1. The zone around a tub or shower
The code marks out a space around every bathtub and shower: 3 ft horizontally from the tub or shower and 8 ft vertically from the top of the tub rim or shower threshold. It includes the space directly above the tub or shower. NEC 2023 410.10(D)
No part of these may be inside it: cord-connected light fixtures, fixtures hung on a chain, cable or cord, pendants, track lighting, and ceiling-suspended (paddle) fans with lights. NEC 2023 410.10(D)
Receptacles (outlets) may not be inside the same 3 ft / 8 ft zone either, measured from the outside edge of the tub or shower. For receptacles only, the 2023 edition leaves out space separated from the tub or shower by a floor, wall, ceiling, room door, window or fixed barrier; the light-fixture rule has no such wording, so for a light behind a barrier the planner says to ask your inspector. In a bathroom too small to keep the distance, the receptacle required near the basin may go on the farthest wall, opposite the tub rim or shower threshold. NEC 2023 406.9(C)
How the planner reads it: it treats everything within 3 ft of the tub or shower, from the floor up to 8 ft above the rim, as the zone. For receptacles the code says so outright; for light fixtures it is the cautious reading. Your inspector's reading decides.
2. Lights over the tub or shower need a marking
A light fixture located within the outside dimensions of the tub or shower, up to 8 ft above the rim or threshold, must be marked suitable for damp locations, or marked suitable for wet locations where it is subject to shower spray. NEC 2023 410.10(D) Over a shower the planner asks you to check a damp-marked fixture: only you and your electrician can see whether spray reaches it.
The marking is on the fixture's label, its box and its spec sheet. If a listing's instructions say the fixture must be on a GFCI-protected circuit (many shower lights do), that instruction is part of the rule. NEC 2023 110.3(B)
Good practice, not a code rule: outside the tub or shower, a fixture marked for damp locations still holds up better in a steamy bathroom.
3. GFCI protection for receptacles
- Every receptacle in a bathroom. NEC 2023 210.8(A)(1)
- Receptacles in a kitchen (the 2023 edition covers all of them; earlier editions only those serving the countertop). NEC 2023 210.8(A)(6)
- Receptacles within 6 ft of the top inside edge of a sink bowl. NEC 2023 210.8(A)(8)
- Receptacles within 6 ft of the outside edge of a bathtub or shower stall. NEC 2023 210.8(A)(10)
- Receptacles in laundry areas. NEC 2023 210.8(A)(11)
A plug-in lighted mirror, lamp or night light is only as safe as the receptacle it plugs into: keep it out of the zone and plug it into a GFCI-protected receptacle.
4. A receptacle near every basin
A bathroom needs at least one receptacle within 3 ft of the outside edge of each basin: on a wall or partition next to it, on the countertop, or on the side or face of the basin cabinet no more than 12 in below the countertop. NEC 2023 210.52(D) Bathroom receptacles are supplied by a 20-ampere branch circuit. NEC 2023 210.11(C)(3)
5. Water-powered and battery lights
LED shower heads and faucets that light up from the water flow, and battery toilet-bowl lights, have no wiring, so the electrical rules above do not apply to them. Two things still do:
- Shower heads sold in the US may flow at most 2.5 gallons per minute at 80 psi. 10 CFR 430.32(p) WaterSense-labeled shower heads use 2.0 gallons per minute or less. EPA WaterSense showerheads
- A light that changes colour with water temperature is a display. Scald protection comes from the shower valve, which plumbing codes require to be pressure-balancing, thermostatic or both. IPC 424.3 / UPC 408.3
6. Whirlpool and hydromassage tubs
A hydromassage tub and its electrical parts, including a built-in light, need their own individual branch circuit with GFCI protection, installed as the tub's instructions say. NEC 2023 680.71 NEC 2023 110.3(B)
7. When to call a licensed electrician
For any fixture that is wired in, any receptacle that is added or moved, any new circuit or GFCI breaker, and any built-in tub light. Many cities and counties require a permit and inspection for this work; your local building department can tell you. The planner is a planning aid, not an inspection.
8. Which code edition?
States and cities adopt an edition of the National Electrical Code on their own schedule, sometimes with amendments, and some still enforce older editions. The planner cites 2023 section numbers. The zone for receptacles (406.9(C)) arrived in the 2020 edition; earlier editions only barred receptacles inside or directly over the tub or shower. The barrier wording for receptacles arrived in 2023. The GFCI list in 210.8(A) was renumbered in 2023: sinks moved from (A)(7) to (A)(8), tubs and showers from (A)(9) to (A)(10), laundry areas from (A)(10) to (A)(11). See Sources.