- What Does MA-ME Stand For?
- Who Governs the MA-ME Exam
- Exam Structure: Part 1 and Business and Law Part II
- The 14 Domains Behind the "ME" in MA-ME
- Eligibility Requirements Before You Can Sit for MA-ME
- Registration and Fee Breakdown
- After You Pass: Class A, Class B, and Renewal
- Who Hires Massachusetts Master Electricians
- Mapping Your Study Time to the MA-ME Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- MA-ME stands for the Massachusetts Master Electrician License Exam, administered through PSI on behalf of the Board of State Examiners of Electricians.
- Part 1 has 90 questions, a 4-hour limit, and requires 70% (63 correct) to pass.
- Business and Law Part II has 50 questions, a 2-hour limit, and also requires 70% (35 correct), within 12 months of application approval.
- Wiring Methods and Devices is the largest Part 1 domain at 15 of 90 questions.
What Does MA-ME Stand For?
MA-ME stands for the Massachusetts Master Electrician License Exam - the technical and business/law examination required to hold a Class A master electrician license in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is not a trade association credential or a national certification with the same initials used elsewhere; on this site, MA-ME always refers specifically to the Massachusetts licensing exam overseen by the state's Division of Occupational Licensure and delivered through the testing provider PSI.
If you're just getting oriented, our companion piece What Is MA-ME? walks through the basics in plain language, and MA-ME Meaning digs into why the acronym is used this way specifically for Massachusetts electricians. This article focuses on unpacking exactly what the letters cover and how the exam behind them is built.
Who Governs the MA-ME Exam
The Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians, part of the Division of Occupational Licensure, sets licensing policy, eligibility rules, and continuing-education requirements for the master electrician credential. PSI is the contracted testing vendor responsible for scheduling, delivering, and scoring the computer-based exam at approved Massachusetts test centers.
This governance structure matters because it defines what the exam can and cannot test. The board draws its content from the National Electrical Code as amended by Massachusetts in 527 CMR 12.00, along with NFPA 72 for fire alarm content. Every question on the MA-ME Part 1 technical exam is meant to be traceable to one of these references - not to generic trade knowledge that might apply in another state.
If you want a deeper walkthrough of who runs the program and how licensing authority is structured, What Is MA-ME Certification? covers that in more detail.
Exam Structure: Part 1 and Business and Law Part II
The full MA-ME requirement is actually two separate exams, and both must be passed to receive a Class A master electrician license:
- Part 1 (Technical Examination): 90 questions, 4-hour time limit, 70% passing score (63 correct answers required).
- Business and Law Part II: 50 questions, 2-hour time limit, 70% passing score (35 correct answers required).
Both parts must be passed within 12 months after your application is approved. Passing one part does not extend your window to complete the other - plan your scheduling accordingly, especially if you're balancing work hours as a licensed journeyman while preparing.
The exam is computer-based and open-book, administered at approved Massachusetts testing centers. You're permitted a silent, nonprinting, nonprogramming battery-operated calculator, but resources like Ugly's Electrical References and the American Electricians' Handbook are explicitly prohibited - only your approved code books and materials go in with you. For a full breakdown of exactly what "passing" requires and how the scoring works, see MA-ME Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Treat Part 1 and Business and Law as two distinct study projects with two distinct timelines - they test different skills and carry different question counts and time limits.
The 14 Domains Behind the "ME" in MA-ME
The technical Part 1 exam is broken into 14 official content domains, each with its own share of the 90 total questions. Understanding this breakdown is the single most useful thing you can do to focus your studying, because the weighting is far from even.
| Domain | Questions |
|---|---|
| 1. State Specific Electrical Requirements | 4 |
| 2. Advanced Elec Knowledge and Elec Theory | 6 |
| 3. Services | 11 |
| 4. Grounding and Bonding | 10 |
| 5. Wiring Methods and Devices | 15 |
| 6. Motors | 7 |
| 7. Transformers | 1 |
| 8. Low-Voltage Distribution | 2 |
| 9. Special Occupancies and Equipment | 10 |
| 10. Overcurrent Protection | 6 |
| 11. Lighting | 2 |
| 12. Alarm Systems | 6 |
| 13. Photovoltaic | 6 |
| 14. Energy Storage Systems | 4 |
Wiring Methods and Devices (15 questions)
This is the largest domain on the entire Part 1 exam, and it should get the largest share of your study hours. Candidates need to be fluent in conductor and raceway selection, box and device installation rules, and the Massachusetts amendments layered onto NEC wiring method articles.
- Cable and raceway sizing and fill calculations
- Device and box mounting requirements under 527 CMR 12.00
- Splicing, termination, and support rules across common wiring methods
Services (11 questions) and Grounding and Bonding / Special Occupancies (10 each)
Together these three domains account for nearly a third of Part 1. Services questions test service entrance conductor sizing, disconnect placement, and load calculations. Grounding and Bonding covers electrode systems and bonding continuity. Special Occupancies and Equipment tests code requirements for hazardous locations, health care facilities, and similar specialized installations.
- Service load calculations and disconnect rules
- Grounding electrode conductor sizing
- Special occupancy classification and equipment rules
Notice how small some domains are - Transformers is worth just 1 question, and Low-Voltage Distribution and Lighting are worth only 2 each. That doesn't mean you can ignore them entirely, but it does mean your study hours should be allocated proportionally rather than evenly across all 14 areas. For a domain-by-domain study breakdown, MA-ME Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 14 Content Areas goes deeper into each one.
