Applying, approval and booking the exam

Once Lena knew she was eligible, she wanted to book the exam that evening. Pat, the office manager at Little River, stopped her with a question that saves many candidates a wasted fee: does the authority want the application first, or the score first? In some states a board must approve a candidate before the testing company will let her book. In the Kansas systems in this course, the usual order is the other way around. The candidate books and passes a designated exam on her own, then applies to the local authority with the score report and the proof of experience. This lesson walks through that sequence for MABCD, Johnson County, the Unified Government and Topeka, and then through the booking itself.

As always, the details here were checked in November 2026. Application forms are revised, fees change and testing companies change names. Before you pay anything, open the authority's current page and the testing company's current candidate bulletin.

Score first, then apply

MABCD's certificate page lists what goes into a master application: the test results, proof of experience, the application form, which the page calls Form #19A, and a fee of 35 dollars. The page also lists the testing providers whose approved exams it accepts: Block, Experior, Prometric, the International Code Council and IAPMO. Nothing on the page says the candidate needs MABCD's permission to book. In practice, then, Lena books an approved master exam directly with the testing company, sits it, and brings the passing score report to MABCD with the rest of the package.

Johnson County works the same way at the exam stage. Its exam information page tells candidates for the DE standard master electrician class to take ICC exam 554, also listed as KGD, through Pearson VUE, and says the county accepts ICC national exams when a score of 75 or higher can be verified. The candidate books with ICC and Pearson VUE, passes, and then applies for the license class through the county.

The Unified Government's older requirements describe a similar order: pass an approved exam with 75, then apply for a certificate of qualification, which the chief building inspector approves. Topeka's municipal code also ties licensure to a passing score of at least 75 on an exam that meets K.S.A. 12-1526. In all four systems the exam result is something the candidate brings to the authority, not something the authority orders.

Before you book: check the list

The one step that must come before booking is checking that the exam is on the authority's approved list. A candidate who passes the wrong exam has a score that the authority will not accept, and the fee is gone. MABCD lists approved master exams by their codes, 554, KGD, F16, G16 and T16. Johnson County names 554, or KGD. If you plan to use one score in several places, as Lena does, choose an exam that appears on every list you care about, and print or save each list on the day you book so that you have a record of what it said.

It also helps to confirm the code edition the exam is based on. Testing companies update their exams to newer NEC editions on their own schedules, and the edition the exam uses may not match the edition the authority has adopted for permits. The exam bulletin names the edition. Lesson 4 explains why that matters for your code book.

Booking an ICC exam

ICC exams are booked through an account with the International Code Council and delivered through Pearson VUE test centers, and ICC also offers remote proctored delivery for many of its exams. The usual steps are to create or sign in to your ICC account, choose the exam by its number and edition, pay the exam fee, and then schedule a date and place with Pearson VUE. Johnson County's page lists Pearson VUE's candidate line, 1-877-234-6082, for scheduling questions. Read the candidate bulletin before you pay. It explains the identification you must bring, the rules for rescheduling and cancellation, the reference books you may use, and how long you must wait before a retake.

Make sure the name on your ICC account matches the name on the photo identification you will bring exactly. A test center can turn away a candidate whose identification does not match, and the fee is usually lost. If you have changed your name, fix the account before booking.

Booking with other testing companies

Some approved exams on MABCD's list come from other testing companies. The older names Block and Experior and the larger company Prometric have all delivered electrical exams for local authorities over the years, and the industry has seen mergers and renamings, so the exam a list calls by an older name may now be offered under a newer brand. Each company publishes a candidate information bulletin for the exams it gives for a particular authority or for national use. The bulletin lists the exam code, the code edition, the number of questions, the time allowed, the references allowed and the fee. If the list you are working from names a company you cannot find, call the authority and ask which provider now gives that exam.

Assembling the application

With the score in hand, Lena assembled her MABCD package. The checklist was short but every item mattered. The completed and signed application form. The official score report from the testing company, showing the exam code, her name and the score of 75 or better. Proof of experience: her journeyman certificate showing its 2021 issue date and a letter from Gene on Little River letterhead confirming her full-time employment as a certified journeyman since then. The fee. MABCD's page gives the office phone number, 316-660-1840, for questions.

