Massachusetts: the 2026 NEC
The Massachusetts Electrical Code, 527 CMR 12.00, is the 2026 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70, 2026 edition, as released by the NFPA Standards Council on 20 August 2025) with Massachusetts amendments.
It applies to installations whose permit was granted after 24 April 2026. Work permitted before that date stays under the earlier edition, based on the 2023 NEC.
NFPA changes made after that release, such as tentative interim amendments, apply in Massachusetts only once the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations adopts them.
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The other New England states
Each state adopts its own edition of the National Electrical Code with its own amendments, and the edition can change during a project.
The brief names the state and town of the site; ask Coastline which edition applies there.
Article 220 becomes Article 120
Summaries of the 2026 edition report that the branch-circuit, feeder and service load calculations moved from Article 220 to Article 120. A section cited as 220.87 in the 2023 edition is 120.87 in the 2026 edition.
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Adding load to an existing service
The NEC lets the existing load of a service be its actual maximum demand when 12 months of demand data exist, or, without them, a 15-minute demand recorded continuously for at least 30 days on the most loaded phase while the building is in use, including the larger of the heating or cooling load.
The new load fits when the maximum demand at 125% plus the new load does not exceed the service rating, and the service and feeders have the protection the code asks for.
The app's capacity check screens this from the peak you enter. Coastline makes the calculation.
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Continuous loads and EV charging
A continuous load is one expected to run at its maximum current for 3 hours or more. Breakers and conductors serving continuous loads are sized at 125% of them.
The NEC treats EV charging loads as continuous loads (625.42, 2023 edition), and each charger over 16 A or 120 V has its own branch circuit (625.40). An energy management system can limit the load counted for chargers.
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The panel directory
NEC 408.4(A) asks that every circuit, and every change to one, be legibly identified as to its clear, evident and specific purpose or use, in enough detail to tell it from all others. Spare positions with unused breakers are described as spare.
The directory is on the face or inside of the panel door, or in an approved place next to it. No circuit is described in a way that depends on who occupies a room. The inspector approves the level of detail.
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