- What You'll Pay to Sit for the NV-C2 Exam
- Board Licensing Fees Beyond the Exam
- Bundling the Trade Exam and CMS
- Where Your Money Goes: Exam Structure
- Hidden Costs: Experience, Education, and Time
- Cost Comparison Table
- Budgeting Your Prep Timeline
- Is the Total Investment Worth It?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- PSI charges $95 for the trade exam alone, or $140 when scheduled with the CMS together.
- Nevada's Contractors Board adds a $300 application fee and a $600 biennial license fee.
- The exam is 80 questions, 240 minutes, closed book except Board-authorized code references, needing 56 correct (70%) to pass.
- Conductors and Cables and Safety Information are tied as the largest tested domains, so budget study time accordingly.
What You'll Pay to Sit for the NV-C2 Exam
Before you can even think about license fees, you have to pay for the exam itself. PSI, the testing vendor that administers the Nevada Electrical Contractor (C-2) Trade Exam on behalf of the Nevada State Contractors Board, charges $95 for the trade exam alone. If you schedule the trade exam together with the Contractor's Management Survey (CMS) - the business and law portion every qualifying individual must also pass - PSI bundles both for $140.
That pricing structure matters because most candidates end up needing both exams to move toward licensure. Understanding the fee breakdown up front helps you avoid paying for two separate scheduling slots when a single combined appointment would save money and time. For a deeper look at how the exam itself is structured, see our NV-C2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.
Board Licensing Fees Beyond the Exam
Passing the exam is only one line item in the total cost of becoming a licensed C-2 electrical contractor in Nevada. The Nevada State Contractors Board charges a $300 application fee when you submit your contractor license application, separate from anything paid to PSI. Once approved, licensees pay a $600 biennial license fee to keep the license active, since Nevada contractor licenses run on a two-year renewal cycle rather than annually.
These figures represent recurring costs, not one-time hurdles. A candidate budgeting for the C-2 classification should plan for the exam fee, the application fee, and the first biennial license fee as three distinct payments that occur at different stages of the process. If you're still confirming whether you meet the underlying qualifications before spending money on any of this, read our NV-C2 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify breakdown first.
Key Takeaway
Treat the $300 application fee and $600 biennial fee as separate budget lines from your PSI exam cost - all three are required before you're operating as a licensed C-2 contractor.
Bundling the Trade Exam and CMS
Because the qualifying individual on a C-2 license must pass both the trade exam and the CMS, the $140 bundled rate is usually the more economical route compared to scheduling each exam separately at $95 apiece plus any additional CMS-specific fee. Scheduling both on the same day at the same PSI test center also reduces the number of trips and appointment slots you need to coordinate.
That said, some candidates deliberately separate the two exams - for example, tackling the trade exam first while still reviewing business-and-law material for the CMS. If your electrical knowledge is stronger than your familiarity with Nevada contracting law, it may make sense to sit for the trade exam on its own schedule and prepare separately for the CMS. Either way, knowing the fee structure lets you make that decision based on strategy rather than guesswork.
Where Your Money Goes: Exam Structure and Domain Weighting
It helps to understand exactly what your exam fee buys. The NV-C2 trade exam consists of 80 multiple-choice questions administered over 240 minutes, with a passing threshold of 56 correct answers, or 70%. The exam is closed book, with one important exception: code references that are expressly authorized by the current PSI content outline are permitted at the testing center. This means part of your preparation investment should go toward knowing exactly which code references are allowed and practicing navigation of them under timed conditions, not just memorizing content cold.
The exam draws from 15 content domains covering the full scope of C-2 work - installation of electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatuses, raceways, and conduits. Two domains are tied as the largest on the outline:
Conductors and Cables
Candidates must understand conductor sizing, ampacity, insulation types, and cable applications across the installations covered by the C-2 classification.
- Tied for the single largest domain on the exam
- Directly tied to the wires and cables named in the C-2 scope of work
Safety Information
This domain covers the safety practices and hazard awareness expected of anyone installing wiring, raceways, and equipment on job sites.
