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Checked against primary sources 2026-08-24

Receptacle Spacing, NEC 210.52: The Six Foot Rule and the 2026 Change

The measurement runs along the floor line, and any fixed cabinet now stops it. Nobody measures six feet from a receptacle. The rule is about how far any point on the floor line can be from one, and the 2026 edition changed which stretches of floor line you are allowed to skip.

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On this page
  1. What the rule measures, and from where
  2. What counts as wall space, after the 2026 change
  3. Countertops, and why islands stopped being required
  4. The rooms with a subsection of their own
  5. Reading the question
  6. Questions people ask
  7. What this page cites

What the rule measures, and from where

Receptacles in a dwelling go in so that no point measured horizontally along the floor line of any wall space is more than 6 feet from a receptacle outlet (NEC 210.52(A)(1)).

Three words in that sentence do all the work. Horizontally, so a jog in the wall height changes nothing. Floor line, so the measurement runs at the base of the wall and not at outlet height. Wall space, so the measurement only exists where the code says there is wall space to measure.

People restate this as a receptacle every twelve feet. That gives the same answer on one long uninterrupted wall and a wrong answer everywhere else. Twelve is a consequence, not a rule: each receptacle reaches 6 feet in both directions, so on plain wall the spacing works out at twelve. It stops working out at twelve the moment a wall ends, a doorway interrupts it, or the run turns a corner, because a corner is still floor line and the reach has to get around it.

Work a room by walking the perimeter and marking where wall space starts and stops before placing anything. Miscounting the wall is more common than miscounting the distance, and it is the error that survives a check, because the arithmetic on the segments you did count comes out right.

What counts as wall space, after the 2026 change

NEC 210.52(A)(2) defines it, and this is the subsection the 2026 edition revised.

The change is in the first item. In the 2026 edition any fixed cabinet breaks the wall space measurement. In the 2023 edition only a fixed cabinet without a countertop or similar work surface did.

The reason is worth holding, because it tells you what the panel was trying to fix. A run of base cabinets with a countertop along a kitchen wall already gets receptacles from NEC 210.52(C). Under the old wording that same run also had to satisfy the 6 foot rule at floor level, which was never the intent. Now the cabinets break the floor line and the countertop rule is the only one that reaches them.

Doorways and similar openings break the floor line, and so do fireplaces. A doorway is not wall space and never was, which is the single most reliable question in this group.

Countertops, and why islands stopped being required

Kitchen counter surfaces are governed separately and more tightly, at NEC 210.52(C), and answering a counter question from the general spacing rule gets it wrong every time.

On a wall countertop or work surface, a receptacle goes at each one 12 inches or wider, placed so that no point along the wall line is more than 24 inches from a receptacle outlet. That is a different distance measured against a different line from the 6 foot rule two subsections earlier.

Islands and peninsulas are the change most people have not caught up with. Receptacle outlets there are not required. NEC 210.52(C)(2) reads as a permission: if outlets are installed to serve an island or peninsular countertop, they follow NEC 210.52(C)(3). That is a reversal of a requirement that stood from 1990, and the reason given for it was children pulling appliance cords down off the counter by the cord.

Where one is installed, NEC 210.52(C)(3) puts it on or above the countertop and not more than 20 inches above it, or inside the counter in an assembly listed for use in countertops or work surfaces. A receptacle on the vertical side of an island, under the overhang, does not satisfy the countertop provisions any more.

Two subsections are new in the 2026 edition and both name locations that are off limits to a receptacle outlet. NEC 210.52(A)(5) is titled Receptacle Outlet Locations Prohibited and governs receptacles on the walls of cabinets that support a countertop or work surface, with a minimum distance below the countertop attached to it. NEC 210.52(C)(4) does the same job inside the countertop provisions. Neither exists in a 2023 book, so nothing written before this edition mentions either one.

The rooms with a subsection of their own

Once you are past 210.52(C), the rest of the section is organized by place rather than by measurement, and each subdivision is short.

Each of those carries its own threshold and its own way of measuring, and none of them inherits the 6 foot rule. When a stem names a place, it is pointing you at a subdivision letter, not at 210.52(A).

Tab the subdivision letters down the edge of the page rather than tabbing 210.52 once. The section is long enough that finding it and finding the right part of it are two separate problems.

Reading the question

The counts are where candidates lose time and the definitions are where they lose points. If you have five minutes for this subject, spend them on 210.52(A)(2) rather than on the arithmetic.

Questions people ask

What is the code for receptacle spacing?

NEC 210.52. The general rule is 210.52(A)(1): receptacles are installed so that no point measured horizontally along the floor line of any wall space is more than 6 feet from a receptacle outlet. Countertops and work surfaces are governed separately at 210.52(C), and the rest of the section is organized by place, with its own subdivision for small appliance circuits, bathrooms, outdoor outlets, laundry areas, basements and garages, hallways and foyers.

What is the six foot rule for receptacles?

No point measured horizontally along the floor line of any wall space may be more than 6 feet from a receptacle outlet (NEC 210.52(A)(1)). Three words carry it: horizontally, so a change in wall height does nothing; floor line, so the measurement runs at the base of the wall rather than at outlet height; and wall space, so the measurement only exists where the code says there is wall space to measure. People restate it as a receptacle every twelve feet, which gives the same answer on one long uninterrupted wall and a wrong answer everywhere else.

What counts as wall space for receptacle spacing?

NEC 210.52(A)(2) gives three kinds: any space 2 feet or more in width, including space measured around corners, that is unbroken along the floor line by doorways and similar openings, fireplaces, stationary appliances and fixed cabinets; the space occupied by fixed panels in walls, excluding sliding panels; and the space afforded by fixed room dividers such as freestanding bar-type counters or railings. The 2026 wording is what puts any fixed cabinet among the things that break the floor line, whether or not it carries a work surface. Miscounting the wall is a commoner error than miscounting the distance, so walk the perimeter and mark where wall space starts and stops before you place anything.

What is the receptacle spacing for a kitchen countertop?

It is a different distance measured against a different line. NEC 210.52(C) covers countertops and work surfaces 12 inches or wider in kitchens, pantries, breakfast rooms, dining rooms and similar areas, and 210.52(C)(1) places receptacles so that no point along the wall line is more than 24 inches from a receptacle outlet. Receptacles installed for a countertop are not counted as the outlets required by 210.52(A). Islands and peninsulas have changed: 210.52(C)(2) no longer requires an outlet there, and where none is provided the section asks for electrical provisions for adding one later.

How many receptacles does a bathroom need?

At least one, and NEC 210.52(D)(1) puts it within 3 feet of the outside edge of each sink. NEC 210.52(D)(2) then locates it on a wall or partition adjacent to the sink or sink countertop, on the countertop, or on the side or face of the sink cabinet, and not more than 12 inches below the top of the sink or sink countertop. Receptacle outlet assemblies listed for use in countertops may be installed in the countertop itself under 210.52(D)(3).

Do hallways need a receptacle?

In a dwelling unit, a hallway 10 feet or more in length has to have at least one receptacle outlet (NEC 210.52(H)). The length is measured along the centerline of the hallway without passing through a doorway, and that measuring instruction is what items in this group are usually built on. A foyer that is not a hallway under that subdivision and has an area greater than 60 square feet is handled separately at 210.52(I).

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What this page cites

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