Written against the 2026 NEC and checked section by section, September 2026
GFCI and AFCI Locations Practice Questions
Ground fault requirements move nearly every code cycle, so an answer learned two editions ago will be wrong in several places and will not announce itself. These 25 items work the opening sentence of each subsection of 210.8 before its list, because the voltage and ampere limits are different from one subsection to the next and that is where most of the traps sit. Arc fault protection is a separate section with a different first question, and the receptacle replacement rule pulls both requirements forward.
Pick an answer and the explanation opens with the section it comes from. These are original questions written for this site, not questions from the exam. Have your own code book open: the Texas exam is open book, and looking the section up is the skill being tested.
Read the gfci and afci locations study page first if the topic is new to you.
1. What kind of device does 210.8 call for, and where does it go?
Show the answer
C. A listed Class A device, installed in a readily accessible location
The opening sentence names a listed Class A ground fault circuit interrupter and then says it goes where a person can reach it without moving obstacles or using a ladder. That accessibility sentence settles more items than its length suggests. Rooftop receptacles get an exception, since reaching them from the rooftop is enough.
NEC 2026 210.8
2. A dwelling receptacle rated 250 volts is installed in a garage on a single phase circuit rated 150 volts or less to ground. Does the dwelling subsection reach it?
Show the answer
A. Yes, because the dwelling subsection sets no ampere ceiling
The dwelling subsection reaches receptacles rated 125 volt through 250 volt on single phase circuits of 150 volts or less to ground, and it prints no ampere ceiling anywhere. So a heavy receptacle in a listed location is caught by voltage and location alone. Candidates who carry an ampere ceiling over from the non dwelling subsection get this one wrong.
NEC 2026 210.8(A)
3. A commercial kitchen has a 60 ampere, 208 volt single phase receptacle. Does the non dwelling subsection reach it?
Show the answer
B. No, that subsection stops at 50 amperes on single phase
The non dwelling subsection carries two ampere ceilings, 50 amperes on single phase and 100 amperes on three phase, and the voltage range runs 125 volt through 250 volt at 150 volts or less to ground. Sixty amperes on single phase is past the first ceiling. The same receptacle in a dwelling would be caught, because that subsection has no ceiling at all.
NEC 2026 210.8(B), 210.8(A)
4. Which subsection is written about outlets rather than receptacles?
Show the answer
D. The dwelling outdoor subsection
The dwelling and non dwelling subsections list receptacles, while the dwelling outdoor subsection reaches outlets. An outlet is a point where current is taken to supply utilization equipment whether or not anything plugs in, so hardwired equipment outdoors at a house is caught by it. That is the whole reason an item about a condensing unit is not answered from the dwelling receptacle list.
NEC 2026 210.8(F), 210.8(A), Article 100
5. What is the ampere ceiling in the dwelling outdoor outlet subsection in the 2026 edition?
Show the answer
A. 60 amperes
That subsection reaches single phase circuits rated 150 volts or less to ground at 60 amperes or less. The previous edition stopped at 50 amperes, and the increase to 60 is one of the two changes worth carrying into the exam room. A summary written for the older edition will hand you 50.
NEC 2026 210.8(F)
6. The dwelling outdoor outlet subsection begins with two words that decide its reach. Which occupancies does it cover?
Show the answer
C. Dwellings only
The subsection opens by saying it is for dwellings, so commercial outdoor and rooftop work is answered from the non dwelling subsection instead. That one is written about receptacles and carries a rooftop entry of its own. Reading past the first two words is what separates the two subsections.
NEC 2026 210.8(F), 210.8(B)
7. What is the second change the 2026 edition made to the dwelling outdoor outlet subsection?
Show the answer
B. It gained a list of locations underneath its opening sentence
In the previous edition that subsection ran as a single sentence. The 2026 edition put a list under it naming garages with floors at or below grade, accessory buildings and boathouses. A candidate who remembers it as a one liner will stop reading before the list.
NEC 2026 210.8(F)
8. Exception No. 2 under the dwelling outdoor outlet subsection excuses what?
Show the answer
D. Listed heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
That exception releases listed heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment from the requirement, and in the national text it carries an expiration date printed inside it. Exception No. 1 is the lighting outlet relief and gets confused with it constantly. Exception No. 3 permits a listed Class C special purpose device for the same equipment, with a marking on the disconnect.