- Tied for the largest domain alongside Conductors and Cables
- Worth extra review time given its weight relative to smaller domains
The remaining 13 domains - General Electrical Knowledge, Service/Feeders/Branch Circuits, Grounding and Bonding, Raceways and Boxes, Special Occupancies and Equipment, Electrical Power, Motors, Low Voltage, Lighting, Illuminated Signs, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, Transmission Lines, and Overcurrent Protection - round out the outline. For a full domain-by-domain walkthrough, our exam domains guide covers what each area actually tests. If you're wondering how the exam feels difficulty-wise given this many domains packed into 80 questions, our difficulty guide breaks that down.
Hidden Costs: Experience, Education, and Time
Not every cost associated with the NV-C2 pathway shows up as a line-item fee. Licensure requires Board approval, the CMS, and a qualifying individual with four years of relevant experience earned within the prior 15 years. If you don't already have that experience, the "cost" is time spent working in the trade before you're even eligible to apply.
There is a shortcut worth knowing: approved education may substitute for up to three years of that experience requirement. For candidates coming from a formal electrical training program, this can meaningfully compress the timeline to eligibility, which in turn compresses the time before you start earning as a licensed contractor rather than as an employee. Our requirements guide goes into more detail on how experience and education combine to satisfy the Board's four-year standard.
There's also the indirect cost of study time itself. Preparation materials, practice exams, and the hours spent reviewing code references are real investments even if they don't appear on the Board's fee schedule. Structured practice through resources like our NV-C2 practice test platform can reduce wasted study hours by focusing your attention on the domains where you're weakest rather than re-reading material you've already mastered.
Cost Comparison Table
| Item | Fee | When It's Paid |
|---|---|---|
| PSI Trade Exam only | $95 | Each exam attempt |
| PSI Trade Exam + CMS bundled | $140 | Combined scheduled session |
| Board Application Fee | $300 | At license application |
| Biennial License Fee | $600 | Every two years upon renewal |
Note that retake attempts require paying the applicable PSI fee again, so passing on your first try - covered in depth in our NV-C2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt - has a direct financial upside beyond just saving time.
Budgeting Your Prep Timeline
Since Conductors and Cables and Safety Information carry the most weight on the exam, it makes sense to front-load your study schedule around those two domains rather than spreading effort evenly across all 15. A short, focused prep window built around domain weight can reduce the odds of paying for a retake.
Conductors and Cables + Safety Information
- Review conductor sizing, ampacity tables, and insulation ratings
- Work through safety practice scenarios tied to job-site hazards
Service, Feeders, Grounding, and Overcurrent Protection
- Study branch circuit calculations and feeder sizing
- Review grounding and bonding requirements alongside overcurrent devices
Raceways, Motors, Lighting, and Special Occupancies
- Practice raceway fill and box sizing problems
- Cover motor circuit protection and lighting/signage installation rules
Remaining domains + full-length timed practice
- Cover Low Voltage, Fire Alarm, Transmission Lines, Illuminated Signs
- Take full 80-question timed practice runs under 240-minute conditions
Timed, full-length practice matters here because the 240-minute window covers 80 questions across 15 domains - pacing yourself against the clock in advance is as important as knowing the material. Our NV-C2 Cheat Sheet 2026 is a useful final-week reference for locking in the code sections you're permitted to use during the actual exam.
Is the Total Investment Worth It?
Add it up: roughly $140 for the combined exam, $300 for the application, and $600 every two years to maintain the license. Compared against the earning potential of holding an independent C-2 electrical contractor license - rather than working strictly as an employee under someone else's license - many candidates find the math favorable. For a fuller breakdown of long-term earning potential and career paths this license opens, see our NV-C2 Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and our dedicated Is the NV-C2 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article.
Whatever your current stage, running a few sessions through a full practice exam simulator before you pay for your official PSI appointment is one of the more cost-effective ways to protect your $95-$140 investment from being wasted on a retake.
Frequently Asked Questions
PSI charges $95 for the trade exam alone, or $140 when you schedule the trade exam and the CMS together in one session.
The Board charges a $300 application fee when you apply for licensure and a $600 biennial license fee to maintain an active license every two years.
Together is generally the better value: PSI's bundled rate of $140 covers both exams in one appointment, compared to paying for each separately.
Yes. Licensure requires four years of relevant experience within the prior 15 years, but approved education may substitute for up to three of those years.
You need 56 correct answers out of 80 questions (70%) to pass. Since Conductors and Cables and Safety Information are the largest domains, prioritizing them can reduce your risk of paying for a retake.