About Buckworks
A free, plain-English 2020 NEC practice exam written by an electrical project engineer who actually pulls permits and reviews submittals.
Why this exists
Most "free" NEC practice tests online recycle the same 80 questions, half of them with wrong answers, and most of them aren't tied to specific code sections. That's not how you pass a real licensing exam — and it's not how you become a safer electrician.
Every question on Buckworks is written or audited against the 2020 National Electrical Code with a specific section reference (e.g., 240.4(D)(5), 250.66(A), 110.26(C)(2)). When the source we pulled from had the wrong answer, we fixed it and noted why. When a question is genuinely ambiguous in the field, we say so in the breakdown.
Who builds it
Buckworks is built and maintained by working electrical professionals — engineers and inspectors who spend their days on switchgear submittals, panel schedules, generator/ATS coordination, and fault-current calculations on commercial and hospitality projects. The night job: turning that review work into questions that help apprentices and journeymen actually understand why the code reads the way it does — not just memorize the answer.
How the test is organized
- Question bank — 300+ items covering Articles 90, 100, 110, 200–250 (services, feeders, branch circuits, grounding), 300s (raceways, boxes), 400s (cords, motors, transformers), 500s (hazardous), 600s (signs, EV, pools), 700s (emergency / standby), and 800s (communications).
- Safety section — 55+ questions on working clearances (110.26), GFCI/AFCI, arc-flash labeling (110.16), Cal/OSHA Title 8, NFPA 70E PPE categories, and lockout/tagout sequence.
- Two modes — Test Mode (answers locked until end, like the real exam) and Study Mode (see answer + breakdown anytime).
- Configurable — pick 10, 25, 40, 80, 150, or all 300+ questions. Set a 30/60/120/240-minute timer or no timer.
What this is not
Buckworks is not affiliated with PSI Exams, NCEES, the IBEW, the NJATC, the National Fire Protection Association, or any state licensing board. We don't have access to live exam questions, and we wouldn't reproduce them if we did. Our questions are written from the NEC itself, from open practice-test sources, and from the kind of review work that happens in real projects.
Contact
Found an error? Have a section you want covered? Use the contact page.