- The CT-E2 has 80 scored questions plus up to 10 unscored ones, all within 210 minutes.
- Passing requires 70%, or 56 of 80 scored questions correct.
- Raceways and Boxes is the heaviest domain at eight questions; Photovoltaics carries six.
- PSI fee is $59 per attempt; DCP application is $90, with a $120 annual renewal.
Exam Format at a Glance
Before drilling into content, lock in the mechanics. The CT-E2, administered through PSI Services LLC on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and Electrical Work Examining Board, is a computer-based, open-book examination. That single fact changes how you should prepare - it's less about memorizing NEC article numbers verbatim and more about knowing exactly where to find them fast.
- Questions: 80 scored, with up to 10 additional unscored questions mixed in (you won't know which are which).
- Time limit: 210 minutes covers both scored and unscored items.
- Format: Multiple choice, computer-based, delivered at a PSI test center.
- Scope: Trade examination only - E-2 candidates do not sit for the contractor Business and Law exam.
For a deeper breakdown of question style and what "open-book" actually allows during testing, see the full CT-E2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Registration, Fees, and Eligibility Snapshot
Money and paperwork trip up more candidates than the technical content does. Here's the sequence: DCP approval must happen before you can schedule with PSI. Skipping this order wastes time and money.
| Item | Amount / Detail |
|---|---|
| PSI exam fee | $59 per attempt |
| DCP application fee | $90 |
| Annual license renewal fee | $120 |
| Continuing education | 4 approved CE hours due annually by June 30 (first renewal exempt) |
| Eligibility window | One year, unlimited attempts |
If your eligibility year runs out before you pass, you'll need to reapply and pay the DCP application fee again - so unlimited attempts within that year is a real advantage worth using. For the full financial picture, including how these numbers stack against total cost of licensure, read CT-E2 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Eligibility itself comes through either an approved apprenticeship or DCP's documented equivalency route, which specifies 8,000 on-the-job hours and 720 classroom hours. If you're unsure which path applies to you, the detailed breakdown in CT-E2 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify walks through both routes.
Key Takeaway
Get DCP approval locked in first. PSI won't let you schedule the exam until Connecticut has cleared your eligibility, so start that paperwork weeks before you plan to test.
All 16 Domains Ranked by Weight
PSI's published outline breaks the 80 scored questions across 16 content areas. Not every domain deserves equal study time - some carry noticeably more weight than others.
Domain 5: Raceways and Boxes
The largest single domain at eight questions. Expect box and conduit fill, support spacing, and raceway selection scenarios.
- Know fill calculations cold - this domain rewards speed and accuracy under the open-book format.
Domain 16: Photovoltaics
Six questions, making it one of the heavier specialty domains. Solar-specific references are explicitly listed as allowed materials, so this domain assumes you'll be flipping pages during the exam.
- Bring Photovoltaic Systems, third edition, and tab it before test day.
The remaining domains - General Electrical Knowledge, Service Feeders and Branch Circuits, Grounding and Bonding, Conductors and Cables, Special Occupancies and Equipment, Electrical Power, Motors, Low Voltage, Lighting, Illuminated Signs, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, Safety Information, Overcurrent Protection, and High Voltage - fill out the rest of the 80-question outline. Each deserves attention, but none matches the volume of Raceways and Boxes or the reference-heavy nature of Photovoltaics.
For a domain-by-domain walkthrough of what each area actually tests, bookmark CT-E2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 16 Content Areas. If you're still gauging how tough this exam is relative to your current experience level, How Hard Is the CT-E2 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 covers that in detail.
Allowed References Quick List
Because the exam is open-book, your reference stack matters as much as your knowledge. PSI specifies exact editions - bringing the wrong year can cost you access to a resource mid-exam.
- NEC or NEC Handbook - 2020 or 2023 edition
- Ugly's Electrical References - 2020 or 2023 edition
- OSHA 29 CFR 1926, latest amendments, or the listed PSI selections
- NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm Code, 2013 edition
- Photovoltaic Systems, third edition
- Convert Your Home to Solar Energy, 2010
- National Electrical Safety Code, 2012 edition
Note that the Solar Photovoltaic Systems Installer Trainee Guide (NCCER, 2012) is a study-only resource - it is not permitted in the exam room, even though it's useful for building your Photovoltaics domain knowledge beforehand.
