Level II assumes you can install and maintain systems, and then asks more of you. Submittal preparation and system layout grow to 20–30% of the exam, and a management and supervision domain appears. It is a longer exam taken only at a test center.
What changes from Level I
- Installation and maintenance are still most of the exam (30–40% and 25–35%), at a more detailed level than Level I.
- Submittal preparation and system layout (20–30%) covers site surveys, shop drawings, device layout, and power supply and battery loading. This is where calculations show up, so be comfortable working a standby battery calculation and a notification-appliance-circuit voltage-drop problem step by step.
- Management and supervision (5–15%) covers coordinating the work and the people on a job.
How to prepare
- Take the free diagnostic. If submittals and layout come out weakest, start there, because it is the newest material for most Level I holders.
- Work calculations by hand once, then with the built-in calculator, so you know the method as well as the answer.
- Practise navigating NFPA 72 and NFPA 70 on screen, and bring printed references if you prefer them; NICET's reference list says which are allowed.
- A failed attempt means at least a 30-day wait, and there are at most three attempts in any 12 months, so book when your diagnostic scores are consistently strong.