Code Change Summary: Revised code language on the location and visibility of sign identification and listing labels.

NEC 600.4(A) requires signs and outline lighting systems to be listed and labeled; marked with the manufacturer’s name, trademark, or other means of identification; and input voltage and current rating. Section 600.4(D) tells the code reader where the labels in 600.4(A) must be located.

Prior to the 2011 NEC^®, the labeling mentioned above was often required by the inspector to be visible from the ground (for an elevated sign) while looking up at the sign since many inspectors arrive for the final sign inspection without a ladder and fail the inspection because they could not verify the required labels.

In the 2011 NEC^®, language was added allowing the labels to be visible “during servicing” the sign which could permit the labels to be inside of or on top of an elevated sign since many thought it was unsightly to have labels visible to the public.

In the 2020 NEC^®, the code language has gone a step further and now requires the labels to be visible “prior to servicing” and allows the marking to be “installed in a location not viewed by the public”.

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 2020 NEC^® edition of NFPA 70.