Panel Clearance
Electrical Panel Clearance in a Finished Basement
You cannot frame over it, you cannot put it in a clothes closet, and you cannot put it in the new bathroom. Here is exactly how much space the panel needs and where it is not allowed to be.
- Depth
- 36 in
- Width
- 30 in, or equipment width
- Height
- 6 ft 6 in
- Handle center, max
- 6 ft 7 in above floor
- Code in force
- 2021 IRC, PA amended
The working space
IRC 2021 section E3405.2, working clearances for energized equipment and panelboards. This is NEC 110.26(A) as adopted through the IRC electrical chapters.
| Dimension | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Depth, in the direction of access from the enclosure front | 36 in minimum |
| Width in front of the equipment | 30 in minimum, or the width of the equipment, whichever is greater |
| Height, floor or platform upward | 6 ft 6 in, or the height of the equipment, whichever is greater |
| Doors and hinged panels | Must open at least 90 degrees |
| Pads or supports above or below | May extend no more than 6 in beyond the equipment front |
The exception that saves low basements
Exception 1 to E3405.2, verbatim:
In existing dwelling units, service equipment and panelboards that are not rated in excess of 200 amperes shall be permitted in spaces where the height of the working space is less than 6.5 feet.
A 100 amp or 200 amp panel in an existing low basement is legal even where you cannot get 6 feet 6 inches of clear height above it. The 36 inch depth and the 30 inch width are not waived. Read the exception for exactly what it says and no more.
Where the panel may not go
IRC 2021 section E3705.7, location of overcurrent devices, which is NEC 240.24.
- In a clothes closet, or anywhere in the vicinity of easily ignitable material
- In a bathroom
- Over the steps of a stairway
- Anywhere it is not readily accessible
- Anywhere it is exposed to physical damage
- With the operating handle center, at its highest position, more than 6 ft 7 in above the floor
Do not frame a storage closet, a utility closet with shelving, a bathroom or a stair landing around an existing panel. Every one of those is a rip-out at final inspection. The panel goes on the as-built drawing before the partitions are laid out, and if it lands somewhere impossible, the relocation is priced into the bid rather than discovered at rough.
Common questions
Can I cover up the breaker box in a closet?
Not a clothes closet. Section E3705.7 states that circuit breakers and switches containing fuses shall not be located where they will be in the vicinity of easily ignitable material such as in clothes closets.
A closet that is not a clothes closet is a different question, and the answer turns on whether the panel stays readily accessible and keeps its full working clearance with the door open. A utility closet with shelving stacked in front of it fails on accessibility even if it passes on the clothes question. If you are framing a closet anywhere near the panel, get the layout looked at before the studs go up.
Can I just frame a wall over the panel?
No. The panel has to stay readily accessible, and it has to keep 36 inches of depth and 30 inches of width clear in front of it.
This is the most expensive thing to get wrong in a basement, because it is not discovered until rough inspection, by which point the framing, the wiring and sometimes the insulation are already in. We locate the panel on the as-built before laying out a single partition.
My basement is too low for 6 foot 6 inch clearance. Is the panel illegal?
Probably not. Exception 1 to E3405.2 permits service equipment and panelboards not rated in excess of 200 amperes to remain in existing dwelling units where the working space height is less than 6 feet 6 inches.
That exception saves a lot of older Lehigh County basements. Read the limit carefully though: it waives the height only. The 36 inch depth and the 30 inch width are not waived, and the exception applies to existing dwelling units, not to new work.
Can the panel go in the new basement bathroom?
No. Section E3705.7 prohibits overcurrent devices in bathrooms outright.
Same for over the steps of a stairway. Both come up constantly in basement layouts, because the panel is often on the wall where the bathroom or the stair landing makes the most sense. If the panel lands badly, price the relocation into the bid rather than discovering it at rough.
What does the panel directory have to say?
Section E3706.2 requires every circuit and circuit modification to be legibly identified by clear, evident and specific purpose, in a directory on the face of or adjacent to the panel door.
Circuits may not be described in a way that depends on transient conditions of occupancy. "Kid's room" fails, because the kid moves out. "Basement south receptacles" passes. It sounds like a triviality and it is a routine inspection callout.
Do I need a service upgrade to finish my basement?
It depends on the existing service and on what you are adding. A finished room with lighting, receptacles at code spacing, arc-fault protection and possibly a bathroom is real load.
Plenty of Lehigh County homes still run a 100 amp panel, particularly in Salisbury Township where the median build year is 1967, and across Schnecksville where a third of the housing went up in the 1980s. Sometimes the answer is a subpanel and sometimes it is a service upgrade. Either way it is a separate line item you should see up front rather than discover in week two.
How high can the breaker handle be?
The center of the grip of the operating handle, in its highest position, must be no more than 6 feet 7 inches above the floor or working platform.
Worth checking on a raised floor. If you are building a subfloor system over the slab, the floor you are measuring from is the new one, and a panel that was compliant before can end up out of reach afterwards.
Related: ceiling height, insulation requirements and egress windows.
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page links to the text it came from. Open any of them and check us.
- 01IRC 2021 E3405.2, Working clearances for energized equipment
The working space dimensions, and Exception 1 for panels not over 200 amps in existing dwellings. This is NEC 110.26(A) as adopted through the IRC.
- 02IRC 2021 E3705.7, Location of overcurrent devices
Where a panel may not go: clothes closets, bathrooms, over the steps of a stairway. This is NEC 240.24.
- 0334 Pa. Code 403.21, Uniform Construction Code
Pennsylvania's own regulation. Names the adopted code edition, reprints the amended energy tables and carries every Pennsylvania amendment quoted on this page. Amended 7 November 2025 at 55 Pa.B. 7701, effective 1 January 2026.
- 04Pennsylvania Attorney General, contractor registration search
Check PA225448, or any other contractor's registration, against the state's own record before you sign anything.
IRC 2021 sections E3405.2, E3705.7 and E3706.2 as adopted by Pennsylvania under 34 Pa. Code section 403.21, effective January 1, 2026. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 IRC for one and two-family dwellings, and the IRC electrical provisions are extracted from the 2020 National Electrical Code. Citing a 2023 or 2026 NEC section number would be citing a code Pennsylvania has not adopted.
Lehigh Valley Builders Group LLC is a Pennsylvania Registered Home Improvement Contractor, PA225448. Licensed electrical work is performed by a licensed electrical contractor who pulls the electrical permit in their own name.
Send us a photo of your panel and the wall it is on.
We will tell you whether it can stay where it is before you spend anything on a design.