Code Change Summary: New 230.2 consolidates and clarifies listing requirements for service equipment and identifies equipment that must be listed, with related marking provisions coordinated in 230.46 and 230.66.

SME commentary: For the 2026 NEC^®, Article 230 is reorganized so that listing requirements for service equipment are gathered in one place. Section 230.2 is now titled “Listing Requirements” and follows the NEC^® Style Manual convention that places product listing rules in the .2 subdivision of an article. Content that had been spread across 230.46 and 230.66, and referenced from 230.82, is now centralized so users can find the base listing rules without jumping between sections.

Section 230.2(A) specifies equipment that shall be listed. The list includes meter sockets unless supplied by and under the exclusive control of the electric utility, meter-mounted transfer switches, power distribution blocks, pressure connectors, devices for splices and taps, and permanently mounted absence-of-voltage testers. By enumerating these items in 230.2(A), the Code removes any ambiguity about whether a field evaluation could substitute for a listing on these products. For these specific items, listing is required.

Section 230.2(B) establishes the general rule for other service equipment. Service equipment that is not identified in 230.2(A) shall be listed or field evaluated. This retains the existing flexibility for unique or custom assemblies while drawing a clear line between equipment that must be factory listed and equipment that may be accepted through a recognized field evaluation process as permitted by the authority having jurisdiction.

With listing placed in 230.2, Section 230.66 is refocused on marking. Service equipment must be marked to identify it either as suitable for use as service equipment or as suitable for use only as service equipment. The prior listing sentence that lived in 230.66 is intentionally removed from that section to avoid duplication and potential conflicts with 230.2.

Section 230.46 is also aligned with the new structure. It continues to allow splicing and tapping of service-entrance conductors in accordance with 110.14, 300.7(E), 300.15, and 300.17. It then lists the components on service conductors that must be marked or identified as “suitable for use on the line side of the service equipment” or equivalent. An Informational Note recognizes the industry marking “SVC” as an acceptable equivalent identification. This keeps line-side suitability in 230.46 while leaving the listing status of these components to 230.2(A).

Finally, repurposing 230.2 for listing necessitated moving the former “number of services” rules to 230.4, which preserves the article’s internal logic. The net result is a cleaner, easier-to-navigate Article 230 that separates listing, marking, and use provisions in a way that benefits installers, inspectors, and manufacturers alike.

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:

230.2 This section did not address product listing.

2026 Code Language:

N 230.2 Listing Requirements.

N (A) Listed. The following equipment shall be listed:

(1) Meter sockets, unless supplied by and under the exclusive control of an electric utility

(2) Meter-mounted transfer switches

(3) Power distribution blocks

(4) Pressure connectors

(5) Devices for splices and taps

(6) Permanently mounted absence of voltage testers

N (B) Listed or Field Evaluated. Service equipment other than that specified in 230.2(A) shall be listed or field evaluated.