Open, not filed
Checked against primary sources 2026-09-04
Michigan 2026 NEC Adoption: Draft Rule 2026-17 LR
Michigan has a draft rule that would adopt the 2026 National Electrical Code, numbered 2026-17 LR and dated 19 August 2026. It takes effect 120 days after filing with the secretary of state, and as of 4 September 2026 it has not been filed. Here is what is in it and how to watch it.
What the draft is
It is a strike and bold rewrite of the Part 8 electrical code rules, published by LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes on its currently open rules page. The document carries the date 19 August 2026 and the rule set number 2026-17 LR.
Strike and bold means you can read the change directly. Struck text is what goes, bold text is what arrives, and the edition years sit right next to each other in R 408.30801.
A draft on that page is not a rule. It is a proposal in the middle of Michigan's rule making process, and it can change before it files.
What it would adopt
The National Electrical Code 2026 second printing, with technical interim amendments 70-26-1 through 70-26-8, in place of the 2023 second printing with technical interim amendments 70-23-1 through 70-23-13.
NFPA 110 and NFPA 111 move from their 2019 editions to their 2025 editions. Those two carry Michigan's emergency and legally required standby requirements through R 408.30838.
The prices the rule prints move as well: the code book from $153 to $169, and NFPA 110 and NFPA 111 from $149 to $165 each.
When it would take effect
The draft says the rules take effect 120 days after filing with the secretary of state.
So the date nobody can give you yet is the filing date. Once that lands, the effective date is arithmetic, and until it lands there is no countdown to run.
That is the whole answer to when Michigan moves to the 2026 code, and anybody offering you a specific date today is offering you a guess.
The rules that change with it
The draft does more than swap an edition year. Six rules carry substantive changes.
- R 408.30870. An emergency disconnect requirement for one and two family dwellings that includes a readily accessible disconnecting means on or within 6 feet of air conditioning or refrigerating equipment, marked as an emergency disconnect and service disconnect.
- R 408.30871. Bonding for corrugated stainless steel tubing gas piping, with a bonding jumper of not less than 6 AWG copper to the service grounding electrode system.
- R 408.30873. Type NM and NMC cable permitted in multifamily dwellings and their detached garages, and restricted in structures more than one floor above grade unless it is concealed behind a finish with a 15 minute fire rating.
- R 408.30838. Where emergency and legally required standby systems may be installed, referred to NFPA 110 and NFPA 111, plus placement rules for surge protective devices.
- R 408.30818. Permits, with a 180 day expiration and a possible 180 day extension, and the inspection notification procedure.
- R 408.30819. Plans required where a system exceeds 400 amperes at 1,000 volts or less in a building over 3,500 square feet, with new provisions on plan revisions and construction documents.
R 408.30810 is also amended, on the authority having jurisdiction and enforcement responsibilities.
What it means for your exam date
Nothing yet, and that is the useful part.
LARA's electrical examination page says the questions are based on the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2023 Part 8 rules. PSI's reference list names the code, the two acts and the Part 8 rules without an edition year. Neither one moves because a draft exists.
Two events have to happen before your paper changes: the rule has to file and take effect, and PSI has to say the examinations reference the new edition. Watch the bulletin's effective date, because that is the document that governs your appointment.
Which edition is tested tracks both and lists the section numbers that differ between the books.
How to follow it yourself
Three places, all free.
LARA's currently open administrative rules page carries the draft document and the rule set number. The state's administrative rules system holds the rule making file for it as transaction 1658, which is where a filing would show up.
LARA held a public rules advisory meeting on this rule set on 27 August 2026 at 9:00am, in the Ottawa Building, Conference Room UL-3, 611 West Ottawa Street, Lansing. Comments go to the bureau's rules address, [email protected].
Our weekly email carries the day the bulletin moves, if you would rather not check three pages.
Questions people ask
When will Michigan adopt the 2026 NEC?
No date is set. Draft rule set 2026-17 LR, dated 19 August 2026, would adopt the 2026 National Electrical Code second printing and take effect 120 days after filing with the secretary of state. As of 4 September 2026 it has not been filed, so the 120 days have not started.
What is rule set 2026-17 LR?
It is the draft rewrite of Michigan's Part 8 electrical code rules, published by LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes on its currently open rules page. It is a strike and bold document, so the 2023 text being removed and the 2026 text being added sit side by side.
Which NEC printing would Michigan adopt?
The 2026 second printing, with technical interim amendments 70-26-1 through 70-26-8. That replaces the 2023 second printing with technical interim amendments 70-23-1 through 70-23-13 and errata 70-23-1 through 70-23-6.
Does the 2026 draft change any Michigan amendments?
Yes. It carries an air conditioning and refrigeration emergency disconnect within 6 feet at one and two family dwellings, a 6 AWG copper bonding jumper for corrugated stainless steel tubing, type NM cable permitted in multifamily dwellings and detached garages with a fire rating condition on taller structures, and changes to emergency standby placement, permits and plan review.
Will the Michigan exam change when the 2026 rule is adopted?
Not automatically on the same day. The rule takes effect 120 days after filing, and the examination reference is set by PSI's bulletin and LARA's examination page. Watch the bulletin's effective date, and don't assume it lands on the same day as the rule.
Can you comment on the Michigan 2026 electrical code draft?
LARA takes comments at [email protected], and it held a public rules advisory meeting on this rule set on 27 August 2026 at the Ottawa Building in Lansing. Check the currently open rules page for the current stage before you write.
Should you buy a 2026 code book now?
Not for the Michigan exam. The examinations are based on the 2023 edition and the rule adopting the 2026 edition has not been filed. A 2026 book puts you on different section numbers for load calculations, transformer overcurrent protection and several other lookups.
30 free timed items, worked on every miss
Get one wrong and the review lays out the arithmetic, the section it rests on and the trap that caught you. You won't need an account.
The items are written on the 2026 code. Wherever a number moved, the 2023 number Michigan still tests is printed beside it.
What this page cites
- Draft rule set 2026-17 LR, Part 8 Electrical Code The strike and bold draft dated 19 August 2026 that would move Michigan to the 2026 National Electrical Code. Not filed as of 4 September 2026. source
- LARA currently open administrative rules The Bureau of Construction Codes page carrying the open electrical rule set, its advisory meeting date and the address for comments. Read 4 September 2026. source
- Michigan administrative rules transaction 1658 The rule making file for the open Part 8 electrical rule set on the state's administrative rules system. Read 4 September 2026. source
- Part 8 Electrical Code rules, R 408.30801 to R 408.30880 Michigan's adopting rule, which puts the NEC into force in the state and writes in the state's own amendments. Read on the state administrative rules site, 4 September 2026. source
- LARA exam and licensing page, Bureau of Construction Codes The state page naming the code each examination is based on and the experience each license calls for. Read 4 September 2026. source
The book that counts on exam day is your own unmarked copy of the National Electrical Code. Michigan's papers stay open book on the 2023 edition until the PSI bulletin names a newer one.
Every practice item on this site was written here, and none of them came off a real Michigan paper.
Both NEC and National Electrical Code are trademarks registered to the National Fire Protection Association, the body that also holds the copyright in the code.
Trojan Digital Marketing publishes this site on its own. It has no affiliation with NFPA, LARA, the Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes, PSI Services or any licensing authority, and none of them endorses or sponsors it.