NEC Adoption by State: Seven States Now Enforce the 2026 Code, With More on the Way

By Electrical Contractors and Wiring Editorial Team · October 17, 2026

Closed code reference book resting on a breaker panel dead front on a workbench

NEC adoption by state is moving faster than in most code cycles. By mid October 2026, seven states enforce the 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code statewide, Washington switches on December 31, and several more have rules in the works. Here is where each state stands, based on the adopting agencies’ own rules and notices.

The seven states already on the 2026 NEC

Massachusetts went first in April. Four more states followed over the summer, and Texas and Oregon joined in the fall. Watch the trigger in each rule: Maine ties the new edition to installations started on or after July 1, while Minnesota ties it to permits filed on or after August 17.

State	In effect since	Adopting rule
Massachusetts	April 24, 2026	527 CMR 12.00, the Massachusetts Electrical Code
Maine	July 1, 2026	Applies to installations started on or after that date
North Dakota	July 1, 2026	State wiring standards, NDAC 24.1-02-01
Colorado	August 1, 2026	State Electrical Board rules, 3 CCR 710-1
Minnesota	August 17, 2026	Applies to permits filed on or after that date
Texas	September 1, 2026	TDLR rule adoption; its compliance guide still lists 2023
Oregon	October 1, 2026	2026 Oregon Electrical Specialty Code, based on the 2026 NEC

Adopted on paper, or next in line

Three more states are close. Washington’s rule, WAC 296-46B-010, replaces the 2023 NEC with the 2026 edition on December 31, 2026. Wyoming adopts the NEC without changes and its State Fire Marshal lists the 2026 edition as adopted, but shows no effective date. Arkansas has a board rule, 17 CAR 210-401, that adopts the 2026 NEC, again without a published effective date. Maryland’s electrical board minutes show a proposed August 31, 2026 enforcement date for the 2026 NEC, but we could not confirm on a state source that it took effect.

The states furthest behind

At the other end, a handful of jurisdictions still enforce editions that are a decade or more old:

Indiana uses the 2008 NEC for commercial work, with one and two family homes on the 2017 edition through the residential code. An update to the 2023 edition is in progress.
Washington, DC enforces the 2014 NEC through its 2017 construction codes, with an update in progress.
Tennessee remains on the 2017 NEC in areas the State Fire Marshal inspects.
North Carolina adopted the 2023 NEC, but Session Law 2025-2 delays it indefinitely, so the 2020 edition stays in force.

Three Southern states have 2023 updates scheduled: Florida’s 2026 building code brings in the 2023 NEC on December 31, 2026, and Louisiana and South Carolina both list January 1, 2027 for the 2023 edition.

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What it means for your shop

If you work in one of the seven states, check which date your inspector uses: the permit date, the installation start date or the contract date. Jobs bid before the change and built after it are where disputes start, so put the code edition in your proposal. If you work across state lines, keep a note of each jurisdiction’s edition and amendments; our state license lookup lists the current edition next to each board.

NFPA publishes the code and offers free read-only access to it online. We summarize adoption news but do not reproduce code text.

How we checked

Every date above comes from the adopting agency’s own rule, notice or code page, checked on October 17, 2026. Where an agency page and its guidance documents disagree, as with the Texas compliance guide, we report the rule. Where we could only find a third party summary, we say so or leave the state out.