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The Code Minute – Article 210:GFCI Protection Near Tubs & Showers (Video)

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Preparing for the Journeyman electrician exam means more than memorizing answers—it means understanding how to quickly navigate the National Electrical Code (NEC). One of the most common types of questions you’ll encounter focuses on locating the correct code article and applying it correctly.

As a national electrical construction contractor, Barts Electric is committed to helping electricians and aspiring electricians build their knowledge, advance their careers, and succeed on licensing exams. Whether you’re currently working in the electrical trade or looking to become an electrical apprentice, understanding the NEC is an essential skill.

Practice Question

GFCI protection is required within how many feet of the outside edge of a bathtub or shower stall?

  • A. 8 feet
  • B. 4 feet
  • C. 6 feet
  • D. 10 feet

The correct answer is C — 6 feet.

How to Find the Answer in the NEC

Instead of simply memorizing the answer, it’s important to understand how to locate it in the National Electrical Code.

Start by identifying the keywords in the question:

  • GFCI protection
  • Receptacles

These keywords point you toward Article 210, which covers branch circuits and receptacles.

Navigating Article 210

Article 210 is divided into three sections:

  • Part I – General Requirements
  • Part II – Branch-Circuit Ratings
  • Part III – Required Outlets

Since this question is asking about a general installation requirement—not branch-circuit calculations or required outlets—you can immediately narrow your search to Part I – General Requirements.

As you work through Part I, you’ll find Section 210.8, which covers Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (GFCI) Protection for Personnel.

Within that section, you’ll see the requirements for various locations where GFCI protection is required, including:

  • Bathrooms
  • Garages
  • Outdoor locations
  • Crawl spaces
  • Bathtubs and shower stalls

The Code Requirement

According to NEC 210.8, receptacles installed within 6 feet (1.8 meters) of the outside edge of a bathtub or shower stall must be protected by a Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI).

This requirement helps protect people from electrical shock in areas where water and electricity may come into contact.

A Smarter Way to Study

One of the best strategies for passing the Journeyman exam is learning how to use the NEC efficiently rather than trying to memorize every code section.

By identifying important keywords in the question, you can quickly determine:

  • Which article to search
  • Which section applies
  • Where the correct answer is located

Many electricians also use NEC code tabs to speed up navigation. For example, Section 210.8 is one of the most commonly tabbed sections because GFCI questions appear frequently on licensing exams.

The more you practice locating information in the codebook, the faster and more confident you’ll become during the exam.

Build Your Career with Barts Electric

At Barts Electric, we believe education is one of the keys to success in the electrical industry. As a national electrical construction contractor, we’re proud to provide training resources that help electricians sharpen their skills and prepare for licensing exams.

If you’re looking to start a rewarding career in the electrical trade, Barts Electric is always hiring new electrical apprentices and experienced journeymen. Whether you’re just beginning your journey or bringing years of field experience, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and build a long-term career with a company that invests in its people.

Continue following Barts Electric for more Journeyman exam practice questions, NEC code explanations, and career resources designed to help you succeed in the electrical industry.

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Complete Video Transcript

Here’s the type of question that comes up a lot on Journeyman exams. Let’s see if you know the answer.

GFCI protection is required within how many feet of the outside edge of a bathtub or a shower stall? Is it 8 ft, 4 ft, 6 ft, or 10 ft?

Pause the video now to answer the question yourself.

So, the answer is C, 6 ft.

Let’s talk about where we find this. The couple of keywords we can see in here are GFCI protection and receptacles, right? So, we’ve got two different keywords within this one.

Receptacles usually relate back to branch circuits. For branch circuits, we have 210 and 220. Article 210 covers the requirements for receptacles and branch circuits, while Article 220 covers calculations for branch circuits.

This is not a calculation question, so we can safely assume that it’s going to be in Article 210.

We open up our book here to the contents. We go to 210. We can see it’s broken into three parts: Part One, General; Part Two, Branch Circuit Ratings; and Part Three, Required Outlets.

This is not a rating question, and it’s not talking about required outlets. This is a general requirement for branch circuits, so it’s going to be in Part One.

So, Part One is going to be on page 79. If you’ve got tabs, they can help you speed up the process.

We’ll go ahead and navigate to page 79, Part One, General. As we scroll through here, we’re going to see a few different things not related to GFCIs. As we approach the third page, however, we’re going to see 210.8, Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel.

We’re going to see that, in dwelling units, there’s a number of different situations: bathrooms, garages, outdoors, crawl spaces. If we keep scrolling down, we’re going to see bathtubs or shower stalls.

Where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m, or 6 ft, of the outside edge of the bathtub or shower stall, GFCI protection is required for those receptacles.

So, again, we used a couple of keywords to determine that we’re in Article 210, Part One, and Section 210.8.

If you’ve got tabs, you’ll notice a lot of them will actually have the GFCI section tabbed at 210.8. Very helpful if you have that. It speeds the process up a lot.

Now you know how to find this answer.

Recent Videos

Visit Our Jobs Portal
Available Jobs
What is a Merit Shop?

Watch This Video On Youtube

Complete Video Transcript

Here’s the type of question that comes up a lot on Journeyman exams. Let’s see if you know the answer.

GFCI protection is required within how many feet of the outside edge of a bathtub or a shower stall? Is it 8 ft, 4 ft, 6 ft, or 10 ft?

Pause the video now to answer the question yourself.

So, the answer is C, 6 ft.

Let’s talk about where we find this. The couple of keywords we can see in here are GFCI protection and receptacles, right? So, we’ve got two different keywords within this one.

Receptacles usually relate back to branch circuits. For branch circuits, we have 210 and 220. Article 210 covers the requirements for receptacles and branch circuits, while Article 220 covers calculations for branch circuits.

This is not a calculation question, so we can safely assume that it’s going to be in Article 210.

We open up our book here to the contents. We go to 210. We can see it’s broken into three parts: Part One, General; Part Two, Branch Circuit Ratings; and Part Three, Required Outlets.

This is not a rating question, and it’s not talking about required outlets. This is a general requirement for branch circuits, so it’s going to be in Part One.

So, Part One is going to be on page 79. If you’ve got tabs, they can help you speed up the process.

We’ll go ahead and navigate to page 79, Part One, General. As we scroll through here, we’re going to see a few different things not related to GFCIs. As we approach the third page, however, we’re going to see 210.8, Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection for Personnel.

We’re going to see that, in dwelling units, there’s a number of different situations: bathrooms, garages, outdoors, crawl spaces. If we keep scrolling down, we’re going to see bathtubs or shower stalls.

Where receptacles are installed within 1.8 m, or 6 ft, of the outside edge of the bathtub or shower stall, GFCI protection is required for those receptacles.

So, again, we used a couple of keywords to determine that we’re in Article 210, Part One, and Section 210.8.

If you’ve got tabs, you’ll notice a lot of them will actually have the GFCI section tabbed at 210.8. Very helpful if you have that. It speeds the process up a lot.

Now you know how to find this answer.