NEC Code Book Tabs: What You Can Bring Into the Exam

Colorado will not let you bring a code book. Texas will not let you in without one.

Both exams are open book, both are run by PSI, and both are described in a document called a Candidate Information Bulletin. The word "open" is doing very different work in each. In Denver the proctor hands you a clean 2023 NEC and a formula page and tells you not to touch either with a pen. In Houston you walk in with a book you bought, and the proctor looks at the tabs on it before you get a seat. If the tabs are the wrong kind you are offered a choice: peel them off at the desk, or forfeit the fee and come back another day.

So "what can I bring in" has no single answer, and the answer is not decided by the vendor, either. PSI runs Texas and Colorado. Pearson VUE runs Wisconsin. Prov runs Alabama. Washington L&I writes its own list. The rules in each place are written by the state board or the vendor's program office for that state, and the differences are down to the level of adhesive. Below is what the current bulletins and board pages for Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Alabama, Washington, Wisconsin and Massachusetts actually say, all read on 11 September 2026, with the revision stamp of each attached where the document carries one.

The book you bring versus the book they hand you

Start with the split that makes every other rule moot.

Texas is a bring-your-own state. The TDLR Electrician Candidate Information Bulletin (stamped Updated 3/30/2023) says the examinations "are OPEN BOOK" and that "Candidates are responsible for bringing their own reference - National Electrical Code® (NEC book) to the examination site." That is the only reference on the list. Not Ugly's, not a formula card, not a keyword index. One book.

Colorado is the other model. The PSI bulletin for the Colorado State Electrical Board (Updated 6/18/2026) puts it in one sentence: "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." Then: "You may not use any other materials." A calculator is on screen. Your own book stays in the locker with your phone.

Washington and Wisconsin sit at the generous end. Washington L&I's electrical examination page lets you bring the NEC, printed copies of Chapter 19.28 RCW and Chapter 296-46B WAC, and "Any original, copyrighted material (for example, Ugly's, Ferm's Fast Finder, Soares Grounding)." Wisconsin DSPS lists three items: a binder holding SPS 305, SPS 316 and "Printed Notes"; the NEC or the NEC Handbook; and "Up to two printed, bound reference book (i.e. Ugly's, Ferm's Fast Finder Index to National Electrical Code, Tom Henry series books, Mike Holt series books)." Wisconsin is the only state in this set that says printed notes, plural, out loud.

Alabama, a Prov state, publishes a title-and-ISBN list per exam. For the state electrical contractor test the AECB bulletin (AECBE 2023.10.09) names NFPA 70 2020, the American Electrician's Handbook 17th edition, and Ugly's Electrical References 2017, and Prov's general rule is that "Book title must be exact," with one relief valve: "Older/new editions are always permitted."

If your state provides the book, stop reading about tabs. Nothing you do to your own copy will follow you into the room, and the skill that pays is knowing where Table 310.16 and Chapter 9 live without an index flag.

The tab rule is really a rule about adhesive

Where you do bring your own book, every jurisdiction I read allows tabs and every one bans the same thing. The difference is how they describe the line.

Texas describes it by manufacturer. "NEC books may be tabbed with permanent index tabs manufactured and/or provided by the NEC book publisher." Then the enforcement sentence: "Candidates are NOT permitted to have their NEC books tabbed with homemade, DIY, or non-NEC tabs." A candidate who shows up with a third-party set is given the option to test with them "removed by the candidate or forfeit their examination fee and test on another" date. Read that as a $78 mistake, the journeyman seat fee printed in the same bulletin. A third-party tab set from an exam-prep shop is exactly the kind of product that sentence is aimed at, whatever the shop's listing says about Texas.

