?

No. PSI states that the NEC Handbook is not allowed in the examination room. It is a separate product from the code book, it carries commentary, and it costs more. Buy the softbound code book instead.

Which NEC edition should you buy for the Michigan exam?

The 2023 edition. LARA's examination page names the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Michigan Electrical Code Rules Part 8, and the Part 8 rules adopting the 2023 NEC took effect on 12 March 2024. The draft moving Michigan to the 2026 edition has not been filed.

Do you have to print the Michigan acts and Part 8 rules yourself?

If you want them in the room, yes. They are free from LARA and they are on the reference list. PSI asks for printed documents to be bound with three staples down the left edge, each document kept separate, and allows no loose paper.

Is the Michigan electrician exam open book?

Yes, with those four documents. Open book here means you may look things up, not that you may prepare the book. The marking rule is what makes Michigan different from states where tabbing and highlighting are the standard advice.

Put it to the test

Free practice questions, sections shown

Every miss shows the working and the section behind it, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.

Start the free questionsThe licensing side

Written on the 2026 code with the 2023 number beside anything that moved, which is what the Michigan exam still uses.

What this page cites

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, LARA, the Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes, PSI Services, or any licensing authority.

Bring your own copy of the National Electrical Code, unmarked. The Michigan exam is open book on the 2023 edition until the bulletin says otherwise.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Part of the electrician network with Michigan Journeyman Prep (licensing) and the Texas sites Texas Journeyman Prep, Texas Electrician Exam and Texas Electrical Code Prep.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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