Johnson County's application for the DE class has its own form, and the county's contractor licensing office is in the county building at 111 South Cherry Street in Olathe, with a phone number of 913-715-2233. The Unified Government's posted requirements list the certificate of qualification application and other items such as a surety bond, which Lesson 8 covers, and give building inspection phone numbers of 913-573-8620 and 913-573-8780. Because that document is older, call before you assemble a package for Kansas City, Kansas.

# Application checklist: what is still missing?
package = {
    "signed application form": True,
    "official score report (75 or better, approved exam)": True,
    "journeyman certificate with issue date": True,
    "employer letter on letterhead": False,
    "fee": True,
}
missing = [item for item, ready in package.items() if not ready]
print("Ready to file" if not missing else "Missing: " + "; ".join(missing))

Missing: employer letter on letterhead

Approval and what happens next

Approval is not automatic. The authority checks the score against its approved list, checks the experience against its rules and the statute, and may ask for more proof. Plan on some weeks, not days. Once the certificate issues, there is a second step that candidates sometimes forget: the company must update its own records. For Little River, that means telling MABCD that Lena is a master who may serve as the company's qualified person, and doing the same with Johnson County if the company wants her to qualify it there. Lesson 8 covers the company side.

If an application is denied, the authority should say why. The common reasons are an exam not on the approved list, a score report that cannot be verified, experience that does not meet the statute, or a missing form or fee. Most are cured by supplying what was missing. A candidate who believes a denial is wrong can ask how to appeal; local ordinances set the process, often to a board of appeals or a licensing board.

Keep the score report safe after approval. Under K.S.A. 12-1526 a license must show the testing agency and the name of the test the holder passed, and another licensing locality will want to see the same information when Lena applies there. If the original report is lost, testing companies can usually send a verified copy for a fee, but that takes time. A scanned copy in the company's records and a paper copy in Lena's own files cost nothing and avoid the delay. The same goes for each certificate as it issues: note the issue date, the expiration date and the authority's renewal rules on the first page of the folder, so that nothing lapses while she is busy running jobs.

Retakes

Not everyone passes on the first sitting. Testing companies set their own waiting periods and retake fees, and they report a score that shows how close the candidate came. Use that report, together with the practice method in Lesson 12, to target what to study. Ask the testing company whether a retake must use the same edition of the code, because exams are sometimes retired and replaced between sittings.

Budgeting the process

The fees add up, and the company should know the total before it promises to pay them. There is the exam fee charged by the testing company, which varies by exam and delivery method and is listed in the bulletin. There is the application fee charged by each authority, such as MABCD's 35 dollars. There may be a fee for a study course or practice exams, the cost of the code book and any other references the bulletin allows, and travel to a test center. A retake means a second exam fee. Many contractors pay these costs for a foreman they want as a qualified person, sometimes with an agreement that the employee repays part of them if she leaves within a set time. Any such agreement should be in writing and fair.

# Illustrative budget for one master credential (all amounts in dollars, examples only)
costs = {
    "exam fee (see bulletin)": 250,
    "MABCD application": 35,
    "code book, current edition": 160,
    "practice exams": 60,
    "one retake allowance": 250,
}
print(f"Planned total: {sum(costs.values())} dollars")
print(f"Without a retake: {sum(costs.values()) - costs['one retake allowance']} dollars")

Planned total: 755 dollars
Without a retake: 505 dollars

The exam fee and code book prices in the calculator are placeholders, not quotes. Look up the current amounts before you build a real budget, and add a second authority's application fee if, like Lena, you plan to use one score in two places.

Rescheduling and no-shows

Testing companies set deadlines for rescheduling or canceling a booked exam, and a candidate who misses the deadline or fails to appear usually loses the fee. Emergencies happen, but the rules are strict, so book a date you can keep. Arrive early, because late arrivals may be turned away. If you test remotely, check your computer, camera, connection and room against the provider's requirements well before the day; a failed system check on exam morning is treated much like a no-show. Lesson 12 covers the test day itself.

A timeline for Lena

Lena booked her exam with six weeks of study left before the date, enough time to finish the core review in MELU-101 to MELU-107 and to work through practice exams. She planned to file her MABCD application the week she received her score and to file with Johnson County once MABCD had approved her, so that she could include the MABCD certificate with the county application if it was asked for. Gene circled the dates on the office calendar so that the company's own records could be updated as soon as the certificates issued.

Lena also kept copies of everything. Each authority has its own file on her, and if she later applies somewhere new she will need the same score report, the same experience letters and her certificates. A single folder, paper or electronic, with every document dated and labeled, makes every later application easier.