Owner-wired bedroom addition
The owner lives here with her family. She filed a homeowner Request for Electrical Inspection before starting and is wiring this addition herself. The drywall was delivered today, and the rough-in inspection is booked for tomorrow morning. What's wrong here?
- Nothing. This installation is compliant
- A homeowner may only make repairs and replacements; new circuits for an addition need a licensed electrical contractor
- Drywall may not be delivered to the site until the rough-in inspection passes
- NM cable must be stapled within 4 in. of every box
Show the answer and the code reference
The answer
Nothing is wrong. An owner-occupant with a homeowner permit is wiring her own single-family home, and the wiring is still open for the scheduled rough-in inspection.
Correct choice: 1. Nothing. This installation is compliant
Minnesota's owner exemption covers an individual who personally does electrical work on a home she owns and occupies as a residence (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 21; owner defined in 326B.31, subd. 23), and DLI applies it to a single-family home like this one. She filed the Request for Electrical Inspection before starting and is doing the work herself, so the licensing side is satisfied. On the inspection side, nothing is covered yet. The rough-in is booked and the drywall is only staged, which is what Minn. Rules 3801.3770 requires. The visible wiring also looks right: cables run through center-bored holes, and the NM is stapled close above each box, well within the 12 in. that NEC 334.30 allows.
How to fix it
No correction needed. Keep the drywall off the wiring until the ROUGH-IN line is signed, then call for the final when the work is complete and before the room is used.
Code references
Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 21 — Exemptions from licensing
An individual who physically performs electrical work on a residential dwelling located on property the individual owns and actually occupies as a residence (or will occupy once construction is complete) does not need a license for that work, provided the dwelling has its own electrical utility service not shared with any other residential dwelling.
Drills citing 326B.33, subd. 21Minn. Stat. 326B.31, subd. 23 — Definitions: Owner
An owner is an individual who physically performs electrical work on premises the individual owns and actually occupies as a residence, or owns and will occupy as a residence upon completion of its construction.
Drills citing 326B.31, subd. 23Minn. Rules 3801.3770 — Rough-in inspection of wiring to be concealed
Where wiring is to be concealed, the inspector must be notified sufficiently in advance to complete a rough-in inspection of the wiring method and conductor splicing before concealment.
Drills citing 3801.3770NEC 2023 334.30 — Securing and Supporting
Nonmetallic-sheathed cable must be supported and secured by staples, listed cable ties, straps, hangers, or similar fittings at intervals not exceeding 1.4 m (4 1/2 ft) and within 300 mm (12 in.) of every cable entry into enclosures such as outlet boxes, junction boxes, cabinets, or fittings.
Drills citing 334.30
Minnesota
Minnesota adopts the NEC without amendments, so 334.30 applies as published. The owner exemption (Minn. Stat. 326B.33, subd. 21, with owner defined in 326B.31, subd. 23) and the rough-in rule (Minn. Rules 3801.3770) are Minnesota statute and rule, not NEC text. The Board of Electricity adopted the 2026 NEC, also without amendment, for permits filed on or after Aug. 17, 2026 (exams moved to the 2026 NEC on Sept. 8, 2026); see the 2026 NEC note on this drill.
How Minnesota adopts the NECWhy the other choices are wrong
- A homeowner may only make repairs and replacements; new circuits for an addition need a licensed electrical contractor. Minnesota's owner exemption isn't limited to repairs. An owner may do new work, even wire a new house, on the single-family home she owns and occupies, provided she does it personally and gets the permit and inspections.
- Drywall may not be delivered to the site until the rough-in inspection passes. The rule is against concealing wiring before the rough-in (Minn. Rules 3801.3770). Wrapped sheets leaning on the far wall conceal nothing.
- NM cable must be stapled within 4 in. of every box. NEC 334.30 requires NM to be secured within 12 in. of each box and at intervals not exceeding 4 1/2 ft. A single-gang nonmetallic box that uses the 314.17 exception instead of a cable clamp needs a staple within 8 in. The staples just above these boxes meet either rule.