- WY-JE here means the Wyoming Journeyman Electrician License Exam, ICC examination 385, tied to the state journeyman license.
- The exam is 80 multiple-choice questions, four hours, open book, computer-based, with a $115 examination fee.
- Wiring Methods and Materials carries the largest printed weight at 21%, followed by Branch Circuits and Conductors at 15%.
- State approval of your eligibility comes before testing: 8,000 work hours and 576 classroom hours are the standard route.
What the Letters Stand For
On this site, WY-JE is shorthand for the Wyoming Journeyman Electrician License Exam. "WY" is the state postal abbreviation for Wyoming, and "JE" stands for Journeyman Electrician. The abbreviation is not an official credential name issued by the state. It is a convenient label used by this site to refer to a specific examination: the journeyman-level electrical test that Wyoming requires before it will issue a journeyman electrician license.
That distinction matters because the same two-letter-plus-two-letter pattern can be read many ways. This article is about one thing only: the Wyoming journeyman electrician examination, identified by the International Code Council as examination 385, Wyoming Journeyman Electrician. If you have already read our explainers such as What Is WY-JE? or What Does WY-JE Stand For?, this piece goes a step further. It explains what the name means in practice: who administers the test, what you must complete before you sit for it, how it is built, and what the license behind it allows you to do.
Who Runs the Exam and Who Licenses You
Two organizations are involved, and mixing them up is a common source of confusion for new candidates.
- The licensing authority: the Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety (WY DFPES). It sets eligibility, approves candidates to test, issues the license, and handles renewal.
- The examination provider: the International Code Council (ICC), with delivery through Pearson VUE. ICC develops and publishes the content outline for examination 385, and Pearson VUE administers the computer-based test.
In plain terms, the state decides whether you may test and whether you are licensed, while ICC and Pearson VUE decide how the test is written and delivered. Your license comes from Wyoming, not from ICC. For a fuller look at how the credential fits together, see WY-JE Certification and What Is WY-JE Certification?.
Exam Format and Fee Mechanics
The test itself is straightforward in structure, even if the content is demanding.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam | ICC examination 385, Wyoming Journeyman Electrician |
| Question count | 80 multiple-choice questions |
| Time allowed | Four hours |
| Delivery | Computer-based, administered through ICC/Pearson VUE |
| Reference rules | Open book |
| Examination fee | $115 |
| Initial journeyman license fee | $100 |
Two things stand out. First, the exam is open book, which changes the skill you are really being tested on. You are not rewarded for memorizing every table. You are rewarded for finding the right article, table, or exception quickly and applying it correctly. Second, four hours for 80 questions gives you roughly three minutes per question on average, which is generous only if you are fluent at navigating your code book. If you want to understand the difficulty from that angle, read How Hard Is the WY-JE Exam?.
Note the two separate charges. The $115 is the examination fee paid for the test sitting. The $100 is the initial journeyman license fee paid to the state. They are different line items at different stages. A full breakdown of costs, including renewal, is in WY-JE Certification Cost.
The Eligibility Path Behind the Name
The "license" in the exam's name is not decorative. In Wyoming, you do not simply register and test. State approval precedes testing. You establish eligibility first, then you are cleared to sit for examination 385.
The standard route
The standard eligibility route requires:
- Four years / 8,000 hours of supervised electrical work experience, and
- 576 classroom hours completed through an approved apprenticeship.
The experience-mix rule
Your work experience is not allowed to be one-dimensional. Residential, commercial, and industrial experience is required, with no more than 75% in any one category. An apprentice who has spent nearly all of their hours on single-family housing, for example, would need to broaden their documented experience before the mix is acceptable.
For a deeper walk-through of prerequisites and how to qualify, see WY-JE Requirements. For scheduling considerations once you are approved, see WY-JE Exam Dates.
The Nine Official Content Areas
The ICC information bulletin for examination 385 (dated August 19, 2025, content outline on printed page 7) lists nine content areas. These headings describe what the exam covers. They are not a preparation curriculum, and they are not a chapter list for a study course. Here are the nine, with their printed weights:
| # | Content Area | Printed Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Knowledge | 5% |
| 2 | Services and Service Equipment | 9% |
| 3 | Feeders | 3% |
| 4 | Branch Circuits and Conductors | 15% |
| 5 | Wiring Methods and Materials | 21% |
| 6 | Equipment and Devices | 10% |
| 7 | Control Devices | 3% |
| 8 | Motors and Generators | 5% |
| 9 | Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions | 9% |
Reading the weights sensibly
Wiring Methods and Materials (21%)
The heaviest printed area and the one most likely to reward fast code navigation.
