Bedroom reach-in closet light
What's wrong here?
- An open-lamp incandescent lampholder is installed in a clothes closet
- A clothes closet light must be controlled by a wall switch at the door
- The closet lighting outlet must be GFCI protected
- Nothing. This installation is compliant
Show the answer and the code reference
The answer
A porcelain lampholder with an exposed incandescent bulb is installed in a clothes closet, a luminaire type the Code prohibits there.
Correct choice: 1. An open-lamp incandescent lampholder is installed in a clothes closet
410.16(C) prohibits incandescent luminaires with open or partially enclosed lamps, and pendant luminaires or lampholders, in clothes closets. A hot A19 bulb a foot or two from a shelf piled with sweaters, boxes, and hanging clothes is a classic ignition source; things get stacked against it or brush it every time someone reaches for the shelf. Clearance does not cure it: the only types 410.16(B) permits are incandescent or LED luminaires with a completely enclosed light source, fluorescent luminaires, and fluorescent or LED luminaires identified for use within the clothes closet storage space, and even those must meet the 410.16(D) clearances.
How to fix it
Replace the lampholder with a surface-mounted luminaire whose light source is completely enclosed (an LED fixture or a fully lensed fixture), located per 410.16(D): at least 12 in from the clothes closet storage space for a surface-mounted incandescent or LED unit on the ceiling or on the wall above the door.
Code references
NEC 2023 410.16(C) — Luminaire Types Not Permitted
Incandescent luminaires with open or partially enclosed lamps, and pendant luminaires or lampholders, are not permitted in clothes closets.
Drills citing 410.16(C)NEC 2023 410.16(B) — Luminaire Types Permitted
Only these luminaire types are permitted in a clothes closet: surface-mounted or recessed incandescent or LED luminaires with completely enclosed light sources, surface-mounted or recessed fluorescent luminaires, and surface-mounted fluorescent or LED luminaires identified as suitable for installation within the clothes closet storage space.
Drills citing 410.16(B)NEC 2023 410.16(D) — Location
Sets the minimum clearance from each permitted luminaire type to the nearest point of the clothes closet storage space, such as 12 in for surface-mounted incandescent or LED luminaires with a completely enclosed light source on the wall above the door or on the ceiling.
Drills citing 410.16(D)
2026 NEC:same rule and number. No 2026 NEC change to the clothes closet luminaire rules turned up; 410.16(C) still prohibits open or partially enclosed incandescent lamps and pendant luminaires or lampholders in clothes closets. The reported Article 410 change for 2026 (deleting the old Part XI construction rules) does not touch 410.16. Confidence: low
Minnesota
Minnesota adopted the 2023 NEC with no Minnesota amendments as the Minnesota Electrical Code, effective July 1, 2023 (Minn. Stat. 326B.35; Minn. Rules 1315.0200). It governs electrical permits filed before Aug. 17, 2026; permits filed on or after that date fall under the 2026 NEC, so confirm the 2026 numbering for current work. Open-bulb closet lampholders are common in older Minnesota housing; the rule applies whenever a closet light is installed or replaced.
How Minnesota adopts the NECWhy the other choices are wrong
- A clothes closet light must be controlled by a wall switch at the door. 210.70(A) requires wall-switched lighting outlets in habitable rooms, hallways, stairways and similar spaces, not in clothes closets, and nothing prohibits pull-chain control where a closet light is installed.
- The closet lighting outlet must be GFCI protected. 210.8(A) GFCI requirements cover receptacles in the listed dwelling locations; a ceiling lampholder in a bedroom closet is not one of them.
- Nothing. This installation is compliant. Bare-lamp incandescent lampholders are flatly prohibited in clothes closets by 410.16(C), no matter how far they are from the shelf.