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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

The switch already happened

Colorado Exam NEC Edition: The 2026 Book Since August

If you booked a Colorado electrician exam this autumn, the book on the desk is the 2026 National Electrical Code. The change took effect on August 1, 2026, it is printed in one sentence in PSI's bulletin, and the bulletin still carries the old sentence above it.

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On this page
  1. The sentence, and the date on the document
  2. The old sentence is still in the same document
  3. What it means if you studied on the 2023 book
  4. The 2023 book on request, and what nobody answers
  5. The state code moved first, by 17 days
  6. What to do about it now
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The sentence, and the date on the document

PSI's candidate information bulletin for the Colorado State Electrical Board is bulletin 3395, and it is printed as Updated 6/18/2026. This is the paragraph that governs your day:

Effective 8/1/2026: all examination questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code book. The 2026 National Electrical Code book and Formula Page will be provided to you at the test center. You may not write, highlight, underline, and/or index on the references. You may not use any other materials. The 2023 code book can be provided upon request until 11/1/2026. After this date, the 2023 book will no longer be provided as an option.

Six sentences, and every one of them settles something for a candidate. The questions moved. The supplied book moved. The marking bar stays. The other materials bar stays. The 2023 book is still available on request. And that fallback has an end date.

The old sentence is still in the same document

This is why people get confused. The bulletin carries the pre-switch paragraph as well, and it reads:

All examination questions are consistent with the 2023 National Electrical Code book. The 2023 National Electrical Code book and Formula Page will be provided to you at the test center. You may not write, highlight, underline, and/or index on the references. You may not use any other materials.

Both paragraphs are in bulletin 3395 as we read it on 7 September 2026. The second one is dated by the Effective 8/1/2026 line above it, and the first one is not marked as superseded.

If somebody quotes the 2023 sentence at you from the bulletin, they are quoting a real sentence from the right document. It is just the one that no longer governs a test date in September.

What it means if you studied on the 2023 book

Your knowledge did not become wrong. Your page numbers did.

Colorado does not let you bring a book, so nothing you own goes into the room. That means the value of your 2023 copy was never the paper, it was knowing where things live, and part of that transfers and part of it does not.

What transfers: the way a rule is structured, the order of the chapters, the difference between a requirement and an exception, the arithmetic, and the habit of reading a table heading before reading the row.

What does not transfer: any page number you memorized, and any section number that moved between editions. We are not going to print a list of moves, because our Colorado source file does not carry an article by article comparison and we will not invent one. The edition change page explains that decision and what to do instead.

The 2023 book on request, and what nobody answers

Until November 1, 2026 the bulletin says the 2023 code book can be provided upon request. Two things about that sentence are unresolved and you should know it before you rely on it.

First, the bulletin does not say how a candidate makes the request. No state page and no PSI page we read explains the mechanism.

Second, and more important, the bulletin does not say the questions revert for anyone who makes that request. Read literally, a candidate who requests the 2023 book sits a 2026 National Electrical Code examination holding a 2023 book.

We are not going to tell you that is definitely how it works, because nothing published says either way. We are telling you the text does not promise what people assume it promises. The deadline page works through the choice.

The state code moved first, by 17 days

The exam and the code are set by two different bodies and they moved on two different dates.

Colorado's state electrical code went to the 2026 National Electrical Code on July 15, 2026, under Secretary of State rule filing 2026-00171. The examination followed on August 1, 2026, under PSI's bulletin.

Seventeen days apart. A candidate who tested between those dates sat a 2023 edition examination while the 2026 edition was already the enforceable state code. The timeline page lays out every date and every source that disagrees.

What to do about it now

Buy or borrow a 2026 National Electrical Code and read in it, even though you cannot bring it. The point is to be fluent in the edition the question was written from.

Practise finding rules by subject rather than by page. That skill survives an edition change, and it is the only kind of preparation that works when the book on the desk is not yours.

Then time yourself. Our timed practice test and the topic sets are written to the 2026 numbering, which is the edition Colorado now tests, so the section numbers you see in them match the book you will be handed.

Questions people ask

Which NEC edition is the Colorado electrician exam on?

The 2026 National Electrical Code, since August 1, 2026. PSI's bulletin 3395 says all examination questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code book from that date.

Why does the bulletin still mention the 2023 code?

Because both paragraphs are printed in the same document. The pre-switch paragraph naming the 2023 book is still there, and the post-switch paragraph carries the Effective 8/1/2026 line. The bulletin itself is printed as Updated 6/18/2026.

Can I still get the 2023 book at the test center?

Until November 1, 2026, on request. After that date the bulletin says the 2023 book will no longer be provided as an option, and there is no allowance to bring your own.

If I request the 2023 book, do I get 2023 questions?

The bulletin does not say so. Read literally, the questions are consistent with the 2026 edition from August 1, 2026, and the 2023 book is a book rather than a question set. No state or PSI page we read addresses it.

I studied the 2023 code. Do I have to start over?

No. The structure, the arithmetic and the reading skills carry over. What does not carry over is memorized page numbers and any section number that moved between editions, which matters more in Colorado because you cannot bring your own marked copy.

Does the exam edition match the code Colorado enforces?

It does now. The state code moved to the 2026 edition on July 15, 2026 and the exam followed on August 1, 2026, so there was a 17 day window when they did not match.

Put it to the test

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All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.

What this page cites

If your notes still say 2023

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Colorado State Electrical Board, PSI, or any licensing authority, school or union.

The Colorado examinations are open book only in the sense that PSI puts a book on the desk. PSI provides the National Electrical Code and a formula page at the test center, bars writing, highlighting, underlining and indexing on them, and allows no other materials. The questions have followed the 2026 edition since 1 August 2026, and the 2023 book is provided on request until 1 November 2026.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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