has made some changes that may affect any installations made after September, 1 2017. The NEC is a federal regulation program that sets electrical safety standards for all residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. As of May 9, 2018, 20 states have adopted the 2017 NEC code regulations. Nine other states are in the process of completing the adoption process, and two states are currently in the process of adopting the 2014 edition
*Please Note* The 2017 edition of the NEC was issued by the NFPA Standards Council on August 4, 2016. The effective date was August 24, 2016, when it officially became available for adoption by federal, state, county, and municipal governmental entities.
HomElectrical has customers all over the United States, and each state has its own rules and regulations when it comes to electrical device installation and building code. While some of our customers are professionals in the electrical and construction industries, many are the Jack-of-all-trades and Do-It-Yourselfers. For that reason, we have created this reference guide to help you make the correct purchase of electrical devices to fit your needs, and to follow the regulations used in your area.
If you do not know what code your particular area in any State uses, please contact a licensed electrician.
State | Adoption By | Current Adopted Edition of NEC (Effective Date) | 2017 NEC Adoption Status (Effective Date) | IRC Edition | Date Last Change Made to Report | Other Editions of NEC Adoption Status (Effective Date) | Additional Notes |
Alabama | State | 2014 NEC (June 1, 2016) | Not in process | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| Alabama applies the 2014 NEC adoption to state buildings, schools, hotels, and theaters. The 2015 IRC applies to residential construction only. |
Alaska | State | 2014 NEC (March 6, 2016) | Adoption underway (May 9, 2018) | n/a | June 20, 2018 |
| The state Division of Labor Standards and Safety enforces all electrical codes, and there is very little enforcement covering the entire state. (considering there are only 3 electrical inspectors in the entire state) |
Arizona | Local | No State adoption | Not in process | n/a | June 20, 2018 |
| Electrical regulations have not been adopted by the state of Arizona. Many major cities, including Phoenix and Tucson are enforcing the 2011 NEC. |
Arkansas | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2018) |
| 2000 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Arkansas Electrical voted on September 19, 2017 to adopt the 2017 NEC with the amendments. |
California | State | 2014 NEC (January 1, 2017) | Not in process | 2015 IRC (structural only) | June 20, 2018 |
| All of California’s construction codes are adopted and enforced through the CBSC. Several other State agencies can also have input and recommend certain modifications. Although they are allowed to modify code for structures in their jurisdiction, they may not alter any codes without approval from the California Building Standards Commission. |
Colorado | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2017) |
| Local adoption | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Colorado adopted the 2017 NEC without amendments. |
Connecticut | State | 2014 NEC (October 1, 2016) | Adoption underway (July 1, 2018) | 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The Connecticut Codes and Standards Committee voted to accept the 2016 proposed building codes and fire safety codes. |
Delaware | State | 2014 NEC (March 11, 2016) | Not in process | Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| The Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission adopted the 2014 NEC, NFPA 70. |
Florida | State | 2014 NEC (December 31, 2017) | Adoption underway (December 31, 2020) | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The state adopted the 2014 NEC without amendments, as well as the 6th edition of the Florida Building Code. |
Georgia | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2018) |
| 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The 2017 NEC was adopted with no state amendments. |
Hawaii | Local | 2014 NEC (March 27, 2017) | Adoption underway (TBA) | 2009 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| Hawaii’s governor signed legislation to adopt the 2014 NEC and the 2015 IECC. The state opted to skip the 2011 NED edition, and went directly from the 2008 to the 2014 NEC. |
Idaho | State/Local | 2017 NEC (July 1, 2017) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| The Idaho Electrical Board legislated to adopt the 2017 NEC with some amendments. |
Illinois | Local | 2008 NEC (July 1, 2011) | Not in process |
| June 20, 2018 | Not in process | Illinois adopted the 2008 NEC and it applies to all commercial occupancies in areas outside for local jurisdictions that have adoption authority. |
Indiana | State | 2008 NEC (August 26, 2009) | Not in process | 2003 IRC | June 20, 2018 | Not in process | After adopting the 2008 NEC, state legislators voted to remove any requirements for tamper resistant and AFCIs |
Iowa | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2018) | Not in process | 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| Iowa voted to get rid of the 210.12 (B) & 406. 4(D)4 (Replacement AFCI) from the code. However, they did vote to accept the GFCI amendments from the 2011 NEC. |
Kansas | Local | 2008 NEC (February 4, 2011) |
| 2003 IRC | June 20, 2018 | Not in process |
|
Kentucky | State | 2014 NEC (October 1, 2014) | Adoption underway (April 1, 2018) | 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The Kentucky Department of Housing, Building, and Construction vote to move forward with adopting the 2017 NEC edition. |
Louisiana | State | 2014 NEC (February 1, 2018) |
| 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 | 2014 NEC edition (2/1/18) |
|
Maine | State | 2017 NEC (November 6, 2017) |
| n/a | June 20, 2018 |
| State legislators voted to implement the 2017 NEC with six technical amendments. |
Maryland | State/Local | 2014 NEC (January 1, 2015) | Not in process | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The 2014 NEC adoption applies to state buildings and jurisdictions that do not have local adoption. |
Massachusetts | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2017) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Massachusetts voted to accept the 2017 NEC with amendments made by the MA Electrical Code Advisory Committee. |
Michigan | State | 2014 NEC Commercial (June 18, 2015) Residential (February 8, 2016) | Adoption underway (TBA) | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The 2014 NEC commercial code was reviewed and adopted for commercial structures only. Michigan’s residential code was set on 2/8/16 and adopted for one and two-story homes |