Eligibility Requirements Before You Can Sit for MA-ME
You can't simply register for MA-ME on demand - the board requires specific prerequisites before your application is even approved:
- An active Massachusetts journeyman electrician license
- At least one year actively engaged in electrical work as a licensed journeyman
- 150 hours of approved master-electrician education
- Required code-update and CORI documentation submitted with your application
Applications go through PSI's online portal. Once approved, the clock starts on your 12-month window to pass both Part 1 and Business and Law. For a full checklist of what to gather before you apply, MA-ME Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify covers the documentation in detail, and MA-ME Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling can help you plan around that deadline.
Registration and Fee Breakdown
The initial application and examination package totals $276, broken into four separate charges:
- $75 - PSI processing fee
- $80 - Technical examination (Part 1)
- $55 - Business and Law examination (Part II)
- $66 - State application charge
Passing both exams doesn't automatically make you licensed - initial license issuance carries an additional $155 fee. If you need to retake either exam, retakes cost $80 for Part 1 or $55 for Part II, which is far cheaper than paying the full package again, but it's still money and time you'd rather not spend twice. A full cost walkthrough, including how these numbers compare across the whole licensing process, is available in MA-ME Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Key Takeaway
Budget for $276 upfront plus $155 at licensure - and study hard enough the first time to avoid the $80 or $55 retake fees per part.
Attempt limits matter here too: after three unsuccessful attempts at either part, the board requires additional board-accepted education before you can sit again. After six unsuccessful attempts, you must repeat the full required education from scratch. This is one more reason a structured first-attempt strategy, like the one in our MA-ME Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, is worth following closely rather than treating the exam as something you can casually retake.
After You Pass: Class A, Class B, and Renewal
Passing both parts of MA-ME earns you a Class A license, which authorizes you to operate an electrical business in Massachusetts. It's important to understand that Class A is a business-authorization license - if you intend to personally perform hands-on electrical work, you still need to hold a Class B journeyman license alongside it.
Licensure isn't a one-time event either. Renewal follows a three-year cycle ending July 31, costs $117, and requires 21 continuing-education hours: 15 hours of mandatory code, business, law, and related instruction, plus 6 hours of professional development. Keep this cycle in mind well before your renewal date approaches so you're not scrambling for CE hours at the last minute.
Who Hires Massachusetts Master Electricians
A Class A license is generally the credential electrical contracting businesses need to legally operate and pull permits in Massachusetts. That makes it relevant to electricians who plan to run their own contracting operation, take on supervisory and estimating roles within an established firm, or move into positions overseeing journeyman crews on commercial and residential projects. Because the license also touches specialized domains like Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Systems, it's increasingly relevant to electricians working with solar installers, battery storage integrators, and energy contractors expanding into those service lines.
If you're weighing whether the license is worth pursuing given your career goals, Is the MA-ME Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and MA-ME Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis break down the career angle, while MA-ME Jobs looks at the kinds of roles that typically call for a master electrician license.
Mapping Your Study Time to the MA-ME Domains
Rather than studying every domain equally, allocate time in proportion to its question count on Part 1. A simple multi-week approach might look like this:
Highest-Weight Domains
- Wiring Methods and Devices (15 questions)
- Services (11 questions)
Second-Tier Domains
- Grounding and Bonding (10 questions)
- Special Occupancies and Equipment (10 questions)
- Motors (7 questions)
Mid-Weight Domains
- Advanced Elec Knowledge and Elec Theory, Overcurrent Protection, Alarm Systems, Photovoltaic (6 questions each)
Lower-Weight Domains and Business and Law
- State Specific Electrical Requirements, Energy Storage Systems (4 each), Low-Voltage Distribution, Lighting (2 each), Transformers (1)
- Begin Business and Law Part II review in parallel
Use full-length timed practice sessions on our practice test platform to simulate the real 4-hour Part 1 format before test day, and revisit weaker domains with targeted drills rather than repeating full exams every time. If you'd rather have all the core facts on a single reference sheet as exam day approaches, the MA-ME Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built for that final review pass.
Key Takeaway
Spend roughly a third of your study time on Wiring Methods and Devices, Services, Grounding and Bonding, and Special Occupancies and Equipment - they carry nearly half the Part 1 exam.
For candidates who want a broader read on how tough this exam really is relative to their current knowledge, How Hard Is the MA-ME Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and MA-ME Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows offer additional context worth reading before you lock in a study schedule. And when you're ready to start testing your knowledge under real conditions, practice questions modeled on the actual domain weighting are the fastest way to find your weak spots.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. In this context, MA-ME refers specifically to the Massachusetts Master Electrician License Exam, administered by PSI under the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians. It is not a national or multi-state credential.
Yes. Both the 90-question technical Part 1 exam and the 50-question Business and Law Part II exam must be passed, each with a 70% score, within 12 months of your application approval.
After three unsuccessful attempts on either part, you must complete additional board-accepted education before retesting. After six unsuccessful attempts, you're required to repeat the full required education entirely.
A Class A license authorizes running an electrical business, but personal hands-on electrical work still requires holding a Class B journeyman license alongside it.
Renewal runs on a three-year cycle ending July 31, costs $117, and requires 21 continuing-education hours - 15 mandatory hours in code, business, and law, plus 6 hours of professional development.