Lighted fixtures near water
Light near water, placed right.
Draw your bathroom, kitchen or laundry sink to scale, place the lights you want (shower lights, lighted mirrors, pendants, LED shower heads, outlets) and see for each one whether the electrical code allows it there, which marking and GFCI protection it needs, and who should install it. Every rule names its code section.
First room free. Up to 12 rooms with the House Pass: $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year. Free during preview.
Dashed box: the zone, 3 ft out from the tub and 8 ft up from its rim. Crossed out: a pendant hanging over the tub. Ticked: a wet-rated light set in the shower wall, and a lighted mirror outside the zone.
The rule at the centre of it
Three feet out. Eight feet up.
The National Electrical Code draws an invisible box around every bathtub and shower: 3 ft horizontally from its edge and 8 ft up from the rim or threshold, including the space right above it. Hanging lights, cord-connected lights, track lighting, paddle fans with lights and receptacles may not go inside it. Fixed lights over the tub or shower need a damp or wet marking.
What you get for each fixture
Three answers, with the section number.
May it go there?
Allowed, check first, or not here, worked out from where you put it: inside the tub or shower, within the zone, or clear of it.
What must it be?
The marking it needs (damp or wet location), whether its receptacle needs GFCI protection, and the instructions that become rules.
Who installs it?
You, a plumber for a fixture swap, or a licensed electrician for anything wired in, with a printable sheet to hand them.
A sample room
A 5 by 8 bath, checked.
This is the real planner's output for a sample bathroom: a tub with a shower head across the end wall, one basin, and five lights and outlets.
- Tub or shower
- Zone: 3 ft out, up to 8 ft above the rim
- 3 ft from the basin (receptacle distance)
- Allowed
- Check
- Not here
-
1Glass pendant over the tubNot herePendant or chandelier (hangs on a chain, cable or cord) · 6 ft 8 in across, 2 ft 6 in down, 6 ft 6 in up
Not allowed here: directly over or inside the shower.
- Hanging fixtures (chain, cable or cord), pendants, track lighting and ceiling paddle fans with lights may not have any part inside the zone: 3 ft horizontally and 8 ft vertically from the top of the tub rim or shower threshold, including the space right above it. NEC 2023 410.10(D)
- Move it at least 3 ft (measured level) from the tub or shower edge, or choose a fixed, wired-in fixture marked for the location.
Who installs it: Licensed electrician
-
2Shower light in the ceilingAllowedRecessed light (can or wafer) · 6 ft 9 in across, 1 ft 2 in down, 8 ft up
Allowed directly over or inside the shower: its marking fits.
- A light fixture directly over or inside the tub or shower, up to 8 ft above the rim or threshold, must be marked suitable for damp locations, or for wet locations where shower spray can reach it. NEC 2023 410.10(D)
- Many shower-rated fixtures list GFCI protection in their instructions; the code makes the listing's instructions binding. NEC 2023 110.3(B)
Who installs it: Licensed electrician
-
3Outlet beside the basinCheckReceptacle (outlet) · 2 ft 3 in across, 0 in down, 3 ft 6 in up
Check that it is GFCI-protected (a GFCI receptacle, or a GFCI breaker or receptacle upstream).
- Every receptacle in a bathroom needs GFCI protection. NEC 2023 210.8(A)(1)
Who installs it: Licensed electrician
Two more fixtures in the full sample: the lighted mirror over the basin (allowed) and the LED shower head (no wiring, so no electrical rule applies).
Fixtures it knows
Seventeen kinds of lit and powered fixtures.
Never inside the zone
- Pendant or chandelier (hangs on a chain, cable or cord)
- Track lighting
- Ceiling paddle fan with a light kit
- Lighted mirror, plug-in
- Plug-in lamp or plug-in LED strip
- Plug-in night light
- Receptacle (outlet)
Allowed with the right marking
- Recessed light (can or wafer)
- Ceiling light, flush or close to the ceiling
- Bath exhaust fan with a light, in the ceiling
- Vanity light bar or wall sconce
- Lighted mirror, wired in
- Shower niche light or in-wall shower light
- Whirlpool or hydromassage tub light (built in)
No wiring at all
- LED shower head (water- or battery-powered)
- LED faucet (water- or battery-powered)
- Toilet bowl night light (battery)
Water-powered and battery lights carry no electrical-code rules; the planner still notes flow limits and what a colour-changing light can and cannot tell you.
Pricing
One room free. The whole house for $1.95 a month.
Free during preview
Payments are not switched on yet. Until they are, every plan gets the Pass features free and no card is asked for. The prices below are the prices that will apply.
Free
$0
No account, no card
- Quick zone check, unlimited
- One plan with 1 room and up to 8 fixtures
- Every check, source and verdict
- Printable sheet for that room
House Pass
$1.95 a month
or $19.50 a year (two months free)
- Up to 12 rooms in a plan
- Up to 40 fixtures a room
- Copy a room to compare two layouts
- One printable sheet for the whole house
- Cancel any time; the Pass runs to the end of the paid period
Free during preview
Payments are not switched on yet: every plan has the Pass features free and there is no checkout. When payments start, the price will be shown again before anything is charged.
When to call a licensed pro
The planner plans. A pro installs.
Call a licensed electrician
For any fixture that is wired in, any new or moved receptacle, any new circuit, GFCI breakers, and built-in tub lights. Many towns require a permit and an inspection for this work.
A plumber, or you
Swapping a shower head or faucet for a water- or battery-powered LED one is a plumbing job with no wiring. Check the flow rating and the maker's instructions.
Your inspector decides
Cities and states adopt different editions of the code and can amend them. The planner uses the 2023 National Electrical Code's section numbers and says so on every rule.
Questions
Asked often.
Do you sell lighted fixtures?
No. The site sells no fixtures, links to no fixture shop and takes no affiliate money. It checks where a fixture may go and what it must be marked for; which brand you buy is up to you. The one labelled banner at the foot of the page comes from AdEngine, the small ad network of WeldonPC, which runs this site; for now it shows WeldonPC's own services.
Is this an inspection or legal advice?
No. It is a planning aid built on the published code sections it cites. Your local inspector and a licensed electrician decide what is allowed in your home, and local amendments can differ.
Do I need an account?
No. A plan lives at a private link that only you have. Bookmark it. We ask for no name, email or address, and there is no way to recover a lost link.
What does the House Pass add?
Up to 12 rooms instead of 1, 40 fixtures a room instead of 8, room copies to compare layouts, and one printable sheet for the whole house. The checks themselves are the same for everyone.