24.141.503    EXAMINATIONS

(1) An applicant shall have one year from the date of board approval to take and pass the examination for which the application was approved. If the examination is not taken and passed within that one-year period, the applicant must submit a new application and pay the applicable fees.

(2) The examination for the residential, journeyman's, or master's license may be administered and graded by a third party. The examination passing grade for residential and journeyman-level examinations is 70 percent. The examination passing grade for master-level examinations is 75 percent.

(3) An applicant who fails any examination for which the application was made, may, upon the payment of the appropriate fee, take the next scheduled examination. However, if the applicant fails the exam a second time, the applicant must provide proof of having attended at least one eight-hour electrical code seminar approved by the board, since the initial failure to pass.

(4) An applicant who fails the master or journeyman examination two or more times may apply for and take a lower-level licensing examination.

(5) All examinations are open book. Allowed materials may have the applicant's highlights, underlining, and notes. Applicants may only use the following allowed materials during the exam:

(a) an NEC code book applicable to the examination being given (tabs or indexes may be used in the book);

(b) a silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator that is not designed for preprogrammed electrical calculations (e.g., "Electrical Estimate Pal" is not allowed);

(c) copies of the Montana statutes and rules relating to electricians; and

(d) "Printreading," by David L. Hittinger, based on the applicable NEC code.

(6) An applicant for an examination who, due to a disability, requires reasonable accommodation(s) in examination procedures, must submit a written request to the board office for the specific accommodation needed, at least 15 days prior to the scheduled exam.

(7) Any applicant who takes an examination, whether the applicant passes or fails the examination, may contact the department to request their specific test score.

(8) Any applicant who takes an examination and does not pass the examination may contact the department to request a review of the examination.

(a) The board will not modify examination results unless the applicant presents clear and convincing evidence of error in the grading of the examination.

(b) The board will not consider any challenge to examination grading unless the total of the potentially revised score would result in a passing score.

(9) A request for rescoring of an application must be made in writing to the board office and received within 20 days of the date of the examination and must request a rescore of the examination.

(a) The candidate will be allowed two hours to review the examination and must identify the challenged examination questions and state specifically why the results should be modified, pursuant to the NEC and/or Montana statutes and rules supporting the applicant's position.

(b) The board will review the examination and the applicant's justification at the next regularly scheduled board meeting and notify the applicant in writing of the board's decision.

(10) Any applicant determined by the board to be cheating on an examination or using inappropriate material/equipment during an examination will fail and be required to wait at least one year before reapplying for licensure and before being allowed to reexamine. 

 

History: 37-1-131, 37-68-201, MCA; IMP, 37-1-131, 37-68-304, 37-68-305, MCA; NEW, 1988 MAR p. 567, Eff. 3/25/88; AMD, 1994 MAR p. 951, Eff. 4/15/94; AMD, 1996 MAR p. 3039, Eff. 11/22/96; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 2418, Eff. 12/7/01; TRANS, from Commerce, 2002 MAR p. 1755; AMD, 2005 MAR p. 2458, Eff. 12/9/05; AMD, 2009 MAR p. 1665, Eff. 9/25/09; AMD, 2024 MAR p. 1194, Eff. 5/25/24.