VT-JE Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Published Data Does and Doesn't Say

Anyone searching for the Vermont Journeyman Electrician License Exam pass rate wants one number: the percentage of candidates who pass on the first try. Here is the plain answer. The Vermont Division of Fire Safety (VT DFS) and its testing vendor, Prov, Inc., do not publish a pass-rate figure in the January 27, 2026 Candidate Information Bulletin that defines this exam. Any site quoting a precise Vermont journeyman pass percentage without a citation to a state or Prov source is guessing, or is borrowing a number from a different credential.

That matters because "VT-JE" is an acronym that other credentials also use. This article covers only the Vermont Journeyman Electrician License Exam, so we will not import statistics from anything else. What we can do is lay out everything the official documents actually establish, explain what that structure implies about where candidates struggle, and give you a way to estimate your own readiness without relying on a number that does not exist.

If you want broader context on difficulty, our guide on how hard the VT-JE exam is walks through the factors that make it demanding, and our page on the VT-JE passing score covers the scoring threshold in more detail.

What the Bulletin Does Define: Format and Passing Score

While the pass rate is unpublished, the exam's mechanics are specific and verifiable. Understanding them is the first step to controlling the part of the outcome you can influence.

Four hours for 90 questions works out to roughly 2.7 minutes per question, which is generous on paper. The time pressure on this exam rarely comes from the clock itself. It comes from open-book lookups that eat minutes when you do not know where to turn in the code book. We return to that below.

For the money side of the process, including the $80 exam fee and the licensing fees that follow, see our VT-JE certification cost breakdown. For scheduling mechanics, the VT-JE exam dates guide explains how testing windows work.

Where the 90 Questions Come From

The bulletin lists nine official examination subject areas and publishes the number of questions allocated to each, in this order: 7, 30, 20, 3, 15, 4, 3, 3 and 5. These are exam subject areas, not a preparation curriculum, and the bulletin does not convert them to percentages. Adding them up confirms the 90-question total.

Three domains, Wiring & Protection, Wiring Methods & Materials, and Equipment for General Use, account for 65 of the 90 questions. That concentration has a direct consequence for anyone trying to predict their own chances: your result depends heavily on how well you handle a narrow cluster of topics. A candidate who is excellent at motor controls but shaky on conductor protection is carrying risk in the wrong place.

Our complete guide to all nine VT-JE content areas goes domain by domain if you want the full breakdown beyond these two.

Why Qualified Candidates Still Miss the Mark

With no official pass rate to cite, the useful question is structural: given this exam's design, where do capable tradespeople lose points? Based on the format, a few patterns are predictable.

Strong field skills, weak code navigation

A journeyman can wire a panel correctly and still struggle when a question asks for the specific code rule behind the practice. The exam is built on the 2023 NEC, the 2025 State of Vermont Electrical Safety Rules, Ugly's Electrical References 2020, and Vermont Statutes Title 26 Chapter 15. Knowing a rule exists is not enough. You must find and apply it under time pressure.

Using the wrong code edition

This one is avoidable and costly. The exam specification is the 2023 NEC. Candidates who study from an older outline, or who buy a newer retail bundle than the exam uses, risk learning requirements that differ from what the test expects. Match your references to the bulletin's list, not to whatever is newest on the shelf.

Neglecting the Vermont-specific material

Domain 9, Local Amendments, is only 5 questions, so it is tempting to skip. But those are points tied to Vermont's own rules, and they are some of the easiest to secure if you have read the 2025 State of Vermont Electrical Safety Rules. Five questions is more than the Special Occupancies, Special Equipment, or Special Conditions domains carry individually.

If you are still deciding how deep to go on each area, the VT-JE study guide lays out a full preparation approach.

The Open-Book Factor

This exam is open book with approved references and a simple four-function calculator. Many candidates hear "open book" and relax. That is a mistake, and it is probably the most important single insight into how people fail an exam like this.

The rules around what you may bring are specific. Permanent tabs, highlighting, and handwritten notes in black or blue ink are permitted. Movable tabs, photocopies, and exam-preparation guides are not. The distinction is sharper than it first sounds: a tabbed, highlighted NEC is an asset, while a stack of photocopied pages or a commercial prep book is a violation.

What a well-prepared reference looks like

• Permanent tabs on the chapters and tables you use most, placed before test day rather than during it
• Highlighting on the Article 250 grounding tables and conductor ampacity tables you expect to revisit
• Short handwritten margin notes in black or blue ink pointing from one related section to another
• Familiarity with the index, because that is how you will actually find unfamiliar topics

Because you are allowed the code, the exam leans toward application and interpretation. Our one-page VT-JE review is useful for the concepts that sit behind the lookups, though remember it is a study aid and not something you may bring into the room.

How the Eligibility Pipeline Shapes Outcomes

Another reason a raw pass rate would be hard to interpret is that candidates reach the exam through a gate. Before you can schedule, you need state eligibility approval and a candidate ID. Under Vermont Statutes Title 26, sections 903, 905 and 908, as reproduced in the Vermont Electrical Safety Rules appendix on Cornell's Legal Information Institute, the route to a journeyman license runs through apprenticeship completion or a Board-accepted equivalent.

That means the people sitting for the exam have already completed substantial supervised field work. The licensing provisions also set $115 initial and renewal journeyman license fees, three-year validity, and 15 hours of Board-approved code-update education per 36 months. One caution on sourcing: those statutory details were read in Cornell LII's reproduction rather than on a freshly retrieved legislature page, so confirm current figures with the Division of Fire Safety before you rely on them for a filing.

The practical takeaway is that this is a pre-qualified candidate pool. A candidate who has completed an apprenticeship is not guessing at electrical fundamentals, which pushes the real difficulty toward code lookup, edition-specific rules, and Vermont's local requirements rather than basic trade knowledge. For the full eligibility picture, read our guide to VT-JE requirements.

A Domain-Ordered Study Sequence

Generic study advice is everywhere, so here is one sequencing idea tied to this exam's blueprint. The logic is to spend your earliest and longest effort where the question count is largest, and to leave the small, fact-driven domains for a final sweep.

You can pressure-test this sequence with realistic questions on our VT-JE practice test site, which is built to mirror the multiple-choice, reference-driven style the exam uses. If you want to know whether the whole effort pays off, our ROI analysis and salary guide cover the career side. And for the legwork around scheduling and exam-day logistics, the VT-JE pass rate hub consolidates the latest on what is and isn't published.

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