NEC 2026 210.8(F)
9. What does Exception No. 1 under the dwelling outdoor outlet subsection release?
Show the answer
A. Lighting outlets, other than the crawl space lighting outlets covered elsewhere in the section
Exception No. 1 takes lighting outlets out of that subsection, but it points back at the crawl space lighting subsection, which still applies. So an outdoor lighting outlet on a house is released and a crawl space lighting outlet is not. Two exceptions under one subsection is exactly the setup an item writer uses.
NEC 2026 210.8(F), 210.8(C)
10. Which of these lighting outlets does the section require to be ground fault protected?
Show the answer
C. Lighting outlets not over 120 volts installed in crawl spaces
One short subsection covers crawl space lighting outlets rated 120 volts or less and nothing else on the list. Attic and garage lighting are not named there, and outdoor dwelling lighting is released by an exception in the outdoor subsection. It is a two line rule that gets missed because it sits between two long ones.
NEC 2026 210.8(C), 210.8(F)
Ten down. If you want these timed and scored by content area, the practice exam runs thirty questions free, and the full bank of 178 plus the calculation ladder is $79 once.
11. The specific appliance subsection reaches branch circuits or outlets supplying certain appliances. What are its limits?
Show the answer
D. 150 volts or less to ground, 60 amperes or less, single phase or three phase
This subsection sets its own pair of limits, 150 volts to ground and 60 amperes, and it applies them to both single phase and three phase circuits. Then it lists the appliances, which include dishwashers, electric ranges, wall mounted ovens, counter mounted cooking units, clothes dryers and microwave ovens. The list is only reached once the ratings clear.
NEC 2026 210.8(D)
12. Which of these appliances is named in the specific appliance subsection?
Show the answer
B. Vending machines
Vending machines are on the list, along with automotive vacuum machines, drinking water coolers and bottle fill stations, high pressure spray washing machines, tire inflation machines and sump pumps. Garbage disposals, ceiling fans and water heaters are not named there. This subsection is answered by reading the list rather than by reasoning about the appliance.
NEC 2026 210.8(D)
13. A receptacle is installed for servicing heating and air conditioning equipment. What does the section say about it?
Show the answer
A. It gets ground fault protection, because the section reaches the receptacles that the servicing rule requires
One short subsection points at the servicing receptacle rule and requires ground fault protection for the receptacles that rule calls for. The servicing rule itself asks for a 125 volt, single phase, 15 or 20 ampere receptacle within 25 feet of the equipment at an accessible location. So the two sections work together and an item can be built from either end.
NEC 2026 210.8(E), 210.63
14. How is the distance from a receptacle measured for the purposes of 210.8?
Show the answer
C. As the shortest path a cord plugged into it would follow without piercing a floor, wall, ceiling or fixed barrier
The section says the measurement follows the path a supply cord would take, and it cannot pass through a floor, wall, ceiling or fixed barrier. So a receptacle on the far side of a wall from a sink can be well inside 6 feet in a straight line and outside it by this measurement. Reaching for a tape measure and a straight line is the error.
NEC 2026 210.8
15. Under the arc fault section, what has to be settled before you look at the room?
Show the answer
D. The rating of the branch circuit
The dwelling subdivision reaches 120 volt nominal single phase branch circuits at 10, 15 and 20 amperes, and only then names the rooms. A 240 volt circuit is out and a 30 ampere circuit is out, whatever room they land in. That order is the real difference from the ground fault section, where the location and the receptacle rating usually settle it.
NEC 2026 210.12
16. What did the 2026 edition put at 210.12(A)?
Show the answer
B. Means of Protection, the list of ways the protection may be provided
Means of Protection moved to the front of the section as its own subdivision, which pushed every occupancy subdivision one letter later. The six means include a combination type device at the origin of the circuit and several arrangements built around an outlet branch circuit type device at the first outlet. Finding the occupancy subdivisions by title rather than by a remembered letter is the safe habit.
NEC 2026 210.12(A), 210.12
17. Which of these rooms is named in the dwelling unit arc fault list?
Show the answer
C. Laundry areas
Laundry areas are on the dwelling list, along with kitchens, family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreation rooms, closets, hallways and similar areas. Bathrooms are on the dormitory list but not the dwelling one. Garages and unfinished basements are ground fault territory rather than arc fault territory.
