Code Enforcement and Plan Review
What the exam tests
Plan-review and code-enforcement questions test code edition adoption, document review, load-calculation checks, alternative methods, and the limits of official authority.
Core rules
- Enforce the edition and local amendments legally adopted for the jurisdiction; do not apply a newer edition retroactively without authority.
- Plan review checks the service and feeder calculations, one-line diagram, panel schedules, conductor and OCPD sizing, grounding, and clearances.
- NEC 90.4 gives the authority having jurisdiction responsibility for enforcement and for approving listed equipment and alternative methods.
- Requests for interpretation should be resolved from the adopted code text, published tentatives, and written policy-not from hearsay.
- Document plan-review comments and require revised drawings before permit issuance when calculations are incomplete.
Worked example
A plan shows a 200 A service with 2/0 copper THWN service conductors. At 75°C, 2/0 copper is rated 175 A, which is below the 200 A service rating. The plan reviewer cites Table 310.16 and 230.42 and requires 3/0 copper (200 A at 75°C) or a revised calculation showing a 175 A service. The reviewer does not approve the original drawing.
Traps
Reviewing drawings without checking the load calculation; accepting a panel schedule that totals VA but never converts to amperes; ignoring local amendments; and approving an unlisted product because it is “equivalent.”