- Raceway, cable, and enclosure selection and installation
- Support, securing, and protection requirements
- Fill and bending concepts that you will need to look up, not recall
Branch Circuits and Conductors (15%)
The second-largest area and closely linked to the first.
- Conductor sizing, ampacity, and correction factors
- Overcurrent protection coordination for branch circuits
- Circuit requirements that recur across many occupancy types
Equipment and Devices (10%)
Practical installation questions about the gear electricians handle daily.
- Receptacles, switches, and fixture-related requirements
- Equipment installation and listing considerations
Services and Service Equipment (9%) and Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions (9%)
Two mid-weight areas that are easy to under-prepare because they feel narrower than they are.
- Service entrance components, grounding and bonding at the service
- Occupancy-specific rules that override general requirements
The smaller areas, General Knowledge (5%), Motors and Generators (5%), Feeders (3%), and Control Devices (3%), still matter. On an 80-question exam, even small slices represent real questions, and they are often where candidates lose easy points by skipping them. For a full tour of every area, see WY-JE Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 9 Content Areas.
The Code Edition Question
One of the most important practical details about this exam is also one of the least settled in the sources. The ICC bulletin specifies the 2023 National Electrical Code. The current Wyoming state licensing page, however, specifies the 2026 NEC and states that testing is on the current edition.
These two statements do not obviously agree, and the retained 2025 outline is not proof that ICC has revised the exam blueprint to match a 2026 code cycle. The responsible reading is this: do not assume which edition your sitting will use. Before you purchase and tab a code book, confirm the authorized examination reference edition with the state and the exam provider.
Key Takeaway
Buying the wrong NEC edition is an avoidable, expensive mistake on an open-book exam. Verify the authorized reference edition first, then tab only that book. Edition-dependent practice questions should not be trusted until you have done so.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Weights
Because the exam is open book and weighted toward installation rules, preparation should follow the weights rather than the order of the code book. A sensible approach is to begin with the heaviest, most interconnected material and then work outward.
Wiring Methods and Materials
- Highest printed weight at 21%, so it earns the most early time
- Practice locating raceway, cable, and enclosure rules quickly in your code book
Branch Circuits and Conductors, then Equipment and Devices
- These build directly on wiring methods and share many tables
- Drill conductor sizing and overcurrent protection lookups
Services, Special Occupancies, Motors, and the small areas
- Cover Services and Service Equipment and Special Occupancies together at 9% each
- Close with Motors and Generators, General Knowledge, Feeders, and Control Devices
For a fuller plan, see the WY-JE Study Guide, and keep the WY-JE Cheat Sheet handy as a quick-reference companion. When you are ready to test your lookup speed under realistic conditions, our WY-JE practice tests let you rehearse the open-book format.
After You Pass: License, Renewal, and Work
Passing the exam is one step toward the license, not the end of the process. After the exam, the state issues the initial journeyman license for a $100 fee. The license is then renewed on a three-year cycle for $50, and renewal requires 16 continuing-education hours, including at least eight hours of NEC content. This continuing-education structure keeps licensed journeymen current as the code changes, which is exactly why the 2023-versus-2026 edition question above is more than trivia.
As for work, a journeyman license is the credential that employers in the electrical trades look for when staffing field crews. Electrical contractors across residential, commercial, and industrial work hire licensed journeymen to lead installations and supervise apprentices. We explore this in WY-JE Jobs. For pay context, see the WY-JE Salary Guide, and for the bigger picture of whether the effort pays off, read Is the WY-JE Certification Worth It?. If you want to understand how scoring works, WY-JE Passing Score and WY-JE Pass Rate are the places to look.
Frequently Asked Questions
On this site, WY-JE means the Wyoming Journeyman Electrician License Exam, identified by the International Code Council as examination 385. "WY" stands for Wyoming and "JE" for Journeyman Electrician.
The Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety (WY DFPES) issues the license and sets eligibility and renewal rules. ICC develops the exam content, and Pearson VUE delivers the computer-based test.
The exam has 80 multiple-choice questions and a four-hour time limit. It is computer-based and open book, so fast, accurate code lookup matters as much as memorization.
The standard route requires four years or 8,000 hours of supervised work and 576 classroom hours through an approved apprenticeship. Experience must span residential, commercial, and industrial work, with no more than 75% in one category, and state approval comes before testing.
The ICC bulletin specifies the 2023 NEC, while the current state licensing page specifies the 2026 NEC. Confirm the authorized examination reference edition with the state and exam provider before you buy and tab a code book.