6.2 Receptacle Spacing and Required Outlets

The Backbone of Dwelling Receptacle Rules

Quick Answer: NEC Article 210 Part III (210.52 through 210.70) tells you exactly where a dwelling must have receptacles and lighting outlets. These rules are tested on the Knowledge part of the Texas Journeyman exam. Memorize the spacing numbers: 6 ft along general walls, 12 ft maximum between receptacles, 24 in along kitchen countertops, and 24 in from the sink edge to the first countertop receptacle. Miss these and you miss a guaranteed exam item.

General-Purpose Receptacles — NEC 210.52(A)

In every habitable room of a dwelling, 210.52(A)(1) requires receptacles so that no point along the floor line is more than 1.8 m (6 ft) from a receptacle outlet. The practical effect: receptacles are spaced no more than 3.6 m (12 ft) apart so a 6 ft cord plugged into either one can reach any point between them.

210.52(A)(2) requires a receptacle in every wall space 600 mm (2 ft) or wider. Wall space includes fixed glass panels in sliding doors but excludes the sliding panel itself. Bar tops and similar surfaces at least 600 mm wide also count.

210.52(A)(3) prohibits using a lighting outlet controlled by a wall switch as a required receptacle (a switch-controlled receptacle is allowed under 210.70(A)(2) Exception No. 1, but the receptacle itself still has to meet the spacing rule).

210.52(A)(4) counters the open-floor-plan trick: any fixed structural element that creates wall space ≥ 2 ft needs its own receptacle. A breakfast bar peninsula, a half-height partition, or an island with a seating overhang all count.

Small-Appliance Branch Circuits — NEC 210.52(B)

Kitchens, dining rooms, breakfast areas, and pantries are served by small-appliance branch circuits. The rules are strict:

• 210.52(B)(1) — at least two 20 A small-appliance branch circuits.
• 210.52(B)(2) — these circuits serve only receptacles in the kitchen, dining, breakfast, pantry, and similar rooms. No lighting. No garbage disposal. No dishwasher. No range hood. Refrigerator receptacle may be on a small-appliance circuit or a dedicated 15/20 A circuit.
• 210.52(B)(3) — the small-appliance circuits shall not serve receptacles outside those rooms.

The exam loves to ask whether a garbage disposal can share a kitchen small-appliance circuit. The answer is no.

Kitchen Countertop Receptacles — NEC 210.52(C)

210.52(C)(1) — receptacles shall be installed so no point along the countertop is more than 600 mm (24 in) from a receptacle. Translated: receptacles along the counter are spaced no more than 1200 mm (48 in) apart.

210.52(C)(2) — island and peninsula countertops need at least one receptacle; for the first 900 mm (36 in) of peninsular counter measured from the connecting edge, no receptacle is required. Islands with a long dimension ≥ 600 mm need at least one receptacle.

210.52(C)(3) — receptacles shall not be installed in a face-up position on countertops in a sink space (the area directly behind the sink). Receptacles must be above or below the countertop, not on the splash.

210.52(C)(5) — receptacles serving countertops shall be no more than 500 mm (20 in) above the countertop, or below the countertop if the side is accessible (no more than 12 in below the counter).

Worked Example — Counting Required Receptacles in a Sample Room

A dwelling bedroom measures 14 ft × 12 ft. The door is 3 ft wide on one 14 ft wall. There is a 4 ft wide fixed-glass picture window on the opposite 14 ft wall. How many receptacles are required?

Step 1 — Identify wall space. Each wall is ≥ 2 ft wide, so each qualifies. The picture window counts as wall space (fixed glass). The doorway opening does not count as wall space, but the wall segments on either side of the door do if they are ≥ 2 ft.

Step 2 — Apply the 6 ft rule per wall. Walk each wall and place a receptacle so no point is more than 6 ft from a receptacle.

• Wall A (14 ft, no door): one receptacle is enough because the maximum reach from a centered receptacle is 7 ft — too far. Place two receptacles, spaced ≤ 12 ft apart, with each end within 6 ft of a receptacle. Two receptacles.
• Wall B (12 ft): one centered receptacle leaves 6 ft to each end — exactly compliant. One receptacle.
• Wall C (14 ft, contains 4 ft fixed window): the window is fixed glass and counts as wall space. Apply the 6 ft rule across the full 14 ft — two receptacles (same as Wall A).
• Wall D (12 ft, contains 3 ft door): wall space = 12 − 3 = 9 ft of actual wall. One receptacle within 6 ft of both ends works if placed 4.5 ft from one end — that leaves 4.5 ft to the other end. One receptacle.

Total minimum: 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 6 receptacles (assuming no two walls share a corner receptacle — the corner receptacle typically counts toward only one wall unless it is within 6 ft of points on both walls).

Other Required Receptacles — 210.52(D) through (H)

Foyer Receptacles — 210.52(I)

A foyer with an area ≥ 5.6 m² (60 ft²) needs a receptacle at each entry door and one on a wall not containing an entry door, plus one additional receptacle per 3.7 m (12 ft) of wall space.

Common Exam Traps

• Lighting on a small-appliance circuit — never allowed; the circuit serves only receptacles in the listed rooms.
• Garbage disposal on a kitchen small-appliance circuit — never allowed; the disposal goes on a separate circuit.
• Receptacle over a bathtub or shower — prohibited by 406.9(C) and 210.52(D) for the bathroom receptacle.
• Forgetting the 12 ft spacing rule — the 6 ft cord rule means 12 ft maximum between receptacles, not 6 ft. Many candidates reverse them.
• Fixed panels of sliding doors count as wall space; the sliding panel does not.

Tamper-Resistant and Weather-Resistant

406.12 requires tamper-resistant receptacles in all dwelling units specified by 210.52 (essentially every required dwelling receptacle). 406.9 requires listed weather-resistant receptacles outdoors, with in-use covers. GFCI protection is a separate requirement of 210.8, covered in Section 6.3.