North Carolina describes it by brand. The Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors' examination guidelines (effective February 1, 2021) accept one product: "Redi-Tag Self-Stick Permanent Adhesive Index Tabs." The prohibited list is just as specific: "Post-It Index Flags, Post-It Flags, Self-made tabbing, or reinforcement of any kind." That last phrase matters. Taping the spine of a softbound NEC so it survives a year on the truck is "reinforcement," and the guidelines say improper tabs and reinforcement are "considered evidence of cheating and grounds for invalidation of the exam."

Prov describes it by mechanism. Its FAQ, reproduced in Alabama's bulletin, allows "Permanent tabs such as gummed tabs, self-adhesive tabs with printable inserts, or insertable tab dividers (for three ring binders only)," and bans "Moveable items such as repositionable tabs or Post-it notes." The Alabama version adds a sentence in capitals: "Moveable tabs are NEVER permitted in a reference book."

Washington and Wisconsin describe it by behavior. L&I: "Index tabs are acceptable, but they cannot be removable." DSPS: "Tabs are acceptable if they come with a bound code book. Three ring paper dividers with tabs are permitted," and "removable tabs" sit on the not-allowed list with loose papers, sticky notes and paperclips.

Put those side by side and the practical rule is short. A tab that could be peeled off and put back without tearing is a removable tab everywhere. A tab that is glued down for good is fine everywhere except Texas, where it also has to come from the NEC's publisher, and North Carolina, where it has to be one brand. If you test in either of those states, buy the tabs before you buy the exam-prep bundle, not after.

Highlighting, pencil, pen: three states, three answers

Marking the text is where the bulletins stop agreeing.

Texas is permissive before the exam and absolute during it. "Candidate's NEC book may be highlighted, underlined, and/or contain notes prior to the examination session." Then: "Candidates may NOT write, highlight, underline, index, or mark their NEC book during the examination session." Notes in the margin are fine on the way in. Adding one in the room is not.

North Carolina cares about the writing instrument. Reference materials "may be highlighted, underlined, and/or annotated prior to the examination session," and the PSI handbook for the board spells out the pencil rule: "if notes are written in pencil, they MUST be highlighted; if written in pen, they DO NOT need to be highlighted." The logic is that a highlighted pencil note cannot be erased and rewritten mid-exam without it showing.

Prov's default runs the other way. "Books can have highlighting and underlining in pen only, however you cannot mark in your books during the test," and "Handwritten notes are NOT allowed in any portion of a reference book unless authorized by your licensing or certifying jurisdiction." Alabama's bulletin adds that "Handwritten notes in pencil NOT allowed in any portion of a reference book and will need to be" removed, and lists a separate ban on add-ons: "Other documents (such as formula sheets or the Tom Henry and Kelly Indexes) or stickers (such as Ohm's Law) CANNOT be added, glued or taped to a reference book." A laminated Ohm's-law wheel stuck inside the front cover fails that test.

Washington is the strictest of the seven and says why. The NEC may come in with "No handwritten notes or sticky notes." Copyrighted references such as Ugly's "can only have highlighting, underlining, and/or permanent index tabs." And then the line that should change how you treat the book you study from: "Handwritten notes and markings in books are considered an attempt to cheat on an examination." The proctor "will check all books for handwritten notes, removable tabs and blank paper," and materials with unacceptable notations "are not allowed into the exam and may be confiscated." A study copy full of margin notes is not a Washington exam copy. Budget for two books.

Massachusetts contradicts itself. The PSI bulletin for the Board of State Examiners of Electricians (effective 11/1/2024) answers question 11 of its own FAQ this way: "Underlining and highlighting of the original text is allowed but handwritten notes would not be admissible." Five pages later, under items allowed in the examination area, it lists "Formulas- prior to examination - written on the blank pages of your codebook" and "Written notes- prior to examination Hand written notes in the margins of the aforementioned reference materials." Both sentences are in the current document. A candidate who follows the FAQ walks in with a clean book. A candidate who follows Part IV walks in with formulas on the blank pages. I do not know which one the proctor in Boston enforces, and neither does anyone who has only read the PDF. Call the Board at the number in the bulletin before you write in the book, and write down who told you what.

