Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05
SP-SP
NC Swimming Pool Bonding Exam: 25 Questions, 1 Hour
Swimming Pool Bonding is the shortest examination the Board runs and the only one on a one hour clock. Twenty five questions, open book, a minimum grade of 70, and an application that asks for employment verification with a related business on top of the usual hours.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
The classification
Swimming Pool, coded SP-SP, is one of the Board's seven special restricted classifications, at an annual license fee of $100.
The scope sits in Section .0800 of Title 21 NCAC 18B. The statute behind the whole group, G.S. 87-43.3, describes special restricted licenses as covering a specific phase of electrical contracting of a special, limited nature, and work done as an incidental part of a primary business that is not electrical contracting.
The second half of that sentence is why pool companies exist in this list at all.
The paper
Twenty five multiple choice questions, a maximum of one hour. A minimum grade of 70 out of a possible score of 100.
One hour for 25 questions is two minutes and twenty four seconds a question, which is the tightest clock the Board sets. Every other examination it runs gives three minutes thirty six seconds or more.
That changes how you prepare. On this paper you cannot look everything up, so the bonding rules have to be somewhere between familiar and known cold before you sit.
The books you may carry
The 2020 National Electrical Code is required, as it is on every examination this Board runs.
NFPA 72 is not on the list for SP-SP. The handbook allows the 2013 National Fire Alarm Code for Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited, SP-SFD and SP-FA/LV only, and this classification is not among them.
Lighting and Power Plans are printed in the handbook for Limited, Intermediate and Unlimited only, so they play no part here. The code book is the whole of what you carry.
The licensing law in Chapter 87 Article 4, the Board's rules in 21 NCAC 18B and the NASCLA guide are closed book references. Read them before your date, because you answer from memory on the day.
Pool and spa material sits in Article 680 of the National Electrical Code, and the equipotential bonding rules are at 680.26 in the 2026 book we read. Our record of the numbers that changed between the 2023 and 2026 editions has no entry for Article 680, but the examination is on the 2020 book and our record does not reach back that far, so check the number in the book you carry.
Who can sit for it
Age 18, a filed application, two written character statements.
At least 3,000 hours of experience, of which at least 2,000 hours must be primary experience, plus verification of employment with a related business. SP-SP sits in the group with SP-EL, SP-PH, SP-WP and SP-ES that carries that extra verification.
That employment verification is the point of the classification. The Board is licensing a pool business to do the electrical part of its own work, not licensing a general electrical contractor.
Money, booking and the wait
$125 for the application and examination together, not refundable. $100 a year for the license. $25 for an examination review.
PSI schedules once the Board approves the application, and approval is good for 90 days. A cancellation notice two days before the date keeps the fee.
A failure means three months before another attempt in this classification, printed as 90 days on the Board's examinations page.
How to prepare for it
The Board runs no prep class and recommends none. Its advice is the handbook, the subject matter scope inside it, an hour a day and practice at calculations.
On a one hour paper the useful drill is speed rather than depth. Work the pool and spa questions until the bonding grid, the water heater and pump circuits and the clearances are answers rather than lookups.
Our free pools and spas question set is 25 questions, which is the same length as this paper. It is written to the 2026 numbering, so read the practice hub for what that means before you use it as a mock.
Questions people ask
How long is the NC swimming pool bonding exam?
Twenty five multiple choice questions with a maximum of one hour. It is the shortest examination the Board runs and the only one on a one hour clock.
What score passes the SP-SP exam?
A minimum grade of 70 out of a possible score of 100, the same standard the Board applies to every qualifying examination.
Which book do I take in?
The 2020 National Electrical Code, and nothing else. NFPA 72 is not allowed for this classification, and the licensing law, the Board rules and the NASCLA guide are closed book.
What experience does SP-SP need?
At least 3,000 hours with at least 2,000 of them primary, plus verification of employment with a related business. That extra verification also applies to SP-EL, SP-PH, SP-WP and SP-ES.
Does this license let me do general electrical work?
No. The scope of each special restricted classification is set in Section .0800 of the Board's rules, and the statute describes these licenses as covering a specific phase of electrical contracting of a special, limited nature.
What does it cost?
The application and examination fee is $125 and is not refundable. The annual license fee for a special restricted classification is $100.
Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown
Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.
All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.
What this page cites
- NCBEEC licensing classifications The Board's list of the Limited, Intermediate, Unlimited and seven special restricted classifications, with the annual license fee for each. Read 5 September 2026. source
- NCBEEC Examination Information Handbook The Board's own candidate handbook. Source for the item counts, the time limits, the reference list, the marking rules, the identification rules and the retake wait. Read 5 September 2026. source
- G.S. 87-43.3, the classifications The statute that sets the classifications and the project value limits, with the words as established by the Board. Read 5 September 2026. source
- NCBEEC examination application for new applicants The application that sets the age, the character statements and the experience hours for each classification. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Title 21 NCAC Chapter 18B, the Board's rules The rule set behind the experience hours, the definitions of primary and secondary experience and the minimum grade of 70. Read 5 September 2026. source
- NCBEEC fees and services The fee schedule as the Board prints it, including the $125 application and examination fee and the $25 examination review. Read 5 September 2026. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.