NM-EE98J Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Actual Passing Score for Each EE-98J Component

If you're preparing for the New Mexico EE-98J Journeyman Residential and Commercial Electrical Certificate Exam, the number that matters most is simple: 75%. That threshold applies independently to each of the three components - the Part 1 Code exam, the Part 2 Theory exam, and the 100-point hands-on practical. There is no combined average that lets a strong Theory score offset a weak Code score. Each piece stands on its own.

This is different from how many people assume licensing exams work. You don't need a 75% overall - you need 75% on Part 1, 75% on Part 2, and 75 out of 100 points on the practical. Miss the line on any one component and you retest that component, not the whole certificate. Understanding this structure early changes how you allocate study time, and it's the foundation for everything else in this guide.

Why "Passing" Actually Means Passing Three Separate Exams

The EE-98J combination exam is administered through PSI under the authority of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division. Candidates typically register for the combination at $206.64, or pay $68.88 per component if testing pieces separately. Either way, the scoring logic is the same: three independent pass/fail gates.

This matters for planning. If you pass Part 1 but fall short on Part 2, you don't lose your Part 1 result - but you also don't get certified until every component clears 75%. For a full breakdown of how these fees stack up against retest costs and renewal expenses, see our NM-EE98J Certification Cost 2026 breakdown.

Part 1 Code Exam: The 75% Threshold in Real Numbers

Part 1 is a 50-question, open-book exam lasting 145 minutes, built around the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2020 New Mexico Electrical Code. Because it's scored out of 50 questions, 75% translates to roughly 38 correct answers needed - leaving very little room for guesswork on the harder code-reference questions.

Part 1 draws from eleven distinct domains, and they are not weighted evenly. The heaviest is Domain 2: Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits at 7 questions, followed by Domain 4: Grounding and Bonding at 6 questions. Domains like Lighting, Signs, and General-Use Equipment or Low Voltage carry only 3 questions each. That imbalance is strategically important - a candidate who is weak on Grounding and Bonding but strong on Low Voltage has more at stake than the numbers might first suggest.

Because Part 1 is open-book, your code book itself becomes a scoring tool. Bound references may be highlighted, underlined, indexed, and permanently tabbed before test day - but they cannot contain handwritten notes or loose inserts. A silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator is permitted. Candidates who build a tabbing system months in advance, rather than the night before, consistently move faster through the 145-minute window. For a full walkthrough of every domain and its question count, check the NM-EE98J Exam Domains 2026 guide.

Part 2 Theory Exam: What 75% Looks Like Question by Question

Part 2 is closed-book, 50 scored questions, 120 minutes. That's 25 minutes less time than Part 1 despite the same question count - a sign that PSI expects theory questions to be answerable from memorized knowledge rather than lookup. Again, 75% means roughly 38 correct answers.

The Theory exam's domain structure looks almost identical to Part 1's, but the weighting shifts dramatically. Domain 12: General Knowledge and Electrical Installation Requirements alone carries 18 of the 50 questions - more than a third of the entire exam. No other Theory domain comes close; the next largest is Domain 20: Low Voltage, including Alarms at 8 questions, followed by Domain 13: Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits at 5 questions.

Since Domains 12-20 mirror the Code domains but recur on Theory with different question counts, candidates who master a topic once often get double credit across both exams. That overlap is one of the most useful - and most overlooked - planning tools in the entire EE-98J process. For a deeper look at how this cross-domain overlap affects real-world difficulty, see How Hard Is the NM-EE98J Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

Practical Exam Scoring: 100 Points Across Seven Projects

The practical is scored on a 100-point scale over 120 minutes, and 75% translates to 75 points. Unlike the written exams, the practical is built from seven discrete graded projects, each worth a different point value:

Because three projects (Motor Control, Transformer, Complex Conduit Bending) carry 20 points each, losing partial credit on just two of them can drop a candidate below the 75-point line even with clean performance everywhere else. Time management across the 120-minute window is as much a scoring factor as technical skill.

Unscored Experimental Questions and What They Mean for You

Both written components - Part 1 and Part 2 - may include up to 10 unscored experimental questions, with additional testing time allotted to account for them. These questions are mixed in with the scored items and are not identified as experimental during the exam.

Practically speaking, this means you cannot identify which questions "don't count," so the only reasonable strategy is to treat every question as if it's scored. It also explains why total time on test day can run longer than the base 145 or 120 minutes - PSI builds in extra time specifically to accommodate these unscored items.

The One-Year Clock on Passing Scores

Once you pass a component, that passing score remains valid for one year. If you pass Part 1 but need multiple attempts at Part 2 or the practical, you're racing that one-year window to complete the remaining pieces before your earlier pass expires.

This is one of the most underestimated logistics issues in EE-98J preparation. Candidates sometimes pass Part 1 confidently, delay scheduling Part 2 or the practical due to work commitments, and then have to retake and re-pay for a component whose score has lapsed. Building a realistic testing calendar - not just a study calendar - is essential. Our NM-EE98J Exam Dates 2026 guide covers testing windows and scheduling logistics in detail.

Using Domain Weights to Protect Your Score

Because passing is measured per-component rather than per-domain, you don't need a perfect score in every domain - you need enough correct answers across all domains to clear 38 out of 50 on each written exam. That means domain weight should directly drive your study hours.

On Part 1, prioritize Domain 2 (Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits, 7 questions), Domain 4 (Grounding and Bonding, 6 questions), and Domain 5/6 (Conductors and Cables; Raceways and Boxes, 5 questions each) before spending equal time on 3-question domains like Lighting, Signs, and General-Use Equipment or Low Voltage. On Part 2, Domain 12 (18 questions) and Domain 20 (8 questions) should consume a disproportionate share of your review time relative to 2-question domains like Hazardous Locations or Lighting, Signs, and General-Use Equipment.

This isn't about skipping small domains entirely - a candidate sitting right at the 75% line can't afford to write off any questions. It's about allocating your limited hours where the point density is highest. For the complete list of all 27 domains with every question and point count, our NM-EE98J Exam Domains 2026 guide is the most detailed resource on the site.

A Focused Prep Schedule Built Around the 75% Line

Generic study advice ignores the fact that EE-98J's three components have different formats and different weight distributions. A schedule that respects those differences looks something like this:

Spaced repetition and timed practice sessions work well within this structure, but only when they're mapped to the actual point values above rather than applied evenly across all 27 domains. For a more complete first-attempt strategy, see the NM-EE98J Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also build familiarity with the question style using timed practice sets on our practice test platform before test day.

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