Binding, loose pages, and the things taped inside the cover

The marks on a page are one inspection. The book's construction is another, and Texas and Massachusetts land on opposite sides of it.

Texas: "Any soft-bound edition of the National Electrical Code® may be used for the examination," and in the next breath, "Loose-leaf, spiralbound, or ring-bound copies of the NEC book, will NOT be" allowed. The three-ring NEC that lies flat on a bench is the wrong book for a Texas exam. North Carolina is nearly as narrow: references "shall be softbound, spiral, or hardbound. Loose leaf references are not allowed," and "NO partial references will be allowed." A photocopied Chapter 9 in a folder is a partial reference.

Massachusetts takes any of them. Its code-book entry reads "whether paper-back, ring-binder, a spiral binder or loose leaf, tabbed or un-tabbed." What Massachusetts polices instead is stray paper. Candidates must "Remove -any individual papers that are not part of a paper-back, ring-binder, spiral binder or loose-leaf binder type of book" before entering, and failure "may result in disqualification and forfeiture of all fees." Washington goes the other direction on its state law printouts: copies of RCW 19.28 and WAC 296-46B "must be hole-punched and placed in a three-ring binder." So in Olympia the binder is mandatory for one document and in Austin it disqualifies another.

Prov jurisdictions allow "insertable tab dividers (for three ring binders only)," and ban "Photocopied versions of a reference book" unless the exam details say otherwise. Wisconsin's binder rule is the friendliest in the set, since the binder is where the state expects your printed notes to live, but the same page bars "Loose papers, removable tabs, sticky notes and paperclips." A paperclip. That is the level of detail the proctor is working at.

None of this is in the journeyman application packet the board approved. The application decides whether you may sit. The bulletin decides what sits next to you, and it is usually a separate PDF from a separate organization.

Calculators, notepads, and who supplies the pencil

Every bulletin in this set bans programmable calculators. The wording of the allowed device varies just enough to matter.

Texas: "Only non-programmable calculators that are silent, battery-operated, do not have paper tape printing capabilities, and do not have a keyboard containing the alphabet will be allowed." Massachusetts uses almost the same list: "non-programmable, non-printing, silent, battery-operated, non-alphabet keys." A scientific calculator with trig functions and no letter keys passes both.

Prov is narrower. "Only simple 4-function calculators are permitted. PDAs, tablets, cell phones or other special calculators are NOT permitted." Four functions means add, subtract, multiply, divide. If you have practiced conduit fill with a calculator that does square roots, find out whether your Prov state will let it in.

Colorado and North Carolina remove the question. Colorado: "You will have access to an online calculator." North Carolina's handbook: "Calculators, scratch paper and pencils will be provided at the test center." Texas provides the scratch surface but not the calculator: "Electronic notepads will be provided," and pens, pencils and notebooks are on the list of items that go into secure storage. Massachusetts allows writing only "on the scrap paper that is provided by PSI," and permits "No electronic devices except hearing aids."

That last rule catches smartwatches, which several bulletins now list by name among prohibited items alongside phones, pagers and "good luck items." The Texas bulletin also warns that proctors may ask candidates "to roll up their sleeves and the bottoms of their pant legs" and will "inspect eyeglass frames, tie tacks, or any other apparel" that could hide a recording device. The check-in is not a formality in 2026.

Which edition: the book on your truck may be the wrong year

Here is where the reference list stops being about tape and starts being about money, because the edition named in the bulletin is not always the edition your state enforces, and both are moving this year.

Colorado has already moved. Its bulletin states that "Effective 8/1/2026: all examination questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code book," and the provided 2023 book "can be provided upon request until 11/1/2026. After this date, the 2023 book will no longer be provided as an option." Three months of overlap, then the old edition is gone from the test center entirely.

