The 2023 edition of the National Electrical Code was published in September 2022, with jurisdictions beginning adoption on varying schedules through 2023, 2024, and 2025. As of early 2026, several major jurisdictions have adopted NEC 2023 as the enforced code cycle. Engineers producing commercial permit drawings for those jurisdictions need to know which NEC 2023 changes affect typical commercial project scopes and how those changes show up in permit documentation.
This is not a complete summary of all NEC 2023 changes. It covers the provisions that most directly affect commercial permit drawing content and that plan review authorities in NEC 2023 jurisdictions are actively checking.
Article 230: Service Conductors and Equipment
NEC 2023 Section 230.67 requires surge protective devices (SPDs) on service entrance equipment for dwelling units, but the significant commercial change is in Section 230.85, which was added in NEC 2020 and modified in 2023. Section 230.85 requires an emergency disconnecting means for one- and two-family dwellings and guest rooms of hotels and motels, but the 2023 revision clarified the labeling requirements and the location standards for this disconnect.
More broadly, engineers working on commercial projects should be aware that NEC 2023 Section 230.95 on ground fault protection of equipment at services 1000V and below applies to solidly grounded wye services of 150V to 600V phase-to-ground, 1000A or larger. The requirement has been in the code since the 1970s, but NEC 2023 clarified testing requirements and documentation that must be provided to the owner. If a commercial permit set includes a main service of 1000A or larger on a 480Y/277V system, the ground fault protection equipment and the commissioning documentation requirement should be addressed in the drawings or in a commissioning note.
Article 210: Branch Circuits and GFCI
NEC 2023 expanded the locations requiring ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection for personnel beyond what NEC 2020 required. Section 210.8 now explicitly requires GFCI protection for all receptacles in indoor damp or wet locations in commercial occupancies, including locations that NEC 2020 would have treated differently. For commercial construction, the relevant expansions include receptacles within 6 feet of a sink in non-dwelling occupancies, and receptacles in garages and service areas of commercial buildings.
On permit drawings, GFCI requirements should appear either as notes on the electrical floor plans identifying which circuits require GFCI protection, or in the panel schedule with a notation on the relevant circuit. Plan reviewers in NEC 2023 jurisdictions will check that GFCI requirements are addressed in the drawings for locations required under Section 210.8.
Article 625: Electric Vehicle Charging
Article 625 in NEC 2023 was substantially revised. NEC 2023 introduced a new definition of "electric vehicle supply equipment" (EVSE) that is more specific than prior editions, and updated the circuit requirements for Level 2 charging equipment. The key change for commercial permit drawings is the clarification in Section 625.17 regarding cord-and-plug-connected versus permanently installed EVSE, and the conductor sizing requirements for each type.
NEC 2023 Section 625.42 added requirements for listed EV supply equipment and clarified that the equipment rating must be suitable for the intended use including outdoor installation where applicable. For commercial parking structures and surface lots with EV charging, permit drawings should show the EVSE load on the applicable panel schedule and address the circuit sizing. Section 625.17 requires that the feeder or branch circuit supplying EVSE be sized at not less than 125% of the maximum load.
NEC 2023 also introduced Article 626 for electrified truck parking spaces. For commercial projects with truck parking, Article 626 may apply depending on the scope and jurisdiction. The article is new in 2023 and plan checkers in jurisdictions with active truck stops or freight facilities may not yet be consistently applying it, but engineers producing drawings for those occupancies should verify with the AHJ whether Article 626 documentation is expected in the permit set.
Article 700, 701, 702: Emergency and Standby Power
NEC 2023 made several changes to the emergency and standby power articles. Section 700.10(D) on wiring of emergency circuits was modified to clarify the protection requirements for emergency circuit wiring. Section 700.12 on sources of power was revised to address energy storage systems (ESS) as a permitted source for emergency power in more detail than prior editions, addressing the conditions under which battery-based ESS meets the requirements for an emergency system source.
For commercial permit sets that include emergency power systems, the changes in Articles 700 and 701 may affect how the transfer switch location, wiring separation, and source adequacy are documented on the single-line and riser diagrams. Plan reviewers for healthcare facilities and other occupancies with mandatory emergency systems are particularly likely to verify that the drawings address the NEC 2023 source requirements.
How Code Cycle Adoption Affects Drawing Production
The practical challenge for engineering firms is that the same firm may be producing permit drawings for multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, some on NEC 2020 and some on NEC 2023. A template or base drawing set built for one code cycle needs to be adjusted for the other, and the differences in GFCI coverage, SPD requirements, and EV charging documentation are specific enough that a blanket approach will produce errors in at least one jurisdiction.
The most common mistake we observe is engineers applying the more recently studied code cycle uniformly, without confirming which cycle the target jurisdiction has adopted. A permit drawing set that includes NEC 2023 Section 230.67 SPD requirements for a jurisdiction that has only adopted NEC 2020 may generate a correction comment, not because the requirement is wrong in principle, but because the plan checker is checking against NEC 2020 and the reference creates ambiguity about the applicable standard.
We are not suggesting that engineers should hold back design improvements that anticipate future code requirements. The practical standard is to document the applicable code cycle on the cover sheet, apply the requirements of that cycle consistently, and avoid citing provisions from a different cycle by article number without noting the edition. When a jurisdiction's adopted cycle is unclear, call the permit office and document the answer before finalizing the drawing set.
