The 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC) is the result of more than 4,000 Public Inputs (formerly called “proposals”) and just under 2,000 Public Comments. Hundreds of changes were made, and over the next several months, we will be covering some of the most important ones. For now, we will focus on some of the Code-wide or “global” changes.

Annex L

A new Annex L was added to introduce the big changes coming to the 2029 edition of the Code. The NEC has enjoyed the same nine-chapter format since 1937. While the industry has evolved since then, the structure of the Code has not. Although it is not set in stone, the 2029 NEC will likely consist of between 20 and 30 chapters — with much room for growth within those chapters. Not only was a new annex created, but several changes in the 2026 edition were also made in preparation for that undertaking. This includes massive reorganizations to the limited-energy systems coverage in Chapters 7 and 8, and to the systems operating at over 1,000VAC or 1,500VDC (sometimes referred to as “medium voltage” or “high voltage”).

Code arrangement

Chapter 8 is no longer independent of Chapters 1 through 7.

As the electrical industry and technology continue to evolve, there has been much discussion on what a communications circuit is and how the NEC should apply to these circuits. For decades, these were simple questions. A communications circuit was simply a telephone line that connected to a building. It was covered by Art. 800. These lines were mostly installed by the telephone service provider, and there was little to no reason that their installers needed to understand or even read Chapters 1 through 7 of the NEC. Because of this, Sec. 90.3 has long indicated that nothing in Chapters 1 through 7 applies to Chapter 8.

Over the years, other types of communications circuits and systems have been added, such as CATV systems using coaxial cable (Art. 820), satellite dishes and other antennas (Art. 810), and broadband systems (Art. 830 and 840). Chapter 8 was still independent of the rules in Chapters 1 through 7, but that was starting to make less sense. Chapter 8 has ballooned in size over the years, notably due to adding requirements from Chapters 1 through 7.

For the 2026 edition of the NEC, Sec. 90.3 was revised to remove the independence that Chapter 8 used to enjoy. Readers who are familiar with Chapter 8 will notice that Chapter 8 is now only a handful of pages. That is because much of the material that used to reside there can now be found in Chapter 7, particularly Art. 720 through Art. 750.

An example of how this change is likely to impact the user is the working space requirements of Sec. 110.26. These requirements have never applied to communications equipment, but now they do. The locations of communications and other limited-energy equipment will need to be carefully considered once your authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) adopts the 2026 NEC. However, there is already much discussion about removing this requirement in the 2029 edition of the Code (Photo 1).

New, deleted, and relocated Articles

Although many in the industry are anxious about the changes for 2029, the restructuring efforts truly began in the 2023 edition and continued in 2026. For the 2026 edition, there was much focus on getting the contents of each Article correct so the 2029 efforts could be focused more on finding the right location for the Articles and not so much on the material within the given Articles. But some relocation was deemed appropriate for this edition as well.

• Article 220, covering branch circuit, feeder, and service load calculations, was moved to Art. 120. Chapter 2 is titled “Wiring and Protection,” and Chapter 1 is “General.” There is nothing more general than performing a load calculation, considering that it must be done for every installation, and a load calculation has nothing to do with wiring or protection. It is hard to argue against this change.
• Energy management systems have been relocated from Art. 750 to Art. 130. Chapter 7 has become the landing zone for all manner of things that do not seem to belong anywhere else, which is further evidence of why the NEC needs a reformatting. Should energy management systems be located in an equipment chapter? It is easy to say “yes” to that question. As the United States continues toward the goal of more electrification, energy management systems are likely to be as common as switches and receptacles. For this reason — and because they work hand-in-glove with load calculations — they were relocated to Chapter 1.
• Articles 265 through 270 are now the home for the requirements for systems operating above 1,000VAC or 1,500VDC (sometimes called “medium voltage,” although that term is not defined). Most of this material was previously located in other Articles, including 235, 250, and 399 (Photo 2).

• Articles 720 through 750 now contain nearly all the requirements for limited-energy circuits and systems, and Chapter 8 has been reduced to just a few pages. There was a concerted effort to make the rules in the back of the Code look more like those in the front of the book. Much like a typical 120V circuit, a limited-energy circuit has a power source and a load, with conductors in between them. Those conductors are usually installed in a cable, raceway, or cable tray. They also have grounding and bonding requirements as well as overvoltage concerns. In fact, there are more similarities than differences when comparing a limited-energy circuit with a higher voltage circuit. Code users who were already familiar with these systems will certainly enjoy not having to flip between Chapter 3 and Chapter 7, and newer users will appreciate the new layout as well. Articles 770, 805, and 840 were deleted. The scope of Chapter 8 was changed to apply only to outdoor installations and was reduced by at least 80%.
• What are the requirements for a control or signaling circuit that is not power limited, such as a 120V motor control circuit, and where do you find those rules? For the 2023 NEC, the answer was Sec. 300.26, sort of. For the 2026 NEC, a new Art. 206 was created. The wiring inside of an industrial control panel is often not a limited-energy system, but it’s also not a branch circuit, feeder, or service. Although Art. 206 is quite small, its existence is necessary for circuits within its scope.
• Article 624 was created to provide requirements for equipment used for charging electric vehicles (EVs) that are not already covered by Art. 625. It only pertains to vehicles for “on-road” applications, which left Code users wondering what the requirements were for charging equipment for golf carts, forklifts, and even planes or boats. The new Article provides the guidance needed for these systems (Photo 3).

Housekeeping items

As always, several changes were made throughout the Code to make it more user friendly. These changes will not influence how you wire a building, but they do make for a better Code.

• There was a Code-wide effort to break up long sentences and paragraphs and replace them with numbered or itemized lists. This makes reading the requirement easier and results in fewer misapplications of the requirements. This occurred hundreds of times throughout the book.
• Requirements for DC circuits and systems were added throughout the NEC. With the increased popularity of these systems, efforts were made to ensure that rules intended to apply to AC only were indicated as such — and that rules that apply to DC only were indicated as such.
• The use of acronyms continues to increase. Not long ago, only a handful of acronyms were used in the NEC, such as EGC, GEC, GFCI, and AFCI. Several new acronyms have been added, with the most noteworthy being “OCPD.” Throughout the Code, the term “overcurrent protective device” was deleted and replaced with its acronym “OCPD.” The use of acronyms is now the preferred method in most instances. This is particularly useful when using NFPA LiNK®, as searching for GFCI is much easier than searching for “ground-fault circuit interrupter.”
• The names of Chapters 5, 6, and 7 were changed from “special” occupancies, special equipment, and special conditions to “specific” occupancies and locations, specific equipment, and specific conditions and systems, respectively