Required lighting outlets and switches in homes
Homes need a wall-controlled lighting outlet in every habitable room, kitchen, bathroom and laundry area, and in hallways, stairways, attached garages, detached garages and accessory buildings with power, and at outdoor entrances.
What the code requires
Every habitable room, kitchen, bathroom and laundry area needs at least one lighting outlet controlled by a listed wall-mounted control near the room's entrance. Hallways, stairways, attached garages, and detached garages and accessory buildings with electric power need one too.
Outdoors, at least one wall-controlled lighting outlet is required at outdoor entrances and exits with grade-level access, including those of attached garages and of detached garages with power. A garage vehicle door does not count as an entrance or exit for this rule.
Interior stairways with six or more risers need a control at each floor level and at each landing that has a stairway entry. A dimmer may be used on that stair lighting only if every control location can bring the lights to full brightness.
Section 210.70(C), which applies to all occupancies including homes, also requires at least one switched or wall-controlled lighting outlet in attics, underfloor spaces, utility rooms and basements used for storage or containing equipment that needs servicing. The control goes at each entry to that space, and a light serving equipment must be at or near the equipment.
Battery-powered controls: under TIA 23-15 (issued Nov 30, 2023, effective Dec 20, 2023), a switch or listed wall control may rely only on a battery if it gives a clear warning before the battery runs out. The 2023 NEC as first printed instead allowed battery-only controls only if the lights came on automatically when the battery failed. California's code may be printed without later TIAs, so confirm with your building department which version it enforces.
On the job
- Laundry areas were added in 2023. The 2026 NEC adds an exception letting a laundry closet's light and control sit outside the closet, but the 2023 text has no such exception.
- If you plan to use battery-powered wall controls, confirm the product gives the low-battery warning the current rule calls for and that your building department accepts it.
Exceptions that matter
- A wall-controlled receptacle may take the place of the lighting outlet, except in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas. Occupancy sensors are allowed if they are in addition to the wall control, or sit at the usual switch location with a manual override.
- For an outdoor bulkhead door into a basement, the light may be inside the basement, within 5 ft horizontally of the bottom stair riser.
- Hallway, stairway and outdoor-entrance lighting may use remote, central or automatic control.
What changed in 2023
The 2023 NEC added laundry areas, accessory buildings with power, the basement bulkhead-door exception and the battery-control rule, which TIA 23-15 later revised. It also reworded the stair-dimmer limit to require full brightness at every control; garage-entrance exterior lighting was already required in 2020.
Related sections
- NEC 404.1
- NEC 404.2(C): Neutral wire required at light switches
- NEC 210.52(G): Garage, basement and accessory building receptacles
Where this comes from
Send a photo. Get a real answer.
Text is fastest, and a photo quote is free. Call if it is urgent, if you smell something burning, or if a breaker will not reset.
CSLB #354550 · C-10 Electrical · Licensed since 1978 · $25,000 contractor's bond