Texas moved in rule but not yet in its bulletin, as far as I could see. The TDLR Commission's September 1, 2026 rulemaking notice says the Commission "adopted amendments to an existing rule at 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 73, §73.100" that "adopt the 2026 National Electrical Code as the state electrical code," effective that day. The bulletin PDF I read still carries the line "Effective October 1, 2023, the examinations will be referenced to the 2023 NEC Code Book" and a 3/30/2023 revision stamp, and TDLR's exam page still names the 2023 edition. Exam-prep sellers are advertising 2026-NEC Texas study packages as if the switch is done. The rule is done. Whether the questions have switched is a question for TDLR at (512) 463-6599 or PSI, and the answer decides which code book you buy.

Wisconsin is going the other way, catching up rather than leading. DSPS tests on the "2017 National Electrical Codebook (NEC) or Handbook" through September 30, 2026 and on the 2023 NEC from October 1, 2026. A Wisconsin candidate testing in the last week of September carries a book two editions old, and one testing the following week carries a different one.

Washington is the case that proves the point. Its installation rule, WAC 296-46B-010, adopts "The 2023 edition of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70 - 2023)" and was last amended by WSR 25-23-069, effective December 19, 2025. Its January 2026 electrical newsletter says "The 2026 NEC is scheduled to replace the 2023 edition on Dec. 31, 2026." And its exam page, read the same day, lists the book you may bring as "National Electrical Code book. (2020 edition)," with the newsletter confirming that "The assessment covers the 2020 NEC." Three L&I documents, three editions, all current. The inspector who signs off your work uses 2023. The exam you sit uses 2020. The book you will be enforcing next year is 2026. Bring the one the exam page names.

Massachusetts publishes its lag as policy. The Board "adopts the code on January 1 of the code year," and "the exam content is changed to comply with the code in July of each code year," and new exam items reflecting a newly adopted code may be added "seven months from the enforcing date of such Code, Regulation or Law." So a Massachusetts candidate in the first half of a code year is tested on the edition that just stopped being law. North Carolina's PSI handbook (January 2024) names the "2020 National Electrical Code" and the 2013 NFPA 72, while the Board's web guidelines say "current edition." Which one is current for the exam is the Board's call, not the inspector's.

NFPA keeps the official map of which edition each state enforces. Use it to know what your inspector reads. Do not use it to pick the exam book. For that, only the bulletin counts, and the bulletin can lag the map by two editions.

Two minutes at the check-in desk

The whole reference policy is enforced in the time it takes a proctor to flip through your book, and each state has already decided what happens if the flip goes badly.

Texas gives you a choice on the spot: test without the non-compliant book, strip the tabs yourself, or forfeit the fee and rebook. Washington says non-compliant materials "may be confiscated," which is worse than being sent home, because the book does not come back. Alabama's bulletin says unauthorized materials "will be confiscated, your testing will be terminated" and the fee is forfeited. North Carolina treats improper tabs or reinforcement as "evidence of cheating," with "disqualification for future exams" on the list of consequences. Massachusetts ties stray papers to "forfeiture of all fees."

Every one of those outcomes costs at least the seat fee, and in the states that make you wait to rebook it costs calendar time you may not have. Approval windows run twelve months in Massachusetts and Connecticut and one year from payment in Colorado, and a forfeited seat does not stop that clock. The retake rules treat a no-show over tabs the same as a fail, and the total cost of a journeyman license quietly grows by one exam fee and one code book.

So the night before, do the proctor's job first. Open the bulletin for your state, not a vendor's generic FAQ, and check its revision date against the date you booked. Then hold the book up: is every tab glued for good, is every note in pen or highlighted or absent depending on the state, is there anything loose between the pages, is the edition on the cover the edition on the reference list. If your state provides the book, put yours away tonight and spend the hour on the table of contents instead. Everything quoted above was read on 11 September 2026, and two of the seven states change editions again before the year ends. Read yours the week you test.