NEC 2026 210.12(B), 210.12(C)
18. An existing dwelling branch circuit in a bedroom is extended by 12 feet and one new receptacle outlet is added. What does the arc fault section require?
Show the answer
D. Arc fault protection, by one of the listed means or by an outlet branch circuit type device at the first receptacle outlet or switch of the existing circuit
Modifying, replacing or extending branch circuit wiring in one of the listed areas pulls the arc fault requirement forward. The exception releases an extension of not more than 6 feet that adds no outlets or devices other than splicing devices, and this extension fails both halves of that test. Conductor length inside an enclosure, cabinet or junction box does not count toward the 6 feet.
NEC 2026 210.12(E)
19. A receptacle in a dwelling bedroom on a 120 volt, 20 ampere circuit is replaced. What does the replacement rule require?
Show the answer
C. An arc fault type receptacle, a receptacle protected by one, or a receptacle protected by a listed combination type breaker
The receptacle replacement subsection carries an arc fault requirement of its own for replacements in the areas the arc fault section lists, and it gives three acceptable outcomes. Tamper resistance is a separate entry in the same subsection and applies where the code calls for it elsewhere. The 6 foot extension relief does not carry over to a replacement.
NEC 2026 406.12(D), 210.12(B)
20. Where does the receptacle replacement rule live in the 2026 edition?
Show the answer
B. 406.12(D)
Replacements sit at 406.12(D) in the 2026 edition, under the general installation requirements section for receptacles. Older material and older tab sets point at 406.4(D), which is the address from earlier editions. The content is what candidates study and the address is what an item quotes.
NEC 2026 406.12(D)
21. A non grounding receptacle is replaced where no equipment grounding conductor exists in the box. Which of these is permitted?
Show the answer
A. Replacing it with a ground fault type receptacle marked to say there is no equipment ground
The subsection gives three ways out: another non grounding receptacle, a ground fault type receptacle marked to warn that no equipment ground is present, or a grounding type receptacle fed through ground fault protection and marked twice. Bonding the neutral to the grounding terminal is not on the list and is barred elsewhere in Article 250. Running a new conductor is one option and it is not the only one.
NEC 2026 406.12(D)
22. A receptacle is replaced at a location the current code requires to be ground fault protected, though the original was not. What happens?
Show the answer
D. The replacement gets ground fault protection
Replacement pulls the current rule forward, which is the part that surprises people, because like for like feels compliant. The subsection carries a narrow exception for the case where the box will not take a device, no upstream box will either, and a breaker cannot do the job. Otherwise the protection goes in.
NEC 2026 406.12(D), 210.8
23. A hardwired condensing unit sits outside a house. Which subsection decides whether it needs ground fault protection?
Show the answer
C. The dwelling outdoor outlet subsection, because it is an outdoor outlet at a dwelling
There is no receptacle, so the two receptacle subsections cannot reach it. The dwelling outdoor subsection is written about outlets, and a point where current is taken to supply utilization equipment is an outlet whether or not it has a receptacle on it. That is exactly how that subsection reaches hardwired equipment.
NEC 2026 210.8(F), Article 100
24. Which of these is a change the 2026 edition did not make to the ground fault section?
Show the answer
B. Adding a list of locations under the dwelling outdoor subsection
The device still has to sit somewhere readily accessible, and the rooftop exception to that rule is still there. The two real changes are the ampere ceiling going from 50 to 60 in the dwelling outdoor subsection and the list of locations that subsection gained. An item built on a change that did not happen is testing whether you read the current book.
NEC 2026 210.8, 210.8(F)
25. A stem gives an occupancy, a room and an ampere rating on the receptacle. What is the first fork?
Show the answer
A. Dwelling or not dwelling
The section is organized by occupancy first and then by location, and the ampere ceilings differ between the occupancy subsections. So dwelling or not dwelling decides which opening sentence you read, and the opening sentence decides whether the ampere rating matters at all. Working the room list first is how candidates end up in the wrong subsection.
NEC 2026 210.8, 210.8(A), 210.8(B)
One question a day keeps the habit, the practice exam runs the clock, and the tools page has the calculators and games.