What's Prohibited in the Exam Room
Open-book doesn't mean anything-goes. Test-day disqualifications usually come from misunderstanding this line.
- No question-and-answer notes brought into the room
- No loose or attached papers added to approved references
- No temporary tabs placed the morning of the exam
- No writing in books during the actual test
- Calculators must be silent, nonprinting, and nonprogrammable
Candidates bring their own approved books - PSI does not supply copies at the test center. Double-check every edition year against the bulletin the night before you test.
Passing Score Math
The passing threshold is straightforward: 70%, which translates to 56 correct answers out of 80 scored questions. Unscored questions don't count toward this total, but since you can't identify them during the test, treat every question as if it matters.
A useful mental checkpoint: if you're consistently missing more than 24 questions on full-length practice runs, that's a signal to revisit weaker domains before scheduling. For a closer look at how this threshold is calculated and what margin of error it leaves you, see CT-E2 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
56 out of 80 is the number to beat. Track your practice scores against that exact figure, not a rounded percentage, to know precisely where you stand.
License Scope and Renewal Cycle
Passing the exam is a milestone, not the finish line. E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson holders in Connecticut perform electrical work only as employees of properly licensed contractors - the E-2 is not a standalone contracting credential.
- License expires annually on September 30
- 4 approved continuing education hours due annually by June 30
- Your first renewal cycle is exempt from the CE requirement
- Annual renewal fee is $120
Once you're licensed, understanding where E-2 holders actually work - residential contractors, commercial electrical firms, and specialty installers among them - helps frame realistic job expectations. See CT-E2 Jobs for more on employer types, and CT-E2 Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis for how licensure typically factors into compensation conversations.
One-Week Final Review Schedule
If you've already built domain knowledge and just need a final-week structure, weight your remaining hours toward the heaviest and most reference-dependent domains rather than spreading time evenly across all 16.
Raceways and Boxes + Conductors and Cables
- Redo box and conduit fill problems until they're fast, not just correct
- Confirm NEC tab placement for these two domains
Grounding and Bonding + Overcurrent Protection
- Review Safety Information alongside these, since scenarios often overlap
Photovoltaics
- Practice locating answers in Photovoltaic Systems, third edition, under time pressure
Full timed practice run + light review
- Simulate the 210-minute window with a complete 80-question set on the CT-E2 practice test platform
- Review only the domains where you scored lowest
This isn't a generic Pomodoro or spaced-repetition plan - it's built around the actual weight of Raceways and Boxes and the reference-navigation demands of Photovoltaics specifically. For a longer runway plan starting weeks out instead of days, the full CT-E2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt lays out a multi-week version.
Putting the Cheat Sheet to Work
Print or screenshot this page and check it against your own prep before test day. The numbers that matter most are simple: 80 scored questions, 210 minutes, 70% to pass, $59 per PSI attempt, and one year of eligibility with unlimited retries. Everything else - domain weighting, allowed references, the DCP-before-PSI sequence - exists to help you hit that 56-question threshold on your first try.
If you're still deciding whether pursuing the E-2 is the right move for your career stage, Is the CT-E2 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 lays out the tradeoffs. And once you're confident in the fundamentals, running full-length simulations on CT-E2 Exam Prep's practice test platform is the fastest way to convert this cheat sheet into a passing score.
Yes. Candidates may bring approved references including the NEC or NEC Handbook, Ugly's Electrical References, OSHA 29 CFR 1926, NFPA 72, and specific solar and safety code publications. Prior annotation is allowed, but adding notes or temporary tabs during the test is not.
There are 80 scored questions plus up to 10 unscored ones. Passing requires 70%, meaning you need 56 of the 80 scored questions correct.
No. The E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson classification requires only the trade examination through PSI. The Business and Law exam applies to contractor-level licensing, not the E-2 journeyperson credential.
You get unlimited attempts within your one-year eligibility window, but if that year lapses without a pass, you'll need to reapply through DCP and pay the application fee again before scheduling with PSI.
The license expires annually on September 30. Four approved continuing education hours are due each year by June 30, though your very first renewal cycle is exempt from that CE requirement.