Dwelling Lighting Outlet Requirements Calculator

Where a lighting outlet is required, at a glance

210.70(A) sets the required lighting outlets for a dwelling unit by location. Most are a flat requirement; a stairway adds a switching rule at six risers, and a detached garage and a storage/equipment space carry a condition that decides whether the requirement applies.

The kitchen and bathroom exclusion

210.70(A)(1) requires a wall switch-controlled lighting outlet in every habitable room and bathroom. Exception 1 lets a switched receptacle stand in for the lighting outlet, but only in rooms other than kitchens and bathrooms. That the exception names the kitchen at all is what tells you the kitchen is treated as a habitable room here: it needs a lighting outlet, and it cannot use the switched-receptacle substitute. A bathroom is the same. In a bedroom or living room, a wall-switched receptacle for a plug-in lamp is a compliant alternative.

The six-riser stairway rule

A stairway always needs a wall switch-controlled lighting outlet under 210.70(A)(2)(a). The riser count governs a separate question: where an interior stairway between floor levels has six risers or more, 210.70(A)(2)(c) requires a wall switch at each floor level and each landing level that includes an entryway, so no one has to climb or descend a dark flight to reach the only switch. Fewer than six risers, and a single point of control is enough. The outlet requirement does not disappear below six risers; only the each-level switching does.

Worked example: a two-story with a basement

A two-story dwelling has bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a hallway, and a 13-riser stair to the second floor over an unfinished basement that holds the furnace and panel. Each bedroom takes a wall switch-controlled lighting outlet, and a wall-switched receptacle would satisfy it, 210.70(A)(1). The kitchen and both bathrooms take a lighting outlet with no receptacle substitute. The hallway takes one, 210.70(A)(2)(a). The 13-riser stair is six or more risers, so it takes a wall switch at each floor level and the landing, 210.70(A)(2)(c). The basement holds equipment requiring servicing, so it takes a lighting outlet at or near the furnace and panel with control at the entry, 210.70(A)(3). The exterior side of the grade-level entrances takes a wall switch-controlled lighting outlet, 210.70(A)(2)(b).

Common mistakes

• Using a switched receptacle in a kitchen or bathroom. Exception 1 excludes both; they need an actual wall switch-controlled lighting outlet.
• Reading a short stairway as needing no outlet. A stairway under six risers still needs a wall switch-controlled lighting outlet; only the switch-at-each-level rule is waived.
• Assuming every attic or basement needs a light. 210.70(A)(3) applies only where the space is used for storage or contains equipment requiring servicing.
• Skipping the light in a detached garage. A detached garage with electric power is covered by 210.70(A)(2)(a) just like an attached one.
• Placing the storage-space light away from the equipment. 210.70(A)(3) puts the lighting outlet at or near the equipment requiring servicing, with a point of control at the usual entry.

Frequently asked questions

Does every room need a light per code?

Every habitable room and bathroom needs at least one wall switch-controlled lighting outlet under 210.70(A)(1). In a habitable room other than a kitchen or bathroom, a wall-switched receptacle may take its place.

Does a stairway need a switch at each level?

Only where the interior stairway between floor levels has six risers or more, per 210.70(A)(2)(c). Below six risers, a single wall-switch control is sufficient, and the lighting outlet itself is still required.

Does an unfinished attic need a light?

Only where it is used for storage or contains equipment requiring servicing, per 210.70(A)(3). An attic used for neither is not covered by this section.

Can I control the light with an occupancy sensor?

Yes. 210.70(A)(1) Exception 2 permits occupancy sensors that are in addition to a wall switch, or located at a customary wall switch location with a manual override that lets the sensor act as a wall switch.

Does this use the 2020 or 2023 NEC?

This tool uses the NEC 2020 text of 210.70(A). Later editions restate some of the control language; always verify against the edition your jurisdiction has adopted.

Related calculators

• Dwelling Receptacle Spacing Calculator: the 210.52 wall and countertop receptacle placement rules, the sibling of these lighting-outlet rules.
• Minimum Branch Circuits Calculator: the 210.11 dwelling branch-circuit count.
• AFCI Requirement & Breaker Sizing Calculator: where dwelling branch circuits, including lighting, need arc-fault protection per NEC 210.12.
• GFCI Breaker Sizing Calculator: where GFCI protection is required per NEC 210.8.