NFPA 70
National Electrical Code
International Electrical Code® Series
2017
See ALERT
,Copyright © 2016
National Fire Protection Association®
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Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471
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ISBN: 978-145591277-3 (SB Print)
ISBN: 978-145591278-0 (LL Print)
ISBN: 978-145591279-7 (Spiral Print)
ISBN: 978-145591280-3 (PDF)
1 2 3 4 5 LSC 20 19 18 17 16
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NFPA 70®
®
National Electrical Code
2017 Edition
This edition of NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, was prepared by the National Electrical Code
Committee and acted on by NFPA at its June Association Technical Meeting held June 13–16, 2016,
in Las Vegas, NV. It was issued by the Standards Council on August 4, 2016, with an effective date of
August 24, 2016, and supersedes all previous editions.
This document has been amended by one or more Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) and/or
Errata. See “Codes & Standards” at www.nfpa.org for more information.
This edition of NFPA 70 was approved as an American National Standard on August 24, 2016.
History and Development of the National Electrical Code ®
The National Fire Protection Association has acted as sponsor of the National Electrical Code since
1911. The original Code document was developed in 1897 as a result of the united efforts of various
insurance, electrical, architectural, and allied interests.
In accordance with the Regulations Governing the Development of NFPA Standards, a National
Electrical Code First Draft Report containing proposed amendments to the 2014 National Electrical
Code was published by NFPA in July 2015. This report recorded the actions of the various Code-
Making Panels and the Correlating Committee of the National Electrical Code Committee on each
public input and first revision that had been made to revise the 2014 Code. The report was published
at www.nfpa.org/70. Following the close of the public comment period, the Code-Making Panels
met, acted on each comment, and created some second revisions, which were reported to the
Correlating Committee. NFPA published the National Electrical Code Second Draft Report in April
2016, which recorded the actions of the Code-Making Panels and the Correlating Committee on
each public comment on the National Electrical Code Committee First Draft Report. The National
Electrical Code First Draft Report and the National Electrical Code Second Draft Report were
presented to the 2016 June Association Technical Meeting for adoption.
NFPA has an Electrical Section that provides particular opportunity for NFPA members interested
in electrical safety to become better informed and to contribute to the development of the National
Electrical Code and other NFPA electrical standards. At the Electrical Section Codes and Standards
Review Session held at the 2016 NFPA Conference and Expo, Section members had the opportunity
to discuss and review the report of the National Electrical Code Committee prior to the adoption of
this edition of the Code by the Association at its 2016 June Technical Session.
This 54th edition supersedes all other previous editions, supplements, and printings dated 1897,
1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1930,
1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959,
1962, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011,
and 2014.
This Code is purely advisory as far as NFPA is concerned. It is made available for a wide variety of
both public and private uses in the interest of life and property protection. These include both use in
law and for regulatory purposes and use in private self-regulation and standardization activities such
as insurance underwriting, building and facilities construction and management, and product
testing and certification.
NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, NFPA, and National Fire Protection Association are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association,
Quincy, Massachusetts, 02169