Minnesota | State | 2017 NEC (July 1, 2017) |
| 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The state adopted the 2017 NEC without any amendments. |
Mississippi | State/Local | Local Adoption only |
| Locally adopted | June 20, 2018 |
| Refer to the Senate Bill 2378, which amends Title 17, chapter 2 of the Mississippi code of 1972. |
Missouri | Local | 2005 NEC |
| 2000 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| Although the state of Missouri opted from accepting any new editions of the NEC, the city of St. Louis has adopted the 2011 NEC without amendment. |
Montana | State | 2014 NEC (October 23, 2014) | Adoption underway (TBA) | Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| State legislators adopted the 2014 NEC without any significant changes back in 2014. Update: 2017 NEC adoption is underway. |
Nebraska | State | 2017 NEC (August 1, 2017) |
| 2003 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| State legislators adopted the 2017 NEC without any amendments. |
Nevada | Local | 2011 NEC (July 1, 2013) |
|
| June 20, 2018 | Not in process | The state of Nevada does not enforce building codes, and it is up to the local city legislators to adopt their own codes. (All jurisdictions are currently under the 2011 NEC). |
New Hampshire | State | 2017 NEC (January 1, 2018) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| All adoptions and implementations of the NEC is handled by the New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board. |
New Jersey | State | 2014 NEC (September 21, 2015) | Not in process | Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| New Jersey’s state legislators accepted the 2014 NEC with amendments |
New Mexico | State | 2017 NEC (February 1, 2018) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of New Mexico adopted the 2017 NEC in February 2018. |
New York | State | 2014 NEC (April 6, 2016) | Not in process | Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| This NEC adoption does not include the city of New York. (see below for more details) |
North Carolina | State | 2017 NEC (June 12, 2018) |
| 2009 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The 2017 NEC was adopted with a few state amendments. All electrical permits that were active between 2/15/18 to6/12/18 will be regulated by the 2017 NEC in accordance with the law. |
North Dakota | State | 2017 NEC (July 1, 2017) |
| 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
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Ohio | State | 2017 NEC (Commercial: November 1, 2017) 2014 NEC (Residential: January 1, 2016) |
| 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The Ohio Board of Building Standards voted to adopt the residential 2014 National Electric Code. |
Oklahoma | State/Local | 2014 NEC (Commercial only: November 1, 2015)
| Not in process | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The OUBCC has plans to assemble to review the 2017 NEC. (w/ no effective date at this time) |
Oregon | State | 2017 NEC (October 1, 2017) |
| n/a | June 20, 2018 |
| All cities and counties must adhere to the State’s requirements. The state of Oregon does not adopt the IRC, but instead has developed a Low-rise residential code that covers all family home up to three stories tall. All of the electrical requirements are based on the NFPA 70A regulations. |
Pennsylvania | State | 2008 NEC | Not in process | Yes | June 20, 2018 | 2014 edition (TBA) | The Review and Advisory Board voted to approve construction codes based on the 2008 and 2009 codes. |
Rhode Island | State | 2014 NEC (July 1, 2014) | Adoption underway (TBA) | Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| Rhode Island accepted the 2014 NEC with three technical amendments. |
South Carolina | State | 2014 NEC (July 1, 2016) | Adoption underway (July 1, 2019) | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| South Carolina voted to adopt the 2017 NEC scheduled to go into effect July 2019. |
South Dakota | State | 2017 NEC (July 1, 2017) |
| Locally adopted | June 20, 2018 |
| South Dakota adopted the 2017 NEC in July 2017. |
Tennessee | State/Local | 2017 NEC (October 1, 2018) | Adoption underway (October 1, 2018) | 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Tennessee adopts and enforces code regulations except for 30 city jurisdictions. The 2017 NEC was adopted on 3/19/18 with plans to go into effect the first of October of this year. |
Texas | State/Local | 2017 NEC (September 1, 2017) |
| 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The 2017 NEC will be the minimum standard for all electrical work. |
Utah | State | 2014 NEC (July 1, 2016) | Adoption underway (July 1, 2018) | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| When Utah adopted both the 2014 NEC and 2015 IRC, the state also added provisions that placed all residential codes on a 6-year cycle. |
Vermont | State | 2017 NEC (October 1, 2017) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
| Vermont adopted the 2017 NEC in October 2017. |
Virginia | State | 2011 NEC (July 14, 2017) |
| 2012 IRC | June 20, 2018 | 2014 edition (9/4/18) | The 2011 NEC is included in the 2012 Virginia Uniform Building Code, but both the 2014 NEC and 2015 IRC is planned to go into effect in September 2018. |
Washington | State | 2017 NEC (July 1, 2017) |
| 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| All electrical codes in the state of Washington is enforced by the State Department of Labor and Industries/Electrical Section. |
West Virginia | State | 2014 NEC (August 1, 2016) | Not in process | 2015 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
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Wisconsin | State | 2011 NEC | Adoption underway (Commercial: August 1, 2018) (Residential: January 1, 2020) | 2009 IRC | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Wisconsin voted to move forward with adopting the 2017 NEC with amendments to the residential and commercial codes. |
Wyoming | State | 2017 NEC (February 1, 2017) |
| Locally adopted | June 20, 2018 |
| The state of Wyoming chose to adopt the 2017 NEC without any amendments. |
Chicago | Chicago | 2017 NEC (March 1, 2018) |
| n/a | June 20, 2018 |
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New York City | N.Y.C. | 2008 NEC (July 1, 2011) |
| No | June 20, 2018 | 2014 edition (TBA) |
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District of Columbia | D.C | 2011 NEC (March 26, 2014) |
| Yes | June 20, 2018 |
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