RME Licensure Examination Overview & RA 7920 Framework

RME Licensure Examination Overview & RA 7920 Framework

Quick Answer: The Registered Master Electrician (RME) Licensure Examination is administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Board of Electrical Engineering under Republic Act No. 7920 (RA 7920), "The New Electrical Engineering Law," enacted in 1995. It is completed in a single eight-hour day of objective multiple-choice items, split evenly between Technical Subjects (50%) and the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC) Parts 1 and 2 (50%). Candidates must earn a general average of at least 70%, with no subject rating below 50%, to pass.

Who Administers the Exam?

The RME exam is one of the licensure examinations run by the PRC's Board of Electrical Engineering. The board's authority to define the RME category, set its two-subject content outline, and establish passing rules comes from RA 7920, signed into law in 1995. RA 7920 replaced the country's older electrical-practice law and created the current two-tier licensing structure under which both Registered Master Electricians (RME) and Registered Electrical Engineers (REE) are examined, registered, and regulated.

Exam Format

Unlike multi-day engineering board exams, the RME exam is completed in one eight-hour examination day, and every item is an objective multiple-choice question. The PRC does not publish an official, fixed total item count for the RME exam — RA 7920 sets the exam's duration and subject weights, not a required number of questions. Secondary reviewer sources commonly describe the exam as containing roughly 100 items, but treat that figure as an unofficial estimate rather than a confirmed count.

Passing Standard and the Conditional ("Removal") Rule

RA 7920 Section 19 sets the passing rule: a candidate must earn a general average of at least 70%, and no single subject group may fall below 50%. Because there are only two subject groups and each carries 50% weight, a candidate cannot simply be strong in one area and weak in the other — a rating below 50% in either Technical Subjects or PEC Parts 1 & 2 fails the candidate outright, even when the overall average clears 70%.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 7920 soften this with a conditional, or "removal," rule. A candidate who reaches a general average of 70% or higher but scores below 50% in exactly one of the two subject groups receives a conditional result rather than an outright fail. That candidate does not retake the entire exam — only the failed subject cluster — and may keep sitting for that single subject at succeeding examinations until rated 70% or higher in it. This distinction is worth understanding before exam day, since it changes how a near-miss result is actually handled.

How Often Is the RME Exam Given?

The PRC Board of Electrical Engineering typically administers the RME exam about twice a year, and it is commonly scheduled in the same examination window as the REE (Registered Electrical Engineer) exam — historically around April and August/September. Exact dates shift from year to year, so confirm the current sitting dates and filing deadlines on the official PRC 2026 Schedule of Examinations rather than relying on prior-year patterns.

Examination Fees

Per the PRC List of Requirements, the RME examination fee is PHP 900 for a complete examination. Candidates who receive a conditional result and need to retake, or "remove," only one subject group pay a reduced fee of PHP 450. PRC fee schedules can change, so verify the current amount on the PRC website before filing an application.

Eligibility Routes Under RA 7920 Section 18

To sit for the RME exam, a candidate must be a Filipino citizen, at least 18 years old, of good moral character, and never finally convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude. In addition, the candidate must satisfy one of four education-and-experience pathways:

1. Completion of at least three years of a five-year Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) or BS Electrical Technology program, plus one year of practical experience;
2. A two-year vocational electrician's course plus two years of apprenticeship;
3. A one-year electrician's course plus three years of apprenticeship; or
4. High-school completion plus five years of apprenticeship in electrical wiring and maintenance.

These four routes reflect the trade-oriented design of the RME license: it is reachable through partial formal engineering coursework, vocational training, or supervised apprenticeship alone, not only through a completed four-year engineering degree.

Scope of Practice: What an RME Is Licensed to Do

Once licensed, RA 7920 Section 31 authorizes a Registered Master Electrician to install, wire, operate, maintain, and repair electrical machinery, equipment, and devices in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings. That authority has a ceiling: if the installation or machinery involved exceeds 500 kVA or 600 volts, the work must be carried out under the supervision of a Professional Electrical Engineer (PEE) or Registered Electrical Engineer (REE). Section 33 further establishes that a single RME is sufficient minimum staffing for installations at or below that 500 kVA / 600 V threshold — no engineer needs to be on-site for work that stays within RME scope.

RME vs. REE: How the Two Licenses Differ

The RME and REE exams share a legal foundation in RA 7920 but test very different things. The REE exam covers Mathematics (25%), Engineering Sciences and Allied Subjects (30%), and Professional Subjects (45%), reflecting a broader engineering-design scope with no upper voltage or capacity ceiling on practice. The RME exam, by contrast, is a single-day, practice-focused trade exam built around Technical Subjects and the PEC, and its licensed scope is capped at 600 V / 500 kVA without engineer supervision. In short, REEs design and engineer electrical systems of any scale, while RMEs install, wire, operate, maintain, and repair systems within a defined capacity limit.