California enforces the 2023 NEC

Record of adoption

In force since

Jan 1, 2026

Legal citation

Cal. Code Regs., tit. 24, pt. 3

Adopted by

California Building Standards Commission

Second reading

Agreed Oct 18, 2026

Applies

Statewide

Also called

CEC, California Electrical Code, Title 24, Part 3

Based on the 2023 NEC (NFPA 70) and approved by the Commission between Dec 17, 2024, and Dec 19, 2024.

Exceptions

• Local jurisdictions may add amendments by ordinance; since Oct 1, 2025, cities and counties may not adopt new residential amendments through Jun 1, 2031, except under AB 130’s listed exceptions.
• Permit applications received on or before Dec 31, 2025, remain under the 2022 California Building Standards Code.

Coming next

• 2026 NECPartial
  Planned for Jan 1, 2029In developmentCal. Code Regs., tit. 24, pt. 3 (2028 edition)

  Commission’s 2027 Triennial Cycle lists adoption of the 2026 NEC. Commission timeline: initial agency submittals Feb 1, 2027, for NFPA-published codes, 45-day comment 7/2027-10/2027, Commission adoption meetings 12/2027-1/2028, publication Jul 1, 2028, effective Jan 1, 2029; the Commission states all dates are subject to change.

How California adopts the NEC

• Agency rule
• The legislature sets the update schedule
• A recent law changed the process

State agencies propose Title 24 changes (the Commission’s own statement of reasons covers the 2025 Electrical Code) and the Commission approves or adopts them before codification (H&S Code 18930(a)); the sources read show no separate legislative approval of individual rules. By statute each adopting agency must adopt or propose adoption of the most recent model code edition within one year of its publication (H&S Code 18928(b)) through an 18-month Commission cycle (18929.1(a)), and the Commission convenes a committee to recommend adoption if agencies fail to comply (18928(c)). AB 130 (Stats. 2025, ch. 22) paused new residential building standards from Oct 1, 2025, to Jun 1, 2031, but exempts standards needed to incorporate the latest section 18916 model codes into the triennial edition with necessary related state amendments, so the 2028 edition (2026 NEC, 2027 ICC codes) is still planned.

Cycle. Triennial: 2025 edition effective Jan 1, 2026, 2028 edition planned effective Jan 1, 2029; an intervening cycle between them issues supplements (2025 Intervening Cycle supplements, adopted 2026-08, effective Jul 1, 2027).

Laws, rulings, and other actions

1. Oct 15, 2025Emergency rule
   State Fire Marshal emergency rulemaking before the Building Standards Commission

   Commission meeting listings show adoption of State Fire Marshal emergency rulemaking on Oct 15, 2025, and readoption on the May 6, 2026, agenda.

2. Jun 30, 2025Legislation
   AB 130, Chapter 22, Statutes of 20252025-26 regular session

   Amends Health and Safety Code sections including 17958, 17958.5, 17958.7, 18929.1, 18930, 18938.5 and 18941.5 to bar the Building Standards Commission and any other adopting agency from considering, approving or adopting new residential building standards, and cities and counties from new residential amendments, from Oct 1, 2025, to Jun 1, 2031, with exceptions that include emergency standards, State Fire Marshal building-standard amendments, incorporating the latest model codes into the triennial edition with necessary related state amendments, and standards taking effect on or after Jan 1, 2032.

   Enacted Jun 30, 2025; residential building-standards pause runs Oct 1, 2025, through Jun 1, 2031

   dgs.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
3. Jan 12, 2025Executive order
   Executive Order N-4-25 (Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding)

   Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development, with DGS, the State Fire Marshal and the Energy Commission, to recommend Title 24 provisions that should be suspended for rebuilding projects; the order text read does not itself suspend any Title 24 provision.

How it was checked

Verified

Two separate readings of the state’s own record agree, and the passage is on file word for word.

Read twice: a second, blind reading of the state’s record agreed with the first on Oct 18, 2026.

The state’s record was last read on Oct 18, 2026, from eight source pages.

Evidence 17 sources

Sources for the record itself come first, the state’s own records ahead of others. A label marks a source about something else, such as an exception. A source marked secondary is not the state’s own record.

• “shall apply to all occupancies throughout the state”

• “2025 Triennial Edition of Title 24”

  “PART 2 – CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE”

  “PART 3 – CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE”

• “The 2025 California Building Standards Code (Cal. Code Regs., Title 24) will be published July 1, 2025”

  “with an effective date of January 1, 2026.”

• “All occupancies in California are subject to national model codes adopted into Title 24”

• “January 1, 2026, is the statewide effective date for the 2025 California Building Standards Code,”

  “as established by the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC).”

• “Part 3, California Electrical Code December 17–19, 2024”

  “Part 6, California Energy Code December 17–19, 2024”

• “will become effective on January 1, 2026, as a result of the 2024 Triennial Code Adoption Cycle.”

• “The 2025 CBSC applies to all buildings and structures with a permit application date on or after January 1, 2026.”

• “adoption of the 2024 editions of the ICC and IAPMO model codes”

  “the 2023 edition of the NEC”

• “effective January 1, 2026”

  “will result in the 2025 edition of the California Building Standards Code”

• “BSC’s proposal is to adopt Chapter 7 of the 2023 NEC”

  “OF THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION REGARDING THE 2025 CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE”

• “oversees development, adoption, approval, publication and implementation of California’s building codes.”

• About an exception

  “occupancies are further subject to amendments adopted by state agencies and ordinances implemented by local jurisdictions’ governing bodies”

• About an exception

  “all applications for building permits submitted on or after January 1, 2026, are subject to compliance”

  “The 2022 California Building Standards Code remains in effect”

• About an exception

  “The 2022 California Building Standards Code remains in effect”

  “where the application for a building permit is received on or before December 31, 2025”

• About an exception

  “prohibits cities and counties from making changes that are applicable to residential units, unless one of the following conditions is met”

• About how the state adopts codes

Tracker cross-checks

Code adoption trackers are a cross-check. They are not California’s own record.

• Mike Holt’s NEC adoption listCross-checkAgrees with the record

  California: NEC 2023, comment ‘Effective 1/1/26 with CA amendments’ (page shows no as-of date and disclaims guaranteed correctness).

  mikeholt.com (opens in a new tab)Read Oct 17, 2026

• NFPA’s enforcement mapCross-checkAgrees with the record

  California 2023 with CA amendments (1/1/2026)

  Read Oct 18, 2026; NFPA page as of Aug 3, 2026.

  nfpa.org (opens in a new tab)Read Oct 17, 2026

Related pages

• See California’s NEC on the map
• NEC adoption in every state
• All six codes in California

Other codes in California

• IBC2024 IBCVerified
• IRC2024 IRCVerified
• IFC2024 IFCVerified
• IECC residentialState’s own codeVerified
• IECC commercialState’s own codeVerified