Spot the Violation

ElectricalDwelling circuit & receptacle layoutLevel 32023 NEC

Basement laundry corner

Unfinished basement laundry with an open 2x4 stud wall furred in front of the foundation. A recessed washer box sits in one stud bay; a GFCI duplex receptacle on the next stud has both the washer and a gas dryer plugged into it. Two yellow NM cables enter the top of the receptacle box: one comes along a ceiling joist from the left and down a stud, the other runs up the neighboring stud and along the side of a ceiling joist to a pull-chain porcelain lampholder above the machines. A utility sink stands to the right.
Basement laundry in a 1960s split-level, new washer and dryer hookup

What's wrong here?

  1. The 20 A laundry circuit also supplies the ceiling lighting outlet
  2. A washer and a gas dryer may not share one duplex receptacle
  3. NM cable is not permitted in an unfinished basement
  4. Nothing. This installation is compliant
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Show the answer and the code reference

The answer

The second 12 AWG cable leaving the laundry receptacle box feeds the ceiling lampholder, so the required 20 A laundry branch circuit supplies a lighting outlet.

Correct choice: 1. The 20 A laundry circuit also supplies the ceiling lighting outlet

210.11(C)(2) requires at least one 20 A branch circuit for the laundry receptacle outlets required by 210.52(F), and that circuit is permitted to have no other outlets. A lighting outlet is an outlet, so tapping the laundry receptacle box to feed the light breaks the rule. The rule keeps the washer and dryer on a circuit of their own, and keeps a trip of the laundry circuit's GFCI or AFCI protection (210.8(A)(11), 210.12(A)) from also leaving the basement dark. The circuit may supply other receptacles in the laundry area, but not lights or receptacles elsewhere.

How to fix it

Disconnect the cable to the lampholder at the laundry receptacle box and feed the light from a general lighting circuit, for example by extending the circuit that serves the rest of the basement lighting. The laundry circuit then serves only laundry-area receptacles.

Code references

  • NEC 2023 210.11(C)(2) — Laundry Branch Circuits

    At least one additional 20-ampere branch circuit must be provided to supply the laundry receptacle outlet(s) required by 210.52(F), and this circuit can have no other outlets.

    Drills citing 210.11(C)(2)

  • NEC 2023 210.52(F) — Laundry Areas

    In dwelling units, at least one receptacle outlet must be installed in areas designated for the installation of laundry equipment.

    Drills citing 210.52(F)

  • NEC 2023 210.8(A)(11) — Dwelling Units: Laundry Areas

    125-volt through 250-volt receptacles in dwelling unit laundry areas require GFCI protection for personnel; basements are covered separately by 210.8(A)(5). (In the 2020 NEC this item was 210.8(A)(10).)

    Drills citing 210.8(A)(11)

2026 NEC:same rule and number. Rule and number appear unchanged: the 2026 NEC still requires at least one 20 A branch circuit for the laundry receptacle outlets required by 210.52(F), with no other outlets. The 2026 dwelling load-calculation changes (new Article 120, including 120.13) leave the required laundry circuit in place. Confidence: medium

Minnesota

MN adopts the NEC rule as writtenConfidence: high

Minnesota adopted the 2023 NEC without amendment as the Minnesota Electrical Code (Minn. Rules 1315.0200; Minn. Stat. 326B.35), effective July 1, 2023, so no Minnesota amendment to 210.11(C)(2) exists. The Board of Electricity has since adopted the 2026 NEC, also without amendment, for permits filed on or after Aug. 17, 2026; this drill follows the 2023 text, which governs permits filed before that date.

How Minnesota adopts the NEC

Why the other choices are wrong

  • A washer and a gas dryer may not share one duplex receptacle. The laundry circuit may supply more than one receptacle outlet in the laundry area (210.11(C)(2)). One duplex serving a washer and a gas dryer's 120 V motor and controls is routine.
  • NM cable is not permitted in an unfinished basement. NM cable is permitted in unfinished basements (334.15(C)); here it runs along the sides of studs and joists, where the framing protects it.
  • Nothing. This installation is compliant. The second yellow cable leaves the laundry receptacle box and feeds the lampholder, so the laundry circuit has another outlet on it, which 210.11(C)(2) prohibits.
Code complianceLevel 3 · Master#laundry#branch-circuit#receptacle#basement#dwelling

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