Spot the Violation

ElectricalGFCI, AFCI & receptacle devicesLevel 22023 NEC

Sump pump in an unfinished basement

Unfinished basement with a poured concrete foundation wall and floor. A sump basin with a black lid sits in the floor; a white PVC discharge pipe with a check valve rises from it to the rim joist. The pump cord runs up the wall to a GFCI receptacle in a surface-mounted steel 4-inch square box with a raised industrial cover, fed by EMT from the joists above, about 3 ft off the floor. A water heater stands at the right edge. TEST RESET
Unfinished basement, new house. The pump is the only load on this 20 A circuit.

What's wrong here?

  1. Nothing. This installation is compliant
  2. A sump pump must not be plugged into a GFCI receptacle
  3. The receptacle must be installed with the grounding hole up
  4. The sump pump needs its own disconnect switch within sight
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Show the answer and the code reference

The answer

Nothing is wrong. The basement receptacle serving the sump pump is GFCI protected, readily accessible, and installed in a proper surface box and cover.

Correct choice: 1. Nothing. This installation is compliant

210.8(A)(5) requires GFCI protection for all 125-volt through 250-volt receptacles in dwelling basements, finished or not, and 210.8(D) separately requires it for the outlet supplying a sump pump. That is what is installed here: a GFCI receptacle a few feet up the wall, readily accessible for testing and resetting as 210.8 requires. EMT to a 4-inch square steel box with a raised device cover is a proper surface method on a concrete wall, and the plug and receptacle serve as the pump's disconnect per 422.33(A). Plenty of electricians still believe a sump pump must stay off GFCI, but the dedicated-appliance exceptions were dropped years ago.

How to fix it

No correction needed. Good practice is to add a battery-powered high-water alarm so a tripped GFCI or failed pump gets noticed.

Code references

  • NEC 2023 210.8(A)(5) — GFCI Protection, Dwelling Units: Basements

    In dwelling units, all 125-volt through 250-volt receptacles installed in basements, supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated 150 volts or less to ground, shall have GFCI protection. A receptacle supplying only a permanently installed fire alarm or burglar alarm system is excepted.

    Drills citing 210.8(A)(5)

  • NEC 2023 210.8(D) — GFCI Protection: Specific Appliances

    GFCI protection shall be provided for the branch circuit or outlet supplying listed appliances rated 150 volts or less to ground and 60 amperes or less, single- or 3-phase; sump pumps are on the list, along with dishwashers, ranges, clothes dryers and others.

    Drills citing 210.8(D)

  • NEC 2023 210.8 — Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel

    The ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be installed in a readily accessible location.

    Drills citing 210.8

  • NEC 2023 422.33(A) — Disconnection of Cord-and-Plug-Connected or Attachment Fitting-Connected Appliances: Separable Connector or Attachment Plug and Receptacle

    For cord-and-plug-connected appliances, an accessible separable connector or an accessible plug and receptacle shall be permitted to serve as the disconnecting means.

    Drills citing 422.33(A)

2026 NEC:not yet checked Confidence: low

Minnesota

MN adopts the NEC rule as writtenConfidence: medium

Minnesota adopted the 2023 NEC without amendment (Minn. Stat. 326B.35; Minn. Rules 1315.0200), so 210.8(A)(5) applies as published to permits filed July 1, 2023 through Aug. 16, 2026. Permits filed on or after Aug. 17, 2026 fall under the 2026 NEC; see the 2026 NEC note on this drill.

How Minnesota adopts the NEC

Why the other choices are wrong

  • A sump pump must not be plugged into a GFCI receptacle. That is an old myth: 210.8(A)(5) requires GFCI for basement receptacles with no sump pump exception, and 210.8(D) names sump pumps outright. A high-water alarm handles the nuisance-trip worry.
  • The receptacle must be installed with the grounding hole up. The NEC has no general rule on grounding-hole orientation for this receptacle. Ground-up is a preference or a local spec, not a Code requirement.
  • The sump pump needs its own disconnect switch within sight. For a cord-and-plug-connected appliance, the attachment plug and receptacle can serve as the disconnecting means under 422.33(A).
Code complianceLevel 2 · Journeyman#gfci#basement#sump-pump#receptacle#calibration

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