Code Change Summary: The language on the maintenance receptacle for equipment requiring servicing has been simplified.

SME commentary: In the 2026 NEC^®, a maintenance receptacle outlet is required for wiring systems that include a solidly grounded system operating at less than 150 volts to ground. The receptacle outlet shall be located within the same room or area as indoor switchboards, switchgear, panelboards, motor control centers, and service equipment. This rule does not apply to dwelling units.

The 2026 rewrite of 210.63(B) tightens the focus of the “maintenance receptacle outlet” requirement and makes it far easier to apply in the field. In the 2023 NEC^®, 210.63(B) had two list items built around “indoor service equipment” and any indoor equipment that required “dedicated equipment space” per 110.26(E). It also included a prohibition against feeding the maintenance receptacle from the load side of the equipment’s disconnecting means. That structure led to repeated questions about exactly which electrical assemblies triggered the rule and where a compliant branch-circuit source for the 125-volt receptacle outlet could be obtained.

For 2026, the section is condensed to a single paragraph that applies within occupancies other than dwelling units. A receptacle outlet is required in the same room or area as indoor switchboards, switchgear, panelboards, motor control centers, and service equipment. Listing the equipment directly that triggers the requirement for a receptacle outlet eliminates the need to cross-reference 110.26(E) and removes ambiguity about what qualifies. The existing requirement in 210.63(A) for the receptacle serving HVAC equipment remains separate and unchanged, including the familiar 25-foot rule and the 125-volt, 15- or 20-ampere receptacle rating that is specific to HVAC service.

A significant technical refinement is the new voltage thresholds in the revised code language. The receptacle is required only “for wiring systems that include a solidly grounded system operating at less than 150 volts to ground.” Where a facility has a 120/208-volt or 120/240-volt system, the receptacle is required and is ordinarily a 125-volt, 15- or 20-ampere convenience outlet installed in the same room or area as the indoor switchboard, switchgear, panelboard, motor control center, or service equipment. Buildings with only a 277/480-volt solidly grounded system, or an ungrounded 480-volt system would not trigger the receptacle requirements in 210.63(B) otherwise designers would need to add a step-down transformer solely to supply a maintenance receptacle. This change eliminates indoor electrical rooms that contain only 480-volt motor control centers or similar equipment that typically do not use a neutral conductor and have no need for a step-down transformer.

The 2026 text also drops the 2023 prohibition on supplying the receptacle from the load side of the equipment’s disconnecting means. That language proved unworkable for service equipment, switchboards, switchgear, and panelboards, where an available 120-volt branch-circuit source typically originates from the very equipment being serviced. Removing the restriction returns the Code to a practical baseline while still allowing designers or owners to feed the receptacle from a different source if they want power to remain available after the main is opened.

Below is a preview of the NEC^®. See the actual NEC^® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2026 NEC^® edition of NFPA 70.

2023 Code Language:

210.63(B) Other Electrical Equipment. In other than one- and two-family dwellings, a receptacle outlet shall be located as specified in 210.63(B)(1) and (B)(2).

210.63(B)(1) Indoor Service Equipment. The required receptacle outlet shall be located within the same room or area as the service equipment.

210.63(B)(2) Indoor Equipment Requiring Dedicated Equipment Spaces. Where equipment, other than service equipment, requires dedicated equipment space as specified in 110.26(E), the required receptacle outlet shall be located within the same room or area as the electrical equipment and shall not be connected to the load side of the equipment’s disconnecting means.

2026 Code Language:

210.63(B) Other Electrical Equipment. Within other than dwelling units, a receptacle outlet shall be required for wiring systems that include a solidly grounded system operating at less than 150 volts to ground. The receptacle outlet shall be located within the same room or area as indoor switchboards, switchgear, panelboards, motor control centers, and service equipment.